Fiona's widespread devastation needs flexible response from government, P.E.I. farmers say

Some of P.E.I.'s biggest industries took their concerns tothe provincial governmentThursday about the devastating impacts of Fiona and the most urgent needs arising after thepost-tropical storm ripped through the Island in late September.

"There isn't a farm on Prince Edward Island, probably, that hasn't been affected by Hurricane Fiona, some minor ... and then some total devastation," said Ron Maynard, president of the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture, after meeting with the standing committee on natural resources and environmental sustainability.

Representatives from the federation,the Aquaculture Alliance and the Woodlot Owners Association met with the committee, hopingto ensure the proper supports are in place to help industries recover.

Maynard said the storm caused severe and wide-ranging destruction at one of the busiest times of the year, andwithout help from the governmentsome farms will simply shut down.

While it was too early to attach a dollar figure to the damages, Maynardsaid, the wide variety of destructionwill require a flexible plan from the government.

That damage includes:

• Fallenbuildings."For a 100-year-old barn, they'll give you $10,000, $15,000in insurance," he said. "You're talking about $250,000 maybe to replace that structure."
  
• Dead cattle.Maynard described their loss as"heart-wrenching" for farmers.
  
• Destroyed fruit trees.Maynard said the industry haslost about 100,000 trees, or one-third of the fruit trees on the Island. He notedthat it takes two to three years to replace one.

"It's not one thingfits all," he said, also mentioning thecorn farmers wholost their crop during the storm.

After tropical storm Dorian swept through in 2019, "if you didn't fit in the box, you were out," he said of government help.

$70M in aquaculture damage

While farmers haven't yet tallied up the price tag for thedamage, the aquaculture industry has: Peter Warris of the Aquaculture Alliance said the initial estimate is roughly $70 million.

That includes damage to gear, mussel socksand seed, which Warrissaid wouldimpact the industry for years to come.

"This year's seed [that's]collected is ... the market-ready product in one to two years in the case of mussels, or three to four years in the case of the oyster industry," he said.

The committee will continue to hear from other major industries in the coming days.

Committee chair Brad Trivers saidthe exact scope and nature of financial support to be provided to these industries is still being decided.

"The role of the committee will be able to strengthen the voice of these groups, highlight any issues that could possibly be missed in discussions, butjust drive home the fact that these urgent supports are needed," he said.