Last week, Minister Sheridan asked that the current state of agriculture be added to the agenda of the meeting with provincial and territorial ministers. Today, he had the opportunity to address the group on the issue.

“I stressed the importance of having a domestic food supply,” said Minister Sheridan. “I also pointed out that we face the loss of a significant number of our producers.”

The provincial and territorial ministers agreed to refer the issue to the First Minister’s meeting next month.

The ministers agreed that agriculture must be given as high a priority as that of manufacturing in their discussions with Minister Flaherty this evening.

Ministers also agreed that the CAIS program has to be reviewed with respect to the timeliness of payments, its unpredictability and placing an increased emphasis on insurance.