Article content

Quebec is getting impatient as dairy, poultry and egg farmers have to wait before being compensated by Ottawa for the losses incurred by entering into trade agreements.

Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau admits the compensation mechanism for producers under supply management is more complex than anticipated to accomodate the needs of different groups.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Ottawa still hasn't announced a date to compensate farmers Back to video

Some groups want direct compensation, whereas others want investment programs, Bibeau said.

The most recent federal budget allocated $3.9 billion for agricultural producers. Bibeau said the money will be distributed. “We’re talking about a few billion dollars for thousands of producers. Distributing that isn’t a simple task,” she said.

The plan is still to announce the amounts by the end of the Trudeau government’s mandate, before the election campaign.

Quebec agriculture minister André Lamontagne said he brought up the issue at the annual meeting between federal, provincial and territorial ministers held in Quebec City.