Suspend AAFC research closures
Petitioners ask the Government to suspend AAFC staff terminations and keep research centres, farms and the Organic and Regenerative Research Program open 24 months for a cost–benefit review and to protect long‑term research capacity.
Why we would sign this petition
- Keeps irreplaceable long-term experiments and public plant-breeding programs intact, preserving varieties and data that cannot be replaced quickly.
- Provides time for a transparent cost–benefit review so decisions are based on evidence rather than rushed closures.
- Retains in-house scientific expertise and infrastructure that support national competitiveness, resilience and food security.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Extending operations for 24 months could be costly, delaying budget savings and reallocations the department may need.
- A temporary pause may preserve inefficient programs without guaranteeing a clear plan for long-term funding or improved performance.
- The petition does not propose specific alternatives or prioritization, so a targeted review or selective retention could be more practical.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the Government of Canada The network of federal agricultural research facilities across the wide range of Canada’s growing conditions is essential to future farm and food system success; Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) plans to close 7 research facilities in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia, and the Organic and Regenerative Research Program, and cut the employees and support staff required to carry out agricultural research at these facilities and elsewhere; Decisions were made without a) analyzing the value of research programs and facilities, b) consulting any farm organizations, facility or program managers, c) knowing what would be lost, or d) understanding the impact on farmers and agricultural economy; The cuts will irreparably harm public plant breeding, the foundation of Canada’s international success; The cuts will create critical gaps that cannot be relocated to other facilities or carried out at non-AAFC institutions including: scientific expertise; long-term studies, multi-stage variety development; multi-site variety registration data; organic and regenerative crop and livestock research; and The cuts will reduce Canada’s competitiveness, resilience and food security, increase reliance on foreign science and seed, increase costs, and waste decades of public and producer investment. We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to immediately suspend AAFC staff terminations and to continue operating the research centers, research farms and the Organic and Regenerative Research Program for at least 24 months to provide cost-benefit transparency and ensure irreplaceable research capacity and long-term studies are not lost due to hasty decision-making.
Government response
No government response is available yet.