The federal government is investing $945,000 under the Emergency On-Farm Support Fund to help Prince Edward Island farmers better protect the health and safety of farm workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the government says in a news release on Oct. 29.
“With this program, Prince Edward Island farmers will have the support they need to ensure the right measures are in place to safeguard their employees’ health and safety and limit the spread of the virus,” Marie-Claude Bibeau, minister of agriculture and agri-food, says in the news release.
Farmers can apply for funding to improve living quarters and work stations for worker, on or off-farm temporary or emergency housing, personal protective equipment, sanitary stations, work stations and other other health and safety measures, the release notes.
Applications will be accepted through P.E.I. Department of Agriculture and Land website from Oct. 29, 2020 to Jan. 15, 2021. Contributions under the program will be cost-shared 50:50 with the applicants, up to $30,000, the release says. An additional 10 per cent will be provided to women, youth, visible minorities, Indigenous Peoples, and Persons with disabilities, amounting to a 60:40 split.
Farmers seeking to apply for funding must submit an application before Jan. 15, 2021 or submit an expense claim before Feb. 15, 2021, by going to P.E.I. Emergency On Farm Support Fund, the release says.