Last week, Equestrian Canada met with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) to review legislation limitations and current program/funding barriers that restrict equine commercial farm businesses from accessing current and future assistance.
In response, AAFC is creating a COVID-19 working group specific to the equine sector, made up of farmers and representatives of equine/equestrian organizations from both the provincial and federal levels, including EC and PTSOs, to determine the appropriate relief strategies and resources.
According to EC, the working group will be addressing the immediate and short-term economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the equine/equestrian industry. The closing of public-facing operations has resulted in imminent financial and animal welfare crises for the majority of these equine farms and equestrian facilities. The intention of the working group is to demonstrate the depth and breadth of these crises to provincial and federal government bodies.
The working group will use data from EC’s survey that gathered business profiles from across Canada, the results of which are currently being thoroughly analyzed by a third-party consultant. Along with additional external resources that give us a bigger picture of the industry, this data will illustrate the sector-specific need for relevant business risk management resources and sustainability strategies.
The data will also highlight current limits on legislation that restrict equine/equestrian business owners from accessing standard resources at the provincial and federal levels. These limitations are based on a large misunderstanding of the sector, its diversity, and the realities of commercial equine farming and commercial equestrian business. For example, many equine/equestrian businesses are excluded from claiming farm income based on the definition of “farming” in subsection 248(1) of the Income Tax Act, effectively eliminating those businesses from consideration for many vital resources such as farm registration numbers, AAFC funding streams and AAFC business risk management programs.
EC advises that the working group will meet weekly until a satisfactory resolution has been achieved.
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