Ottawa, ON – John Barlow, Conservative Shadow Minister for Agriculture, Agri-Food and Food Security, and Luc Berthold, Conservative Shadow Minister for Health, released the following statement on the Ministerial Order to restrict the movement of seed potatoes from PEI and ban the sale of PEI potatoes to the United States:

“Not only have Justin Trudeau’s failures to negotiate with the United States impacted Canada’s dairy, manufacturing, and softwood lumber workers – it’s now impacting farmers in PEI’s potato industry.

“In classic Liberal fashion, this ban was made in the middle of the night, with no consultation, and no plan to support the workers impacted by this decision. This is the opposite of what the Liberals should be doing.

“The lack of details provided by the Trudeau Liberals to PEI potato farmers impacted by this ban is wrong. That’s why Canada’s Conservatives are calling on the Liberal government to immediately release a plan to support PEI potato farmers and give these workers a date for when the ban will be lifted.

“PEI potato farmers deserve certainty and clarity from the Trudeau Liberals on this ban. Canada’s Conservatives will continue to be the voice of workers and stand up for the interests of PEI potato farmers.”