News Policy
Governments fund infrastructure repair in B.C.

The governments of Canada and British Columbia are providing support to the province’s farmers and ranchers to repair or replace damaged infrastructure and to help with the expenses they incurred keeping their animals fed, sheltered and safe during the recent wildfires and drought.

The support is provided through the 2023 Canada-B.C. Wildfire and Drought AgriRecovery Initiative and offers as much as $71 million to help producers throughout the province return to full operation.

“This summer was an extremely challenging time for B.C.’s farmers and ranchers as we dealt with unprecedented drought and wildfire,” said Pam Alexis, B.C. minister of agriculture and food, in a press release. “We’ve been listening to and working with farmers and ranchers, and providing programs and support that meet their unique needs.”

Farmers and ranchers will receive assistance with as much as 70 per cent of certain extraordinary expenses incurred during the emergencies, such as:

• repairs or replacement of critical irrigation infrastructure damaged by wildfire not covered by insurance;
• labour costs to repair fencing damaged by wildfire;
• re-establishing forage crops damaged by the wildfires;
• replacing apiaries, bee colonies and beekeeping equipment lost in the wildfire;
• livestock feed due to decreased pasture availability;
• transportation costs related to moving livestock to feed and water; and
• transportation and veterinarian costs supporting animal health and safety.

AgriRecovery programs are created to support producers with extraordinary costs they incur due to an emergency, and to get them back into production. Each one is developed to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers affected by a specific situation.