Editor,
Prime Minister Carney likes to say his government is investing in Canada, but his recent cuts to agriculture research (as well as other federal research programs) make a mockery of that statement. We have been told that the federal government needs to cut billions of dollars from its budget to put into programs such as the long neglected Canadian military and investing in major projects. On the surface it all sounds reasonable, but history tells us the countries which invest in research and development are the ones which succeed.
Canada is recognized as a world leader in agriculture and food, this did not happen by accident. We were the third country (after Great Britain and the U.S.) to set up a country-wide network of experimental farms in 1886. Every year Canada receives delegations from around the world to view and learn about our agriculture and food industry. Likewise, we receive graduate students who come here to further their education. The decision to cut 665 research positions, and close seven locations, from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, which has total staff of about 6,000, is disappointing and shortsighted.
Agriculture is an important industry in the Pontiac and Gatineau region, so it is especially concerning for local farmers that our MP Sophie Chatel, who is the Parliamentary Secretary to Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald, is not standing up for her constituents. Yes, the public service had significant growth in the past 10 years, but according to the Agriculture Union, AAFC staff numbers have dropped by 14% per cent between 2014 and 2025.
Agriculture and food production is the giant industry, much larger than the auto industry, that quietly churns along every day producing an abundant supply of safe and nutritious food for Canadians while also earning billions of dollars exporting products like canola, wheat, beef and pork.
Cutting agriculture research is easy, like picking the low hanging fruit. But look what making those easy cuts for so many years did to the defense department. Yes, the chickens will eventually come home to roost and the Carney government and MP Chatel will be long gone by then. But I fear for the mess our children and grandchildren will inherit.
Bob McClelland, Cantley, QC