Agriculture Committee on June 13th, 2018

[Jean-Claude Poissant, Liberal, La Prairie, QC]

You said that $5 million had been allocated to mental health initiatives. Is that enough to address the issue, or does it simply scratch the surface? The problem is much more prevalent than we think.

[Tom Rosser]

As you are no doubt aware, $1 billion over five years in federal programming has been allocated under the partnership. The programs will take into account the priorities of stakeholders applying for funding. More and more, mental health is being seen as an important issue.

I'm convinced that, with the applications we've received since April 1, an increasing number of stakeholders are seeing mental health as a priority and are asking for funding to carry out projects, studies, and so forth.

[Jean-Claude Poissant, Liberal, La Prairie, QC]

Multiple initiatives are under way in the provinces where farmers work. Is there any sort of database that captures the various supports available on the ground, so that we can determine which ones are effective and use them to help farmers?

[Tom Rosser]

I know certain websites list the resources available in the various provinces. To my knowledge, though, there isn't a database that captures all of those services. That said, some resources endeavour to do just that, but informally.

[Jean-Claude Poissant, Liberal, La Prairie, QC]

Just before I wrap up, I'd like to know, Mr. Hoffort, whether you keep track of the ages of farmers who face challenges, the type of farming they do, and the reason they need counselling. Do you keep any statistics on that?

[Michael Hoffort]

Thank you for the question.

We wouldn't have those numbers for you. I'm sorry.

[Jean-Claude Poissant, Liberal, La Prairie, QC]

I see. Thank you.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Luc Berthold]

Thank you very much, Mr. Poissant.

Before I turn the floor over to Mr. Dreeshen, I'd like to ask Mr. Rosser a question.

Mr. Rosser, does it fall under the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food's mandate to provide support to farmers with mental health issues? You said numerous times this was something fairly new. How have you incorporated it into your responsibilities? Both the federal department and provincial ministries are involved, so numerous stakeholders come into play. Does your department really have a mandate to support the mental health of farmers, ranchers, and producers? Is it within your mandate?

[Tom Rosser]

Thank you for your question.

While it is true that we don't have a formal mandate to address mental health, we nevertheless have programs and a mandate to support the well-being of Canada's agricultural sector. We have long had programs to assist with funding, falling prices, and drought challenges, just to name a few.

As I mentioned a few times, we do have some flexibility when it comes to the programming we deliver to support the various sectors in accordance with their specific priorities. Both stakeholders and industry are realizing that mental health is a priority. We have the flexibility to factor that into our program funding.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Luc Berthold]

Thank you very much.

I used the member's remaining time for that question.

I think it's a good one. It might help inform the committee's recommendations. The information may help us define the department's role clearly.

I will now put my vice-chair hat back on and turn the floor over to Mr. Dreeshen for six minutes.

[Earl Dreeshen, Conservative, Red Deer—Mountain View, AB]

Thank you very much, Mr. Chair, and thank you so much to the witnesses who are here today.

When I first came on the committee, it was at the end of January and it happened to be Bell Let's Talk day. I felt it was extremely important that we have this discussion and we recognize just what is taking place in the farming community. One of the things I haven't heard so far that I want to put on the table, and perhaps we can all then frame our thoughts and discussions around this, is the recognition that our jobs as farmers are our homes, and our homes are our jobs.

That's the key part of this. We never get away from the stress that is there, and that stress also goes through all members of the family. That is the critical part of this, that particular recognition.

I've seen the great work that some, especially farm wives, have done to help bring this discussion to the forefront. There are some great young producers from Saskatchewan who have done some amazing work in this regard, and I applaud them.

International events such as hog prices going down, BSE disease outbreaks, or barn fires, all of these kinds of things are part of your home and part of what you do. As we look at this, I know we've talked about other sectors and the problems that exist there, and there's a study out of the U.S., done not that long ago, that says the suicide rate on farms is three times the national average. I heard us discussing here that it was close to two times the national average.

Those are some of the facts of the relationship that exists. As Mr. Barlow indicated earlier, growing up we just didn't talk about that. We would go to the funerals and that type of thing, but that discussion was not part of what we were dealing with.

That's the key part. As a farmer, you are responsible for the labour. You're responsible for the marketing of goods. You have to deal with the whims of government, as well as the weather, and so on. Those are the kinds of things that are there every day, and that's really one of the key components of what we are trying to do.

What can be done? As a former 4-H member, I know that is one of the keys. Your head, your heart, and your hands are part of what we speak to in 4-H.

That's a critical part, to be able to expand that and to bring it, as some of my colleagues mentioned, to fairs and exhibitions and point it out, but to have a strategy that recognizes that it is different from the general public. Yes, you bring home the stresses that you have from the job that you went to, but they don't surround you.

Mr. Hoffort, you mentioned that you were looking for a strategy in these challenging times and that you have some plans. Can you explain what some of those strategies are and whether you are actually working with not just clinical psychologists who can talk about the issues, and so on, but people who are on the farms, so that we can perhaps set up some types of guidelines that actually come from people who feel it every day in their community?

[Michael Hoffort]

Our first strategy is to work with the Do More Agriculture Foundation. The individuals behind that are farmers and they recognize some of the challenges that are out there and have really taken a leadership role. It would be our sponsorship of the first aid programs, with professionals in the room who understand agriculture, who will provide that training.

The second one would be on the youth and that 4-H investment in terms of their programming, making sure that it is meeting the needs of its members and meeting the needs of its leaders, so that it can work with its membership to make sure they understand the importance of mental health and break down any stigmas, but also where do they turn.

Another initiative we're considering is the mental health tool kit, a document put together with individuals who are professionals in this area but understand agriculture, be it Dr. Sabongui at the University of Guelph or some of the Do More Agriculture folks, to make sure we have a document that people would want to maintain and be able to reference back and create conversation within their families.

It just grows out from there in terms of speaker opportunities and awareness opportunities that we can sponsor. Recognizing that as an organization our expertise is somewhat limited, but to have the impact we can have and to bring others along, industry partnerships to make these initiatives bigger than they would be otherwise would be one of our tactics, for sure.

[Earl Dreeshen, Conservative, Red Deer—Mountain View, AB]

Thank you very much.

Mr. Rosser, from listening to the discussions we've heard so far, do you know of any initiatives the federal government could look at that also would look at the unique circumstances that exist for farmers? You mentioned that there are overall discussions about what can be done in mental health and so on. I'm just curious to know whether or not you see any way of adjusting some of the programs that you do have that might be able to take that into account.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Luc Berthold]

You have 24 seconds.

[Tom Rosser]

I would simply note that this is very much an evolving field. Just in the course of our very brief conversation here, I've heard a number of constructive suggestions about what more we can do to raise awareness. Certainly in evolving our programs, how we operate, and our traditional ways of thinking, I think we'd be very open to looking at how we can try to be part of a solution to mental health challenges.

As I said, I've heard several very constructive suggestions here this afternoon.

[The Vice-Chair, Conservative, Luc Berthold]

You didn't go over your 24 seconds, Mr. Rosser. Well done.

Mr. Rosser and Mr. Hoffort, thank you both for participating in our discussion today. On behalf of all the committee members, I want to say how informative your answers were. They have helped kick-start what should be an in-depth study that we hope will make a meaningful difference for Canadian farmers. Thank you very much, and I encourage both of you to keep abreast of the committee's work in the fall, as it may provide guidance on the next steps.

We will now suspend briefly in order to move in camera to discuss committee business.

[Proceedings continue in camera]