Growing, harvesting, packing and marketing fruits and vegetables come with high overhead and capital costs – and Canada’s fruit and vegetable growers and sellers face additional financial risk due to a lack of financial protection from losses from bankrupt buyers.
Due to the high perishability of produce and the industry’s longer payment terms, the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act does not provide a workable mechanism for when buyers of fresh produce become bankrupt. To make matters worse, the lack
of protection for produce sellers in Canada also means they can’t access this protection in the United States without incurring significant financial costs.
Learn more about why financial protection legislation is needed in Canada
The Canadian fresh fruit and vegetable industry has advocated for a financial protection mechanism for many years. On June 8, 2022, CPMA enthusiastically welcomed the introduction of Bill C-280, the Financial Protection for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Farmers Act, by Member of Parliament Scot Davidson (York–Simcoe). Read our press release here.
If passed, Bill C-280 would establish a deemed trust mechanism for fresh produce growers and sellers in Canada, ensuring payment in the case of buyer bankruptcy.
It is anticipated that Bill C-280
will be brought for debate in the House of Commons in fall 2022. CPMA and our partners will be working over the coming months to advocate for all-party support of this important legislation.
Op-Ed: Urge your MP to support for financial protection legislation – The Grower, August 2022
To learn more about how you can get involved, contact Shannon Sommerauer, Director of Government Relations, at
ssommerauer@cpma.ca