It’s nearly been a month since the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative (BCTFC) announced its sudden and unexpected closure.
One of the first political entities to speak up after the closure was BC United, with leader Kevin Falcon visiting the Okanagan and speaking with growers just four days after BCTFC closed its doors.
Exactly three weeks later, BC United is renewing its urgent call for action from the NDP, demanding intervention to preserve BCTFC’s “critical facilities” and support the region’s tree fruit farmers.
Falcon says Premier David Eby and Agriculture Minister Pam Alexis have “utterly failed to address the core issues that impact the actual cooperative members.”
Eby and Alexis were in Penticton last week to announce various supports for farmers and growers, while at the same time urging the federal government to step up as well.
However, Falcon accuses the NDP of holding meetings with growers that are not a part of the cooperative and offering aid that fails to address the specific issues they’re facing.
“This demonstrates the major disconnect between a minister and premier who lack an understanding of what the actual problem is,” he said.
The latest call for action from BC United doubles down on what the party demanded three weeks ago, which is:
- Grant a temporary halt on the liquidation of the cooperative’s assets.
- Provide interim funding to keep the cooperative operating through this year’s harvest, allowing urgent access to the cooperative’s cold storage facilities.
- Launch a full and independent audit to investigate the management and decisions that led to this crisis, ensuring such failures are not repeated.
Delta South MLA Ian Paton, who is BC United’s shadow minister for agriculture, said these actions are essential to prevent a total industry collapse.
“It’s appalling that while the premier briefly visited the Okanagan, real solutions proposed by BC United informed by local growers are ignored,” Paton said.
“The NDP has made a mess of this situation, and now it is time the attorney general stepped in to halt the liquidation of the cooperative’s assets and provide interim funding necessary to ensure farmers can access these vital facilities.”
In response to BC United's statement today, Alexis told NowMedia that the NDP government is committed to supporting and working with growers to develop solutions, and has been since 2017.
She says efforts to overcome the long-term instability of the province's tree fruit sector led to the Tree Fruit Stabilization Plan and blueprint in 2021.
However, the agriculture minister notes that instability in the sector has been exacerbated by extreme weather events, like January's cold snap, that have created significant added stresses for farms.
"The sudden closure of the BCTFC has increased uncertainty, worry and grief among growers," she said.
"The BC government provided a range of support to the co-op in recent years in recognition of the importance of the services it offered growers, but it is a private entity governed by its members."
Since the BCTFC board of directors applied for creditor protection last week, Alexis says the process is now overseen by the courts and can only be monitored by the government.
As both Eby and Alexis mentioned in Penticton last week, the Province will track opportunities to ensure key assets are protected and see if services formerly provided by BCTFC can still be offered during the bankruptcy process.
While the minister did not directly address BC United's latest statement, she pointed again to the supports announced by her and the premier in Penticton as a short-term solution to the issue.
"The BC government is committed to helping tree fruit growers develop sustainable businesses, which is why the Province has delivered almost $200 million to the tree fruit sector over the past four years," she explained.
"We will also continue to ask the federal government to join us in our support of BC tree fruit growers, and strongly believe in investing in BC farms and BC producers for the benefits increasing our food security brings to our province, our economy and our future."
