Saskatchewan’s canola sector is warning that Ottawa’s latest support package will not save farmers facing punishing tariffs from China.
Beijing imposed duties of 75.8 per cent on Canadian canola seed in August. Effectively closing the door on the industry’s largest market.
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Conservative Lakeland MP Shannon Stubbs said western producers are paying the price for Ottawa’s failure to secure markets.
“This government’s failure to stand up for canola producers is devastating farm families and entire communities,” Stubbs said. “Producers in Saskatchewan and across the Prairies cannot absorb these kinds of blows without real consequences.”
She added that canola is the backbone of so many rural economies and said tariffs are an attack on Canada’s farmers that demands a serious response.
Saskatchewan officials say the federal government’s response falls short.
“The Government of Saskatchewan is extremely disappointed in the federal government’s failure to properly support farmers, the canola industry and our province’s economy,” the province said in a recent statement. “The federal government has once again failed to support Saskatchewan people when they need it the most.”
The Canola Council of Canada (CCC) also criticized Ottawa’s approach.
“We are discouraged with the government’s support package for the industry,” said CCC president and CEO Chris Davison. “The measures announced today do not reflect the seriousness of the challenge facing the value chain.”
Rick White, president and CEO of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, said the Advanced Payments Program is the wrong tool for a trade crisis of this scale.
“Farmers should not be expected to borrow their way out of this situation,” he said.
Industry groups and provincial leaders continue to press Ottawa for stronger action, saying farmers need direct help, not more debt.
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