Sustainability and climate resiliency are top priorities.Ottawa--The new mandate letter that Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has received from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should keep her busy for the foreseeable future in a more high profile role working with other ministers.Her immediate priority is developing a sector-specific strategy to address persistent and chronic labour shortages in farming and food processing, the letter said. Bibeau and Employment Minister Carla Qualtrough are to collaborate the provinces, employers, unions and workers to develop the strategy for both the short and long term.As well, she is to “prioritize measures to support efficiency and climate-resiliency in the agriculture and food sector to strengthen food security and significantly cut agriculture's environmental footprint.”To establish Canadian agrifood as a global leader, Bibeau is to work closely with provinces and farm organizations to support the sustainable growth of the sector and strengthen Canada's food system, with particular emphasis on developing a National School Food Policy.She is also to complete updating of the Business Risk Management programs and integrate climate risk management, environmental practices and climate readiness into them, the letter said.That climate resiliency program will increase support to farmers to develop and adopt agricultural management practices to reduce emissions, store carbon in healthy soil and enhance resiliency, triple funding for clean tech on farms, including for renewable energy, precision agriculture and energy efficiency; and reduce methane and fertilizer emissions in the agricultural sector.Douglas Hedley, a former Agriculture Canada senior official and now an analyst of the sector, said the letter “amounts to a considerable strengthening of the role of the minister, compared to the previous mandate letter.”It “provides a strong indication that government now recognizes that the climate change needs in agriculture are likely quite different than in other sectors, with the request for the minister to come up with answers not simply to 'help' other ministers. Similarly is the indication of a stronger role for the ag minister in dealing with the temporary workers program redesign for both production agriculture and food processing.”Hedley has been critical of the Prime Minister's Office and the Privy Council Office for their centralization of policy making, which sharply limits the role of the minister in policy development.Tyler McCann, Managing Director of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, said the letter confirms that “improving agriculture's sustainability and climate and environmental footprint is driving agriculture policy, from business risk management reforms to fertilizer use and public support for on-farm investments.“The mandate to immediately prioritize addressing the chronic labour shortages hindering the sector is very positive. Labour is no longer just a chronic challenge, it is acute and it is impacting players all along the food system. Making a labour strategy an immediate priority will hopefully mean the agri-food system will see action soon.”Missing from the letter is a clear role for Bibeau on trade issues, he said. “Canada's agri-food system is trade dependent, and it is important that trade continues to be a priority for the minister and the government. Increasing Canadian exports is good for farmers, good for global food security and given our efficient, climate-friendly agriculture sector, good for the environment, as well. The Canadian agriculture advantage becomes clear in cases where the nation's exports displace exports from countries with less environmentally-friendly agricultural practices.“However, issues such as the crisis facing PEI potato producers, the ongoing challenges leveled against the rules-based trading system and the increasing role that Canada and other major exporters will play in meeting global food security needs, all reinforce why trade should have been included in this mandate letter.”The enhanced role for the minister will make it “interesting to see how the minister and the department manage this expanded mandate given the long list of priorities on which they need to act.”