News release
AMENDMENTS TO THE AGRICULTURAL MARKETING PROGRAMS ACT RECEIVE ROYAL ASSENT
OTTAWA, Ontario, June 23, 2006 - The Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, welcomed the news that legislation to improve cash advance programs for producers received Royal Assent yesterday.
“I am pleased to say that among the first pieces of legislation introduced by our government to receive Royal Assent, is a bill aimed at providing greater financial support to farmers,” said Minister Strahl. “The passage of Bill C-15 is an important first step, and shows this new government’s commitment to providing farmers with programs to help them grow and prosper in the years ahead.”
Cash advance programs provide spring and fall cash advances to producers, a portion of which is interest-free, to meet high cash flow requirements at spring seeding and fall harvest.
Bill C-15 was introduced on May 18, 2006 and amends the Agricultural Marketing Programs Act (AMPA) to:
- consolidate the Advance Payments Program (fall) and the Spring Credit Advance Program, as a single program under the AMPA;
- expand the coverage to include livestock and more crops;
- increase the overall limit on advances from $250,000 to $400,000; and
- increase the amount of interest-free advances from $50,000 to $100,000.
It is anticipated that the new program will be available in early 2007.
During its first five months in office, the federal government has acted quickly to demonstrate its commitment to Canadian farmers:
- Payments under the $755 million Grains and Oilseeds Payment Program (GOPP) were accelerated and more than $608 million has been delivered to date;
- A commitment has been made to replace the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization (CAIS) Program with separate disaster and income stabilization programs which will be simpler and more responsive to the needs of producers.
- The CAIS deposit was replaced with a fee for 2006 and producers will not have to pay for participation in previous years;
- The Farm Improvement and Marketing Cooperatives Loans Act (FIMCLA) program is being maintained and officials will be consulting with industry on program improvements;
- A total of $1.5 billion was committed to agriculture in the May 2 federal budget. Of this, $950 million will be delivered to producers through changes related to CAIS and another $50 million through a new Cover Crop Protection Program.
- Legislation to improve cash advance programs has been passed. As an interim measure while the changes are being implemented, an Enhanced Spring Credit Advance Program (ESCAP) is now in place to make more money available to farmers through interest free loans.
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For more information, media may contact:
Media Relations
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Ottawa
613-759-7972
1-866-345-7972
Jeff Howard
Press Secretary
Minister Strahl’s office
613-759-1059
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