Question Period Note: WILDFIRES

Q1 – What is the Government doing to assist producers impacted by wildfires? Q2 – What other federal partners is AAFC working with to support the sector?

R1 - Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has a suite of business risk management programs that can provide support to producers for events beyond their control. We encourage producers to apply for interim payments under AgriStability and submit any claims under AgriInsurance. Canada, working with the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, has authorized late participation so producers in those provinces can still access AgriStability even if they did not enroll by the deadline.
We will work with provinces and territories to assess the situation and determine whether additional support would be required under AgriRecovery. R2 - Emergencies are managed first at the local and then at the provincial or territorial level; if further assistance is required, provinces and territories can ask the federal government for more resources through Public Safety Canada. I would refer to the Minister of Emergency Preparedness to respond to questions regarding federal support.
AAFC is also concerned with food security in communities in the Northwest Territories due to transportation disruptions and evacuations due to the wildfires. I would refer to the Minister of Northern Affairs to respond to questions on Nutrition North.

Typically, the areas in Canada most at risk for wildfires are in woodland areas with scrub and underbrush, which are areas more conducive to livestock grazing. Since the start of the wildfire season, livestock producers have been the most affected, with pasture and grazing land destruction, and fence rows burning down. Livestock producers in many regions have had to temporarily relocate livestock away from fire lines. Supports to help relocate animals have been provided at the local level by agriculture societies and auction houses, while provincial agriculture organizations and the provinces have delivered financial supports.

An out-of-control wildfire may disrupt transport of key agricultural inputs or products, causing supply-chain disruptions and exacerbating food security. Wildfires may also spread to residential areas as well as other intensive agriculture establishments located near woodlands.

As of August 31, there are 1,070 wildfires burning across Canada, with 798 out-of-control. So far this year, 6,074 fires have burned 15.6 million hectares (MH) of land across Canada. While the number of fires to date is only 26 percent higher than the ten-year average for this time of year, six times the average area of hectares has burned.

A Request for Federal Assistance (RFA) is the formalization of a request to the federal government to provide support in response to an emergency such as a natural disaster. Since April 2023, a total of 11 wildfire related RFAs have been approved (1 NT, 2 AB, 3 BC, 1 ON, 3 QC, 1 NS), and six have received extensions (1 NT, 1 BC, 2 AB, 2 QC). Three RFAs are currently active, one in NT and two in BC.

FOOD SECURITY

In the Northwest Territories, food security remains an ongoing concern as fires in Hay River and Yellowknife are impacting the territories’ small commercial operations. Producers in the Paradise Gardens area near Hay River have had their properties destroyed by fire. An egg barn near Hay River has lost approximately 5,000 layers due to smoke, and one hydroponic greenhouse operation was destroyed. Other producers in the area are suffering losses of market sales due to the evacuation order.

This event could put strains on the already strained food system. Producers affected in Hay River/Paradise Gardens area are the same producers who were impacted by severe flooding in May 2022. Given the current evacuation orders in these two areas, it will be difficult to understand the full extent of damage until community members are able to return. Local grocery stores have received some supplies, but resupply has been impacted by road closures. Little resupply by air is possible until the airport has ground staff available, as airport services are currently not available at Yellowknife Airport.

Nutrition North Canada has said they can provide support to communities outside Yellowknife that need to fly groceries from Edmonton. Subsidy rates will be increased to ensure delivery of food and other essential items to impacted communities and this will allow to offset potential price increases.

BUSINESS RISK MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS

Business risk management (BRM) programs are joint Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) programs that are in place to help producers manage risks that threaten the viability of their farms and provide protection against several types of income and production losses. Producers take responsibility for managing normal risks, while government support is in place to help manage events that exceed producers’ capacity to manage. The programs are cost-shared 60:40 (Federal:Provincial-Territorial) as outlined in the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership and have provided over $1.6 billion per year to producers over the last five years.

The AgriStability program is a whole-farm program designed to support producers who have experienced a net income decline of more than 30 percent for reasons such as production loss, increased costs, and market conditions. Government spending for AgriStability has varied based on these market conditions, averaging about $345 million per year. It is anticipated that AgriStability payments for the 2021 program year will exceed $600 million if current program parameters and market conditions continue.

Canada, working with the provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, has authorized late participation so producers in those provinces can still access AgriStability even if they did not enroll by the deadline. Producers in Alberta can sign up for AgriStability until September 29, 2023, and British Columbia producers have until June 30, 2024. This gives affected producers more time to review and manage the business risks associated with these challenging situations.

The AgriInvest program allows producers to save a portion of the proceeds from their annual net sales, with a matching government contribution up to a maximum of $10,000 annually, to help manage smaller income declines. FPT governments contribute approximately $275 million annually to AgriInvest accounts.

The AgriInsurance program helps to stabilize producer income by minimizing the economic effects of production losses caused by severe but uncontrollable natural hazards. It provides support to crop producers, averaging over $1 billion per year since 2013, which represents approximately two-thirds of all BRM contributions.

AgriRecovery is an FPT disaster relief framework intended to work together with the core BRM programs to help agricultural producers recover from natural disasters. The focus of AgriRecovery is the extraordinary costs producers must take on to recover from disasters. Extraordinary costs are costs which producers would not incur under normal circumstances, but which are necessary to mitigate the impacts of a disaster and/or resume farming operations as quickly as possible following a disaster. Further, AgriRecovery is intended to respond in situations where producers do not have the capacity to cover the extraordinary costs, even with the assistance available from other programs.

AAFC has been working with provinces and territories and have completed the AgriRecovery assessments related to extreme weather events (drought, wildfire, floods, etc.). We are currently awaiting the policy and financial authority to proceed. Saskatchewan has announced financial assistance for the livestock producers impacted by the drought, and Alberta has informed producers of financial assistance by way of sending them a letter. Saskatchewan announced $70M in funding, while Alberta's announcement does not list an amount. 

• The Government of Canada stands with producers across the country who are impacted by wildfires.

• Emergency federal support requested by the affected provinces and territories has been granted. The federal government has also sent the Canadian Armed Forces to help with the response process.

• We are monitoring the impacts of the wildfires on the agricultural sector and will assess all requests for federal assistance from the affected provinces and territories.

• While we know the response and recovery will take time, the federal government will be there for farmers and the agricultural sector every step of the way.