One of the perks of my role as MP is the opportunity to make funding announcements that add to the culture of Northern Alberta. Most recently, Wood Buffalo Regional Municipality received $44,900 for its annual WinterPLAY Carnival and the Athabasca Centennial Committee received $32,200 towards the town’s centennial celebrations this summer. Enjoy!

We are in the midst of an amazing winter in Northern Alberta. While this unpredictable weather creates spectacular beauty, it also makes driving conditions challenging. Please slow down and drive appropriately for weather conditions. Be prepared for sudden changes in road conditions and unseen hazards such as black ice. The Transport Canada website has up-to-date information on winter driving safety. I invite you to have a look:

www.tc.gc.ca/eng/menu.htm

Drive safe and arrive alive!


AGRICULTURAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Food Safety

$75 million for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to strengthen Canada's food safety system and act on all 57 recommendations made by independent investigator Sheila Weatherill (announced in 2009). This investment builds on the Government's 2008 commitment of $113 million for food safety.

Science and Innovation

• $1 million in Agri-Opportunities Program funding to establish an aspartic acid manufacturing facility in Taber, Alberta. The plant will use locally grown sugar beets to produce aspartic acid – a key ingredient in environmentally friendly products used in the oil, detergent and water treatment industries.
• $15.5 million Agricultural Bioproducts Innovation Program (ABIP), investment in the Canadian Triticale Biorefinery Initiative (CTBI) research network. Triticale is a hybrid of wheat and rye that can be used to produce a more valuable and renewable source of ethanol feedstock. The ABIP seeks to mobilize Canada's creative talent in academia and in the private and public sectors and to integrate resources to build greater research capacity in agricultural bioproducts and bioprocesses.
• $1 million Agricultural Bioproducts Innovation Program (ABIP) investment in the Sustainable Cropping System Platforms for Biodiesel Feedstock Quantity and Quality (SBQQ) research network investing in research that will help farmers to increase their production of canola.
• $1.3 million Growing Canadian Agri-Innovations Program investment to research the potential of winter wheat for delivering economic and environmental benefits to farmers. Initiatives under this program will help to build an innovative and competitive agricultural sector by encouraging industry leadership and investment in agricultural science and innovation.

• $267 million paid to farmers since 2008 in AgriInvest, a program that helps the recipient manage small income declines, and provides support for investments to mitigate risks or improve market income.
• $300 million paid to farmers since 2008 in AgriStability, a payment received when the recipient’s current year program margin falls below 85% of their reference margin.
• $941 million paid to farmers since 2008 in AgriInsurance, an affordable, predictable and timely program that includes existing production insurance. AgriInsurance provides coverage for production and asset losses caused by natural threats.
• $115.3 million paid to farmers since 2008 in AgriRecovery, a program that allows federal and provincial governments to jointly respond to natural disasters (e.g., disease, weather) with swift, direct assistance.
• The 2008 Alberta Seed Potato Assistance Program provides assistance to seed potato producers in Alberta affected by the discovery of the Potato Cyst Nematode. ($16 million)
• The 2009 Alberta Seed Potato Assistance Program provides a rapid financial response to assist Alberta producers with the extraordinary costs/losses related to the disposal of surplus product which was necessitated by the re-closure of the U.S. market after the discovery of Potato Cyst Nematodes (PCN). ($1.5 million)
• The Alberta H1N1 Assistance Program provides assistance to producers with extraordinary expenses and/or losses directly and indirectly related to the discovery of the H1N1 and the subsequent quarantine measures imposed on the farm.  ($108,120)
• The 2010 Canada-Alberta Pasture Recovery Initiative helps livestock producers in Central and Northern Alberta maintain their breeding animals for 4 to 6 weeks in the spring while their pasture lands recover from extended periods of drought. ($67 million)
• The 2010 Canada-Alberta Excess Moisture Initiative assisted producers in the Prairie Provinces who were unable to seed a crop or had their crop flooded out as a result of excess moisture in the spring/summer of 2010. ($16.6 million)
• The Canada-Alberta Forage Transportation Assistance Initiative provides emergency assistance to affected producers to cover a portion of the extraordinary costs of transporting forage and feed to their breeding herds, or alternatively, to transport their breeding herds to areas with a more abundant feed supply. ($14.1 million)

• $2 million in joint Canada-Alberta funding to the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA) to help Alberta's beef producers with age-verification and traceability initiatives.
• Over $300,000 towards bringing to the marketplace Canadian beef enhanced with bioactive lipids considered to be beneficial to human health.
• Over $1 million to the Canadian Cervid Alliance to help the deer industry capture new market opportunities and respond to the growing consumer demand for full traceability in livestock and poultry.

• $76 million over four years to combat disease through the Initiative for the Control of Diseases in the Hog Industry to help enhance the prosperity and stability of the hog sector in Alberta and nationally.
• The tax deferral announced October 20, 2010 allows eligible producers in designated areas of Alberta to defer income tax on the sale of breeding livestock for one year to help replenish breeding stock in the following year.  Eligible producers will be able to request this deferral when filing their 2010 income tax returns.

• $1.5 million in funding to the Canada Beef Export Federation to boost exports of Canadian beef products.
• $2.6 million in Advancing Canadian Agriculture and Agri-Food (ACAAF) Program funding to support Food Beverage Canada's Alberta Technology Innovation Program (ATIP), which will allow Alberta companies to attend national and international technology conferences and seminars in order to remain competitive in world markets.
• $3.6 million to Botaneco Specialty Ingredients Inc. to create economic opportunities for farmers by investing in a project that will link Canadian safflower producers to global markets.
• More than $1 million in Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP) funding to the Alberta Barley Commission to identify and develop new niche markets which will benefit western Canadian barley growers for the shochu barley market in Japan and elsewhere.