QUESTION PERIOD — Agriculture and Agri-Food
Innovation
April 30, 2021
Honourable senators, my question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.
Senator Gold, agriculture is one of the only industries that experienced economic growth in 2020. While industries across the country saw a decline by 5%, agriculture grew by 7%. Agriculture has certainly proved its resilience time and time again during this challenging period.
Last week, the finance minister announced the 2021 budget, and I was pleased to hear agriculture and rural communities will be supported in key matters such as broadband infrastructure and support for temporary foreign workers. That said, I’m curious to learn more about how the government plans to encourage continued growth in this industry.
Honourable colleagues, more and more farmers approach retirement every year. However, not many Canadian youth consider farming or agriculture in general to be an attractive career path. Unfortunately, this means that we could be facing a shortage of producers in the coming years. Given that this sector is the only one to experience growth during this difficult period and experts anticipate demand for continued growth during this difficult time, I believe we have an obligation to show our youth that opportunities in agriculture are as vast as our country’s fields. We know it is imperative to invest in innovation today so we can work to enhance and strengthen our industries for tomorrow. I am hopeful that, going forward, the agricultural sector will be supported, given that the government highlighted that resources in manufacturing sectors, including agriculture, will be the foundation of Canada’s new sustainable economy. In fact, Budget 2020 provides a Strategic Innovation Fund with $7.2 billion to support innovative projects across the economy in fields such as agriculture and life sciences.
Senator Gold, of the $2.2 billion, how much will be allocated to support agriculture and encourage growth in this very important sector?
I thank the honourable senator for his question and his continued work to champion the interests of Canada’s agriculture sector. The government knows well that the agriculture and agri-food sector can and does play a key role in Canada’s economy and can play a key role in its recovery, in building a sustainable and innovative future.
Thanks also for the advance notice of the question. It allowed me to inquire with the government on the details of the $2.2‑billion Strategic Innovation Fund and how it will be divided up. I have been advised as follows: There are no sector-specific earmarks in the fund. Rather, it’s a program of general application to which agriculture and agri-food projects are most welcome. In the past, as you would know, the fund has supported the Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network in 2019 and a state-of-the-art poultry facility in Ontario the previous year. The honourable senator has a unique visibility on certain initiatives that could be presented to the Strategic Innovation Fund to engage young people in agriculture, and I’m sure they would be most welcome and warmly received.
