The Rural Voice, 1982-09, Page 6Dennis Timbrell
An urbanite on the farm scene
He sat in his chair in the ministry office
concentrating on the piece of paper before
him -- another congratulatory award duly
noted and verified by his signature. He
was vaguely aware there was someone in
the room and looked up absent-mindedly
when the invited guest approached his
desk. The visitor began to speak, but
Dennis Timbrell raised his eyes from what
did have his attention. He froze the
visitor's question in mid -sentence the way
he would have 12 years ago as a teacher at
Don Mills Junior High School. When he
had satisfied himself that there would be
no interruption of his silence, he went
back to his chore, completed it, and then
looked up again at the person before him.
Politely and patiently the minister waited
for his visitor to begin again.
This is the Timbrell way: focused,
almost fixated. Whatever the case, he gets
the job done on his terms and rarely has
to mollify others in the process. Mind
you, the father of six children is aware of
the value of compromise -- political or
otherwise -- but he is steadfast, measured,
and now and again bold when the
situation calls for it. He is always
ambitious and agressive.
His best friends and his worst enemies
-- and especially the tired and tattered
components of the long-running BIG
BLUE MACHINE -- all envy and respect
his energy and his quest for control.
In political life he has yet to be denied.
A relative newcomer to the power game,
he has distinguished himself among the
pin-striped suits and sits near the aura of
blue provincial power. He is 37. Others
have to satisfy themselves with more than
two decades of servile Legislature duty
and quietly bow out when the preordained
time arrives and the axe falls.
Timbrell, however, has had none of this
-- not yet anyway. He rose from the ranks
at Queen's Park and managed to become
the youngest Cabinet minister in the
history of the Ontario government. This
success is not unfamiliar to the very same
teacher who beat out an old immovable
force as an irresistable candidate in the
1969 North York municipal elections. He
PG. 6 THE RURAL VOICE/SEPTEMBER 1982
by Bob Thompson
was a 23 -year-old upstart, but Alderman
Dennis Timbrell knew then, as the
Honorable Dennis Timbrell knows now,
that is is unwise to underestimate the
value of hard work and the zeal of
youthful thinking.
Whether he will be able to overcome the
problems in what experts describe as a
serious situation in Ontario's farm in-
dustry is a question that the rural
community wants answered.
Timbrell's high-profile duties in the
past as one of Premier Bill Davis' shining
lights seems to suggest that he just may be
the man to boost the farm community's
spirits and reverse the agriculture minis-
try's failure to administrate for the farmer
rather than against him.
He is aware that he is regarded with a
skeptical eye by some of the people he is
supposed to protect. Timbrell is the
quintessential big -city politico and is on
guard and prepared to defend himself.
"I say to people, `Look, I'm not a
farmer and I'm not going to pretend I'm a
farmer, and I'm not going to be all things
to you," the minister relates in his best
oratorical voice, "But I'll be open and
receptive to criticism and proposals."
He adds as emphasis: "The fact that
I'm not a farmer is not seen as a
drawback. The farmers tell me they don't
need a farmer to tell them how to run
things, but they do expect me to deliver
sound policies."
Delivering will be no easy task. As
Health Minister from 1975 to 1977,
Timbrell was efficient and diligent.
Before that as the Minister of Energy he
was again the officious and loyal Pro-
gressive Conservative maintaining party
lines...but straying ever so subtly away
from Tory guidelines when the personal
Timbrell touch was called for.
As Minister of Agriculture, TimbreII's
same laying on of the ministerial hands
could be a great deal more difficult and
nerve-racking, because if there were ever a
crisis in the farm sector (and there always
seems to be), there is a crisis now.
The federal Ministry of Consumer and
Corporate Affairs recently revealed that
farm bankruptcies were up almost 70 per
cent the first six months of this year.
About 251 farms were finished compared
to 261 for all of last year. In Ontario, the
figures are grim. Because of expensive
money from banks and the lack of cash to
re -invest and maintain the cycle so
necessary for survival in the farm
business, 95 farms were crippled in the
first five months of this year. At least 30
more farms went under in the province in
the past two months, and more are
expected to go the same way by the end of
the year -- especially in the beef industry
where the danger of the loss of the
industry from Ontario's farm cross-sec-
tion is a real and immediate concern.
Add to this dismal picture the fact that
the federal Ministry of Agriculture has
reported that overall farmers' net income
has dropped by 17 per cent this year. Even
long-time farmers are left questioning
their lifestyle or at least considering more
economically feasible alternatives.
Toss in interest rates hovering well
above any level acceptable for a recovery
program (which the market may not allow
anyway), and throw in a dash of anxiety
over a decision about whether to live rich
and sell or survive poor and wait.
This concoction is the messy slump
many Ontario farmers find themselves in,
and the scenario that greeted the fresh --
faced over - achiever Dennis Timbrell six
months ago when he walked into his
spacious office of the 11th floor of the
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food
building on Toronto's Bay Street -- the
financial avenue of the country's dead--
end economy.
In typical Timbrell fashion, he has not
made those precious leaps and bounds,
but he has methodically and unobtrus-
ively called in the right people and the.
correct advisors to understand what the
problems are and how to go about solving
them.
Ralph Barrie, president of the Ontario
Federation of Agriculture, isn't exactly
singing the praises of the rookie minister,
but he does acknowledge some sort of