The Rural Voice, 1990-03, Page 3R.T.
general manager: Jim Fitzgerald
executive editor: Sheila Gunby
editor: Lise Gunby
contributing writers:
Adrian Vos
Gisele Ireland
Keith Roulston
Gord Wainman
Wayne Kelly
Sarah Borowski
Mary Lou Weiser -Hamilton
Cathy Laird
Ian Wylie-Toal
Susan Glover
Bob Reid
Dee Kramer
Mervyn Erb
Peter Baltensperger
Darene Yavorsky
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Merle Gunby
advertising production:
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The Rural Voice
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BEHIND THE SCENES
by Jim Fitzgerald
General Manager
Like most Canadians, I have
been brought up to believe in fairness,
equality of opportunity, justice, and all
the other "motherhood" ideals that
make this one of the best countries in
the world in which to live. We have a
society in which we believe everyone
should have access to the comforts of
life. Hence, give or take a few minor
exceptions, we can all count on getting
health care if we get sick, a good edu-
cation for our children, and freedom to
get ahead in life, if we so choose.
For instance, my brother-in-law,
who last year received a new heart
in an expensive operation which he
simply could not have afforded on his
working man's salary in almost any
other country, is our family's testimo-
nial to how well the system works.
And if you really think about it,
each and every one of you could prob-
ably cite a personal example of how
this Canadian tradition has helped you
or your family. It's so inbred in us
that we usually take it for granted.
So what, you say, does this have to
do with agriculture and readers of The
Rural Voice? Well, this sense of fair
play has instilled in most of us a rose-
coloured view of the world and parti-
cularly of our neighbour to the south.
Because we believe in the systems set
up to protect and enhance our lives,
we assume that other people in the
world think the same way. And this
naivete, if you can call it that, led us to
assume that a trade agreement with the
U.S. would be beneficial to both sides.
This was made clear to most of us
at the Dialogue on Pork Marketing
seminar held recently in Stratford. •
One of the key speakers was Don
Gingrich of Iowa, president of the
100,000 -member U.S. National Pork
Producers Council, who did an abys-
mal job of defending his country's
countervail action against Canadian
hogs and pork. University of Guelph
economist Dr. Larry Martin presented
an air -tight Canadian defence showing
little, if any, relationship between our
hog subsidies and exports to the U.S.
But Gingrich came ill-equipped to
defend his government's actions.
And the total lack of a U.S. justi-
fication for the countervail — other
than to say we get subsidies (and they
don't count their own) — justifiably
infuriated most of the Ontario hog
producers there. Did you know, for
instance, that the U.S. giveaway of
pork to Poland is not a subsidy to U.S.
hog producers? It's a humanitarian
action!
There are dozens of reasons why
our pork is exported, not the least of
which are quality of product, favour-
able exchange rates, and consumer
preferences. Our subsidies have not
led to a wholesale run of Canadian
pork into the U.S. and depressed their
prices. As one producer said at the
meeting: "It's a case of the U.S. say-
ing `what's mine is mine, and what's
yours is negotiable'."
We all assumed the FTA would be
a fair trade agreement and, so far, as
hog producers are finding out, we're
getting burned. If, as Martin pointed
out, we don't get the bilateral dispute -
settling panel set up in short order, the
Americans will train their trade -law
guns on other Canadian commodities,
like Durum wheat and beef, while
gaining access to our markets with the
FTA and the GATT rules.
We can't afford to wait four or five
years to see if the panel works because
by then our economy, especially in the
agriculture sector, will have changed
so drastically that it will be impossible
to return to pre -FTA levels. Let the
politicians know you're concerned —
and fast!O