Farm Debt Mediation Service

The Farm Debt Mediation Service offers financial counselling and mediation services to farmers who may be having trouble repaying their debts. This free service helps bring producers and their creditor(s) together with a mediator in a neutral forum to reach a mutually acceptable repayment agreement.

Eligibility Criteria

You must farm commercially and one of the following two statements must apply to your situation:

• you have stopped making financial payments, or are no longer able to make them on time; or
• if sold, the value of your property would be insufficient to cover the cost of your debts.

Summary

The service is a private, confidential and economical alternative to the often costly, public and drawn-out process of resolving financial disputes in the courts. The majority of the cases that have gone through the mediation process have resulted in a signed agreement between farmer and creditor(s).

Services Provided by the Financial Consultant

As soon as Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada confirms that you are eligible for the Service, a qualified financial consultant will be assigned to work with you throughout the mediation process. The consultant will visit your farm to learn how your operation works, then will assist you by:

• assessing your current financial situation;
• exploring options and developing a plan for the future;
• collecting financial information to prepare a financial statement and recovery plan;
• completing projections to evaluate the viability of the plan*;
• making meeting arrangements and contacting creditors to verify amounts owed;
• attending the mediation meeting and assisting with negotiations;
• providing follow-up assistance with the agreements that are reached during the mediation service.

*Alternatively, the recovery plan may be prepared by a financial expert/consultant of your choice.

The Mediation Process

Once your application has been approved and the financial consultant has helped you develop a recovery plan, he or she will arrange a meeting, between you, your creditor(s) and a mediator.

It is the mediator's responsibility to ensure a fair and unbiased mediation process and to remain neutral throughout all discussions. Confidentiality is extremely important to the quality and effectiveness of the service. Information obtained from you and your creditor(s) is used for the sole purpose of mediation and is shared only among the parties involved in the mediation process.

The mediator has no decision making power and is at the meeting only to help you and your creditor(s) reach your own mutually acceptable settlement.

The mediator will lead a discussion encouraging both the producer and the creditor(s) to participate; help the parties to communicate effectively; and help to explore and clarify options for settlement. When all parties agree upon a solution, the mediator will draw-up an agreement and a copy will be given to each of the participants.

Manitoba Contact(s):
Saskatchewan and Manitoba
Farm Debt Mediation Service
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Room 401
1800 Hamilton Street
Regina, Saskatchewan  S4P 4K7
Telephone: 306-780-5544
Fax: 306-780-7353
Toll-free (information): 1-866-452-5556
Web site: http://www.agr.gc.ca/index_e.phtml
 

National Contact(s):
Farm Debt Mediation Service
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Toll-free (information): 1-866-452-5556
Web site: http://www.agr.gc.ca/index_e.php?s1=prod&s2=fdms-smmea&page=intro