Where will the budget cuts come for Ag Canada?

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

With federal departments being asked for savings of five to 10 per cent, opposition MPs worry that agriculture minister Gerry Ritz doesn't have the clout to protect his key programs

by BARRY WILSON

For political junkies, this is an autumn to die for.

Seven provinces and territories have held or will hold elections this fall, including Ontario. Alberta Progressive Conservatives elected a new leader and premier (in a one-party state like Alberta, this passes as a provincial election, although just 76,000 voted) and elections are possible in other provinces where fixed election dates are not the law.

In Ottawa, the first Conservative majority government in 23 years is settling in to begin implementing some radical legislation – extensive crime-and-punishment provisions, Senate reform and additional House of Commons seats for Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia, and the dismantling of the 68-year-old Canadian Wheat Board wheat and barley sales monopoly.

But behind the public flare of those initiatives is a government plan that could have a profound effect on agricultural programming.

As part of the government's battle against the huge federal deficit run up during the recession, finance minister Jim Flaherty and treasury board president Tony Clement have ordered a government-wide search for at least $4 billion in savings.

Each department has been told to find between five and 10 per cent in spending cuts to be submitted as proposals. Treasury Board and cabinet ultimately will decide which of the cuts to approve and to put into the federal winter budget.

Hundreds of millions of dollars could be taken from the Agriculture Canada budget if the cuts are spread equally across departments. The last time a government deficit-fighting general cut was required, Liberal finance minister Paul Martin slashed budgets in 1995 and agriculture research has yet to recover.

So far, agriculture minister Gerry Ritz has been publicly silent about how the spending cuts will affect his department, although unions say staff cuts will be a major part of the package.

At the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), new president George Da Pont says the agency will have to do its part without undermining service.

"We are in a bit of a fortunate position because we did receive additional money for the agency in the last budget targeted at things that are important to us, improving training and tools for our frontline staff," he says. "Restraint will be a reality and our approach will be to minimize impact on our frontline staff. Any organization that has such a critical on-the-ground mandate will look to find some restraint and, if there are reductions, they will likely be in our administrative and internal service staff."

But parliamentary opposition MPs say they are skeptical that Ritz has the cabinet clout to protect his department's core programs, including safety nets and research.

"Ten per cent cuts are very substantial for agricultural programming," says New Democratic Party agriculture critic Malcolm Allen. "It could really damage the ability of Agriculture Canada to deliver programming that farmers need, so they have to be very careful about this."

The Niagara peninsula MP sees it this way. "I think it will be a case of him (Ritz) finding the 10 per cent, sending it in to the centre and then crossing his fingers that all those cuts won't be made."

Despite all the political theatrics of autumn elections, next winter's federal budget and its cuts proposals should be the more interesting, if sombre, political development for farmers in this political cycle. BF

Barry Wilson is a member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery specializing in agriculture.