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6 THE RURAL VOICE
Jeffrey Carter
This cab' politician gets it
the health and well-being of Ont-
arians and to Ontario's economy .. .
"I hope all of you will support my
resolution to encourage the
government to develop a way to help
Ontarians to understand clearly the
benefits of buying Ontario food,
benefits that go beyond some sort of
romantic sense of civic obligation,
but benefits that are real to our health,
the health of our children, the
cohesion of the Ontario economy and
the long-term sustainability of our
environment."
Wynne's motion, simply put, asks
that the Foodland Ontario program be
expanded to educate consumers about
current food safety and quality
standards in the province. It was
carried unanimously.
Unfortunately, the motion carries
little weight in political terms but it
is an indication that the Farmers Feed
Cities campaign is catching the
attention of urban MPPs.
Wynne says other urban MPPs are
becoming attuned to agricultural
concerns. She doesn't believe that the
relationship between rural and urban
Ontario is one of "two solitudes."
"What I support is a long-term
strategy. If that means putting more
money into it (farming), I would be
supportive of that," Wynne said, after
being contacted through her Queen's
Park office,
"It does affect the City of Toronto.
It affects everyone, eventually."
Wynne says her awareness of the
problems facing the Ontario farm
community began when she
participated in the summer farm tour
for urban MPPs sponsored by
Perth -Middlesex MPP John
Wilkinson.
Farmer response to the Farmers
Feed Cities campaign has so far been
muted and, at times, has even been
negative, judging from some of the
farm meetings in recent weeks.
While the farmers grumbling at the
back of the room at some of these
meetings might be more constructive
with their criticisms, they are at least
showing up.
The quiet majority, sitting back at
home, might do the same. Don't be
shy. Show up.0
Jeffrey
Carter is a
freelance
journalist
based in
Dresden,
Ontario.
The Farmers Feed Cities! campaign
being pushed by a coalition of
Ontario farm and agricultural
commodity organizations is having
positive results.
The coalition wants the provincial
government to double its agricultural
expenditures to 1.4 per cent of the
annual budget. According to their
estimates, this would provide enough
money for the proposed Risk Manage-
ment Program for grain and oilseed
producers with enough remaining to
meet other agricultural needs.
At the time this column was
written, efforts by the Farmers Feed
Cities coalition had not resulted in
any government support that fanners
can bank on, but awareness of the
agriculture cash crunch is reaching
well beyond the back concession
roads.
One strategy has been a series of
face-to-face meetings with Ontario's
MPPs. Many rural MPPs have long
been aware of the farm difficulties
and support increased government
support. Now urban MPPs are
coming on board.
Kathleen Wynne, from Toronto, is
one of them. The educator and
linguist is the parliamentary assistant
to Ontario's minister of education
and has represented Don Valley East
for more than two years.
Here's some of what Wynne had to
say as she presented her private
member's motion on October 20:
"I believe that the Ontario farmers'
Farmers Feed Cities campaign is a
wake-up call to all of us who take
your year-round abundance for
granted. We take for granted that
progressive, multi -billion dollar
industry, and we assume that because
it's in place, it will always be in
place. We forget that it contributes to