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40 THE RURAL VOICE
NEWS
OFA APPROVES INCREASE IN MEMBERSHIP
FEE, ACCLAIMS BRIGID PYKE TO THIRD TERM
Delegates to the Ontario Federation
of Agriculture (OFA) convention in
Toronto last month voted to raise OFA
membership fees to $125.
Although some delegates objected
to the 25 per cent increase, Brigid Pyke,
acclaimed to her third term as president
of the organization, said that the funding
has become urgent for the federation.
At the same time, Ontario Minister
of Agriculture and Food Jack Riddell
confirmed at the convention that he
would support the refundable check -off
proposed by the OFA and the Christian
Farmers Federation of Ontario.
While details of the proposal have
not been finalized, if the funding
scheme is implemented every farmer in
the province will automatically contrib-
ute annually to the general farm organi-
zation of his choice. Farmers who do not
want to support any farm organization
will be able to request a refund.
The federation, with a membership
of 22,400 farmers, maintains that all
farmers in the province benefit from the
organization's work.
James J. Hewitt, chairman of the
Farm Credit Corporation (FCC), told
the convention that more than 13,000
Canadian farmers were behind in their
loan payments to the FCC before the
severe drought.
The damaging high interest rates and
falling commodity prices of the 1980s
also crippled the FCC, he noted. As
farmers went bankrupt, the FCC was left
with a $900 million deficit and was itself
technically bankrupt until rescued by
the federal government.
An international trade panel was a
convention highlight. One of the panel-
ists, Bill Miner, research associate for
the Institute for Research on Public
Policy, said that for 40 years govern-
ments have failed to bring agriculture
under GATT (General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade) rules and disciplines
because they have been unwilling to
accept international discipline with re-
spect to domestic agricultural programs.
In principle, he said, GATT rules on
border measures apply to all goods en-
tering world trade. But the GATT is
riddled by exceptions, waivers, and
grandfather clauses with respect to agri-
culture because governments have in-
sisted on retaining the right to take ac-
tion at the border to protect internal
agricultural support systems.
James Hewitt, chairman of the FCC, told
OFA delegates that 13,222 Canadian
farmers were behind in their FCC loan
payments to the tune of $358 million, or
19 per cent of outstanding loans. This
represents a slight improvement over
the previous year.
Farm policies, Miner added, tend to
be inflexible and, because they often do
not respond adequately to either long or
short supply situations, often contribute
to the problems they are designed to
resolve.
In conclusion, Miner said "the Cana-
dian agricultural industry will benefit
from a successful Uruguay round that
results in a major reduction in import
barriers and subsidies which distort
trade."
OFA elections returned Roger
George of Powassan as first vice-presi-
dent and Bill Benson of Palmerston as
second vice-president.OSG