Financial Protection for Fresh Produce Growers and Sellers
Support Bill C-280 to protect one of Canada’s most essential sectors and strengthen our food security.
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.
The Canadian fresh fruit and vegetable industry has advocated for a financial protection mechanism for many years. On June 8, 2022, Member of Parliament Scot Davidson introduced Bill C-280, the Financial Protection for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Farmers Act, in the House of Commons. The bill was passed with all-party support on October 25, 2023.
Why do we need Bill C-280?
From the farm gate to the dinner plate, the fruit and vegetable industry is a major contributor to Canada’s GDP and creates thousands of jobs from coast to coast.
The high perishability of fresh produce and the industry’s longer payment terms, mean that the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act does not effectively protect produce sellers when buyers go 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.
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.