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Home My WebLink AboutHuron Expositor, 2007-04-11, Page 7Opinion Huron Bruce NDP wants to represent farmers The Huron Expositor • April 11, 2007 Page 7 From Page 5 their friends, can follow the media debates, and can consider the best candidate for themselves. We can make up our own minds about how we want to vote; we don't need Stephen Harper to tell us how. We don't need the blue machine saying we need to vote for a rookie who will do whatever they tell him to. No reflection on Ben Lobb — that's just how Stephen Harper expects his MPs to operate. I was also concerned that Stephen Harper asked for Huron Bruce to help give them "a majority and (they) can do it alone." Stephen Harper does not plan to do what is best for Canadians. He plans to run roughshod over the ideas of any Canadians who dis- agree with him. The last thing we want is a Conservative majority in Canada. A minority government - or a defeat - will keep him in his place as it has for the past year. As a rural resident I am particu- larly concerned about the plight of agriculture in our riding. And I don't think Stephen Harper's poli- cies with stand them in good stead. Farmers know that Stephen Harper is against the marketing boards that protect many of those whose livelihood is wheat, or milk or poultry. Stephen Harper is for the free trade that hurt farmers so badly during the BSE crisis. Some farmers have only recently received their cheques — three years after this situa- tion! For some, the cash infusion was a real relief; for others, it came too late to save the farm. And while farmers have told me that they appreciate the financial assis- Correction A story in last week's paper about the Seniors' Games incor- rectly identified the games as the Ontario Seniors' Games when this year they are real- ly the Regional Seniors' Games involv- ing eight districts in Southwestern Ontario. The Ontario games are held every other year. The deadline to enrol in this year's games is April 20, not April 21 as was reported last week. tance, what they really want is to address the root issues. Stephen Harper is also for helping big corporate food conglomerates which favour food transported from a distance over home-grown prod- ucts. And food security? Foods brought in from those other coun- tries can be contaminated by black water irrigation or by pesticides illegal in Canada — that's okay! Rules legislated for local farmers don't apply to foreign. farmers. Never mind the pollution that occurs in transporting food from three thousand miles away. As long as the big food companies make a profit. In reality, Stephen Harper is not particularly concerned about the votes of farmers. He thinks he could win the riding without their sup- port. After all, only 11 percent of Huron County residents really have a personal concern about farm issues even if agriculture is the crit- ical underpinning of our area. Well I say to Stephen Harper, and to quote a rural proverb, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch!" Stephen Harper calls farmers who hold off -farm jobs "lifestyle farm- ers." He thinks only corporate farmers have a chance in hell of being "real" farmers that make real money. But last year our corporate farmers were feeling the pinch, too. We all saw their faces in the papers and heard what they had to say as the farm activists stepped up their protests. We need strong federal and provincial policies that help all farmers to make a living and that bring dignity and a reasonable lifestyle back to the farm communi- ty. We need to make farming a valid life choice for our young people. We need to think farther down the road at what the collapse of a viable farming industry would mean to our province and to our country. A political pundit recently wrote about the collapse of the manufac- turing and primary industry in Ontario that, "It's all well and good to have a strong service economy, but somewhere along the road, we have to get down and actually pro- duce something!" Huron County residents need to vote for a party other than Stephen Harper's if we want to see impor- tant critical changes in our agricul- tural community. The Huron Bruce NDP has prided itself on running candidates who are strong proponents of changes in agricultural policy. The NDP also wants present-day farmers to remember that the roots of the New Democratic Party are in agricul- ture. In the two upcoming elections, the Huron Bruce NDP Party will be running candidates with rural farming experience as our candi- dates. Nominees for candidates at this point are all farmers. Once our nominations have occurred, we respectfully ask our farmers to consider what these can- didates have to offer as provincial and a possible federal election is called. We also request that our farmers make contact with them if they have particular issues they want brought to the fore. How you vote will be up to you. Wilhelmina Laurie President Huron Bruce NDP `YOUR RENOVATION AND HOME SPECIALISTS!9 vlimmommummemergimamemplimp- OPEN -CONCEPT CONTEMPORARY HOME PLAN NUMBER 7-3-878 MAIN FLOOR PLAN 1738 SO. FT. (161.5 M2) 9'-0' CEILING HEIGHT •. lF M..•/ - This Designs Includes An Unfinished Basement WIDTH 65' - 5" (19.9M) DEPTH 58' - 0" (17.7M) SECOND FLOOR PLAN 672 SQ. FT. (62.4 M') BLUEWATER INTERIORS INC. 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