The Rural Voice, 1992-04, Page 58PERTH
Matt Crowley, President, R.R. 1, Gadshill NOK 1J0 393-5716
PCFA Office 229-6430
• The Rural Voice is provided to farmers
in Perth County by the PCFA.
County Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
40,000 FARMERS ON PARLIAMENT HILL, 400 WERE FROM PERTH
February 21, 1992, Ottawa Farm
Rally, will be remembered in history as
the largest rally on Parliament Hill.
Eight buses departed from Perth
County cnroutc to Ottawa. Several
farmers also drove down on their own.
The buses were filled with farmers from
every commodity produced in the county
as well as several agri-business people.
Perth County Farmers would like to
thank all businesses and individuals who
contributed financially to the rally.
The following is an individual view of
the rally:
Rolling into Ottawa during rush hour
following a fresh 10 cm snowfall. Traffic
was slow, but the city was beautiful. A
fluffy new layer of white covered the
dirty, city remnants of previous storms.
The bus radio was tuned to the local AM
morning show, sporadically the
announcer mentioned the scheduled
demonstration, stating that already nine or
10 buses had arrived at "Lebretton Flats,"
and "perhaps another 20 would still be
coming." (Wcrc they in for a surprise!)
This city is very well treed — with
spruce, pine and locust. All along the
drive of the Ag. Canada experimental
station arc Makamik flowering crabapple
trees — a variety developed there during
the 1950s.
Finally reached Lebrctton flats — a
huge icy parking lot below Parliament
Hill. (It had taken payloaders and dump
trucks three full days to clear the snow
from the arca.) Rally organizers greet us
with a few basic instructions and the
march began. It was a sombre and
anxious crowd which filed up a narrow
icy footpath to Wellington Street, the
street leading to the hill. The crowd
seemed to grow with every step we took.
The street had been closed to traffic and
now people filled its width.
It was a rather scary flash back to the
60s. Film footage of "Kent State" stuck
in my mind. There were so many
questions, and no clear answers; some
fear of the unknown; some fear of loss of
control of a situation when many
thousands of people congregate in one
small area; people who are angered,
upset, and who largely feel ignored by the
politicians.
As we drew closer to the Parliament
buildings, live outdoor music echoed
through the streets. The music was loud,
upbeat and fully bilingual. Bands "The
Fizz" and "Bobby Lalonde" turned the
sombre crowd into a high spirited bunch
of people waving their farm support
54 THE RURAL VOICE
placards; a positive mood was key to
keeping this demonstration peaceful.
Continually a helicopter circled
overhead. RCMP surveillance was
everywhere. Double galvanized steel
fences separated the crowd from the
buildings, and on the government side
stood many police officers in full riot
gear. I approached one officer and
mentioned that this was to be a peaceful
demonstra-tion. "Do whatever you have
to do" he replied calmly and stonefaced.
For more than three solid hours, the
bands kept the crowd entertained and
interested. Especially creative souls
parodied politicians; a Mulroney look-
alike dancing on (baler twine) strings held
by the puppet master, George Bush.
Others carried coffins, symbolizing the
death of agriculture.
At 12:30 p.m., the speeches began,
pep -rally type speeches leaving lots of
opportunity for the crowd to respond
loudly. Most speakers addressed the
group in both French and English, and
steadily while they shipped in their two
cents worth, the crowd grew larger. By
1:30 it was announced that over 30,000
people were there. By 2:00 p.m. the
RCMP reported that the crowd had
surpassed 40,000, thus making this the
largest demonstration ever in Canadian
history at the nation's capital.
Roger George, president of the OFA
commented that the authorities were
afraid the demonstration would paralyze
the city. "This city has been paralyzed
for years," quipped George, "Farmers
have come to liberate it!"
Farmers from every province in
Canada were represented, including 250
from BC and 200 from PEI. As much as
there was solidarity among farmers to
preserve a sane marketing system, there
was also solidarity among farmers to
remain united in our Canada.
As the speeches ended, the crowd
calmly and peacefully made their way
from the hill, filling Wellington St. from
sidewalk to sidewalk. Office workers
peered out windows high above the street;
some puzzled, some smiling, many in
sheer disbelief. Periodically a cry and
shout would go through the crowd like a
wave. The crowd was happy; farmers
had made their point. Although we are
only 2.5 per cent of the population, we
had put together the largest rally Ottawa
had ever seen. The descent back to
Lebretton Flats was slow as people
funnelled back into the narrow foot paths
and bicycle trails. In the parking lot,
nearly 800 buses were warming their
engines, waiting to carry thousands of
Canadian farmers back to the country
where they feel truly at home.0
MEMBERSHIP SALES BEYOND EXPECTATIONS
Perth and Huron Federations signed up 313 new OFA members during their
membership blitz the first two weeks in March. Perth signed 159 and Huron 154.
Credit for this successful blitz goes to Blaine Stephenson, our Huron/Perth Fieldman
and the County Membership committees, Cecil Rose, Ivan Stueck and Rick DeBrabandere
from Perth and Larry Plaetzer, Jeanne Kirkby and Heinz Claus from Huron. These
numbers could not have been reached without the members in the counties who gave their
time to travel the roads looking for new members, and also all those who signed on as
OFA mcmbers.
At the wrap up party on March 13, Willy Keller and Ivan Stueck tied for most new
members signed with 14 each. A prize was also given for the most unusual or humorous
occurrence while out signing new members. This was won by Winston Jibb.0
MOST UNUSUAL OR HUMOROUS MEMBERSHIP SALE
A pint of blood for a membership. Is this too much to ask? Not according to Winston
Jibb. Winston won the prize for the most unusual or humorous occurrence while signing
new members during our membership blitz. This is the story Winston told:
Clarence and I were out selling OFA memberships and had run into one real tough
customer. After about a half hour of lively debate, I asked for time out and commented
that it was hard to find people at home. At this point the lady of the house said "If you
had come this afternoon we'd have been away too." I asked where they would have been
and they said they were going to give blood. I commented that I had never given blood
before but if they would sign up as OFA members that I would go and give blood too.
Clarence said that it sounded like a good deal. They signed the membership and I gave
blood that afternoon.0