NDP calls for 'urgent action' for farmers while the Sask. Party says it's already providing it
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Scott Moe, Saskatchewan's NDP opposition is calling for "urgent action" to help farmers facing a potentially catastrophic growing season due to drough conditions.
"In meeting with producers, we have heard major concerns about crop yields and access to feed and water for livestock," the NDP letter said.
"Failure to act now risks farm and ranch losses, deep financial and emotional impacts for families, and major negative repercussions for the Saskatchewan economy.
In the letter, NDP leader Ryan Meili said the current conditions remind him of the "drought and insect problems" witnessed growing up on a farm in the 1980s.
"We need a serious plan to get producers and ranchers through this drought year and a long-term plan to ensure the success of the agriculture sector on which we all rely," Meili said.
In response agriculture minister David Marit thanked the NDP for its letter and pointed to steps the Sask. party government has taken including changes to Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation rules to allow low yielding crops to be cut immediately and a temporary increase to the maximum funding a livestock producer can receive under the Farm and Ranch Water Infrastructure Program.
"I can assure you I have heard these concerns loud and clear from the farmers and ranchers I speak with every day," Marit said.
"We are also working closely with our federal and provincial counterparts to explore additional options to support producers," Marit said.
The NDP's letter came the same day the federal government announced the early designation of the Livestock Tax Deferral provision for prescribed drought regions of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario.
It's a move that Marit said the Government of Saskatchewan welcomes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Parliamentary report on Emergencies Act decision is 18 months past due — and counting
The erstwhile group of senators and MPs studying the federal government's invocation of the Emergencies Act over the "Freedom Convoy" was supposed to present its findings in December. December of 2022, that is.
Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
A candidate for Germany's key party was beaten up while campaigning for European elections
A candidate for Chancellor Olaf Scholz's center-left party in next month's election for the European Parliament was beaten up and seriously injured while campaigning in an eastern city, the party said Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.