Canadian officials still working on aid package for potato growers

OTTAWA — The Canadian federal government has not yet finalized a compensation package for potato growers affected by the PVY-n virus, Agriculture Minister Ralph Goodale said Thursday.

“I require some additional information that I have not yet been able to obtain,” Goodale said after a Cabinet meeting. “We’re treating the matter very seriously. I’m as anxious to come to a conclusion on this issue as anyone else is.”

Farmers in Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick are seeking millions of dollars in compensation for losses suffered since 1991 when the virus was found by Agriculture Canada inspectors.

Goodale said he expects a deal in a matter of weeks.

The virus, spread by flying aphids, doesn’t affect potatoes but can destroy related plants such as tomatoes, tobacco and peppers.

The discovery of the virus sharply reduced sales of Atlantic potatoes, particularly to the United States which banned imports of P.E.I. seed potatoes. Canadian farmers claimed the U.S. ban was established to boost sales of domestic American spuds.

The Agriculture Department announced in mid-1993 that the virus was no longer present in the area. The United States lifted its ban last year as a result of the new data.

The former Conservative government paid out about $5 million in compensation in 1993 but farmers consider that nowhere near enough to cover their losses.

Representatives of such farm groups as the National Farmers Union and the Western P.E.I. Potato Promotions have suggested that the federal government made errors in testing for the virus and unnecessarily quarantined fields. As a result, they say, nearly every potato grower in the province could make a claim for compensation.

The two groups have launched a $100-million class-action suit citing government negligence.