(December 16, 2022, St. John’s) – PC Official Opposition Shadow Minister for Forestry and Agriculture, and MHA for Exploits, Pleaman Forsey, is reacting to comments made by the Minister yesterday regarding food self-sufficiency in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Forsey says, “The Minister continues to tout that the province is 100 percent self-sufficient in the production of fluid milk, chicken, and eggs - which is true. However, this has been true for years, it isn’t anything new, and certainly not as a result of this Liberal government.”

According to recently released data by Stats Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador has been losing farmland at a rate almost seven times the national average. Since 2001, the amount of farmland being utilized has dropped by over 50%.

“The efforts by this Liberal government are not enough, plain and simple. In the last 20 years, we have lost almost half of our farms. On top of that, the skyrocketing costs for the supplies that farmers desperately need have made it even more difficult to continue farming in our province,” says Forsey.

“The Minister and his Liberal government should use their energy to keep costs down for farmers. We can’t afford to continue to lose more family farms in our province while the cost to run these farms continues to skyrocket. Losing more family farms, and allowing their costs to explode will only make food more expensive for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.”

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Contacts:

Bradley Russell

Director of Communications and Digital Strategy

(cell)709-729-3668

BradleyRussell@gov.nl.ca