Farming Families

Farmers across Kootenay-Columbia are facing a dire situation. A number of hardships beyond their control have created an urgent cash-flow crisis – from last year’s difficult harvest season, to trade disputes with China, to the Trudeau Liberal Carbon Tax, to an early snowfall. On top of it all, the illegal rail blockades are impeding Canada’s rail system. My Conservative colleagues and I have heard from many farm families who are struggling to make ends meet. They are not sure if they’ll have enough money to continue operating this year, and they don’t know how they’ll repay their Advanced Payments Program (APP) loans – which are due next month. Worst of all, Justin Trudeau has no plan to deal with this dire situation. That’s why Andrew Scheer, Leader of Canada’s Conservatives and of the Official Opposition, called on Trudeau to immediately enact our Conservative plan to provide immediate assistance to Canada’s hard-working farmers. Trudeau must extend the APP repayment deadline and wave interest charges that are set to kick in on March 31. He must extend the eligibility criteria for the expanded interest-free portion of APP loans to include all agricultural commodities (not just canola). And, he must implement other government policies that could ease farmers’ cash-flow crisis.