The Citizen, 2010-03-04, Page 7THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 2010. PAGE 7.Letters to the editorTHE EDITOR,Partners in the Ontario AgricultureSustainability Coalition (OASC)find themselves up against a brick
wall when they turn for action to
Federal Minister of Agriculture and
Agri-Food Canada, Hon. Gerry Ritz.
Ontario farmers are rapidly losing
equity and their farm businesses
because today’s risk management
programs do not work.
When we talk to Minister Ritz, he
says 80 per cent of farmers think the
Federal AgriStability program is
working for them. Yet, 80 per cent of
Ontario farmers tell OFA the
program is failing them and is in
desperate need of major
adjustments.
Minister Ritz, speaking at the
recent annual meeting of the
Canadian Federation of Agriculture
says technology, science, research
and innovation will save agriculture.
In the long-term, he may be right,
but right now, how do our farmers
invest in innovation with record debt
levels and lost equity.
The situation is bleak on Ontario
farms and the Minister has to
understand that there will be serious
and irreparable damage to Ontario’s
rural economy as a result. Our
OASC coalition has developed thesolutions to stabilize and sustain ourfarm businesses so that we cancapitalize on technology and
innovation in a more secure future.
The minister recently claimed that
farmers are a resilient group, and
will continue to plant and to birth
calves and so on. That was the case
but it is no longer true. Ontario farm
businesses have lost equity and are
in debt. There is no more resiliency
left. The Minister has to get in
touch with the new reality and listen
to the solutions that will turn this
dire situation around.
Farm leaders within the OASC
group predict that thousands of
Ontario farmers will exit agriculture
each year. There will be a major loss
of jobs in the agri-food sector as
agricultural production disappears
because of the failure of government
to properly invest in agriculture.
Ontario’s new minister of
agriculture, food and rural affairs,
the Honourable Carol Mitchell,
understands this situation and
supports the proposals we have
brought forward. But the risk
management programs operate on a
60-40 federal–provincial split so we
need our federal government to step
up to the plate with a realcommitment to farming in thiscountry.A recent news release from OFA
and its OASC partners expressed
disappointment at the failure of
agriculture ministers from Ottawa,
the provinces and the territories to
‘understand and appreciate’ the
problems currently facing farmers.
In that release, OFA stated:
“(Ministers) need to realize that our
local food supply is in jeopardy
along with thousands of farming andprocessing jobs.”Ontario’s minister gets it. Whycan’t Minister Ritz?
When I recently asked point-blank
if he would support the proposals to
reform AgriStability to make it
predictable and bankable and to
support the Ontario Business Risk
Management Plan the Minister
simply said: “No”. That is
unacceptable.
All Ontario farmers need to make
sure his colleagues in governmentunderstand that is unacceptable.Ontario farm families need to raisetheir voices to tell our federal
politicians that a serious investment
in Ontario agriculture is needed and
warranted. Call your Member of
Parliament and make sure they make
farming and food production a
priority.
Bette Jean Crews, President
Ontario Federation of
Agriculture.
Ontario Coalition in tough with federal government
Concern over school
closure still growing
THE EDITOR,
A small group of concerned
Blythites is being formed to create a
strategy to prevent (or at least delay)
the closure of Blyth Public School.
We might be called “the faint hope
group”, but the issue is so important
that we feel that we must try.
The Avon Maitland District
School Board is applying to North
Huron Council to have the property
they purchased on the edge of
Wingham rezoned to allow for the
construction of a new elementary
school. Approval of this application
would enable the school board to
implement their decision to close our
school and others, and disperse our
school children hither and yon. With
no new 23 classroom school, their
scheme will be in jeopardy.
Our group is planning to file
objections to this rezoning with a
view to squelching their plan or at
the very least to delay it beyond next
October’s school board elections.
We need the support of the entire
community to show how angry,
frustrated and determined we are and
how much damage the loss of
our school will do to our
community.
I would ask you to do the
following as a means of informing
North Huron council of your
concerns, advising the council why
you oppose the rezoning in
Wingham Ward as well as the school
closing. Please be sure to sign your
letter and include your full name,
street address, and PO Box number,
town and postal code. This does not
need to be a long letter with a lot of
detail.
Here is the address:
Gary Long CAO/Clerk,
Municipality of North Huron,
PO Box 90,
Wingham, ON N0G 2W0
If you want to get updates on our
progress, please send me an e-mail
message so that I can put you on a
mailing list to receive the updates.
Also, there will be general
comments showing up on my blog
called All About Blyth from time to
time. It is located at:
http://allaboutblyth.blogspot.com
Please pass this message on to
your neighbours.
Brock Vodden
Councillor - Blyth Ward
Municipality of North Huron
E-mail: hbvodden@ezlink.on.ca
THE EDITOR,
Here’s an open invitation to all to
come see us at work. And I dare say,
it’s great to be back, working in
Blyth.
You see, my wife Liz and I had a
gift shop, The Blyth Saga, across
from Memorial Hall and lived above
it during the 1980s. We loved the
spirit of the village then, and are so
happy to feel and see it continues to
thrive.
As the current music director at
Blyth United Church and with Liz in
the choir, we’re having a grand time:
Minister Gary Clark gives messages
based on old scriptures delivered
with meaning for modern times; our
choir is growing and has room for
more (we practise Wednesdays at 7
p.m. – just come in through the back
door) to join, you must enjoy
singing Christian music,
often mixed with laughter at
practices.
Liz and I thank everyone for the
warm “welcome back to Blyth”
we’ve received. Please drop by and
see us at work: Sundays at 11 a.m. –
we’re the church across from the
firehall. When you come in, there
will be coffee ready for you (you can
even take your mug to your pew);
the music might range from old-
hymn favourites to Sarah
McLaughlin, there’s a great Sunday
school and Nursery and always
more coffee and goodies to
enjoy while chatting with new
friends after the service. Hope to see
you soon.
Floyd Herman.
Couple returns to Blyth