Type of Intervention: Other Announcement
Sectors Involved: Supply Chains, Agriculture and Agri-Food
Intervention Categories: Legal and policy; New initiatives
Level of Jurisdiction: Ontario
Lead People/Agency: Bill George, Chair of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association
Ernie Hardeman, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
Marie-Claude Bibeau, federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food
Overview: The governments of Canada and Ontario are enhancing AgriInsurance coverage for the 2020 growing season to support farmers and help them manage the challenges beyond their control due to COVID-19. This includes labour shortages caused by COVID-19. Since COVID-19 has interrupted regular flows of worker travel, gaps have been created in labour availability which could lead to some unharvested crops and financial loss for farmers. Ontario farmers already enrolled in an eligible insurance plan who suffer crop loss due to labour disruption will have access to more insurance coverage through Agricorp. This added insurance includes: inability to attract sufficient on-farm labour due to COVID-19, and illness or quarantine of on-farm labour and the producer due to COVID-19.
Full details here: https://news.ontario.ca/omafra/en/2020/07/canada-and-ontario-supporting-farmers-through-enhanced-insurance-protection.html
Other links: 1 2
Type of Justification: Statements from government officials, Providing support
Evidence/Justification: There is no evidence cited as justification for the expansion of AgriInsurance. However, federal and provincial government officials issued statements justifying this plan. They explained the new business pressures and uncertainty that COVID-19 has created, describing a need to take action to ensure that farmers have adequate resources to deal with these new challenges. As such, it is explained that the expansion of AgriInsurance responds directly to farmers’ requests for support. This also helps protect Ontario’s agri-food sector, supporting the continuation of food production for the province.