The Rural Voice, 1979-05, Page 18Rural Voice asked candidates in the May 22 federal election -
What can you do for farmers?
Bruce -Grey
CRAWFORD DOUGLAS LIBERAL
CANDIDATE IN BRUCE -GREY
In 1978, farm cash receipts amounted to
$11.9 billion and retail food sales to about
$23 billion, an increase in net farm incomes
of over $1 billion to Canadian farmers.
Uner the leadership of the Honourable
Eugene Whelan, the best friend that
Canada's farmers have ever had, net farm
income has risen an average of almost 20
per cent per year over the past eight years
from $1.4 billion in 1970 to $4.7 billion last
year and what is more important, statistics
show that the number of persons involved
in farming is no longer on the decrease, an
indication that the policies of Gene Whelan
may be reversing a centuries old trend of
farmers leaving the land.
1 fully support the announced policy of
Gene Whelan to strengthen farm incomes
through protection of domestic markets
from extreme international price
fluctuations and would support and work
for a federal beef import law under the
direction of the minister of agriculture,
drawn up in full consultation with the
Canadian Fede^ation of Agriculture and
the Canadian Cattlemens' Association and
have in the 30th session of parliament,
introduced my own beef import law as a
private member's bill.
I would work for a better return to the
primary producer on labour and
investment for the efficient farmer and the
negotiation of better access to foreign
markets for Canadian food production
through the present Tokyo round of GAT
negotiations, and for the establishment of
agricultural attaches in all of Canada's
foreign embassies to better promote and
sell Canadian agricultural commodities.
and technical know-how abroad.
1 would continue to encourage govern-
ment policies that encourage the
conservation of land for agriclutral use.
Several programs have been established to
maintain and improve farm incomes such
as better marketing arrangements through
marketing boards where and when the
majority of primary producers requested
them. Other programs include farm
improvement loans, small farm develop-
ment programs, stabilization programs and
the crop development fund. I believe the
PG.'16 THE RURAL VOICE/MAY 1979
farm credit loan program could and should
be improved to reflect a lower interest rate
than at present and would encourage the
establishment of a special category of farm
credit loans to encourage young people
presently engaged in a family farming
operation to continue in agriculture.
GARY M. GURBIN, PROGRESSIVE
CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATE
BRUCE -GREY
Current agricultural policies have often
discouraged Canadian farm production.
Since the agricultural community - and its
voting strength - are relatively small,
farmers have been the unfortunate victims
of the inconsistant policy. This can
decrease supplies, decrease farm incomes,
decrease exports, and also even increase
domestic food prices.
What the farm community has lacked is
representation that can be effective at the
federal level. In spite of good intentions,
Mr. Whelan has not been effective
inimplementing policies he promised from
the last election and he continues to be
ineffective in Cabinet against such men as
Warren Allmand and Pierre Trudeau who
have shown little respect for the farm
community.
I believe that a healthy farming economy
is one of the single most impor tant
ingredients necessary for the recovery of
the Canadian economy. I believe that
policies designed to allow farmers the
opportunity to achieve their full capacity
will be provided by a Conservative Govern-
ment whose members now include a large
number of farm orientated people. This
section of the Conservative Caucus is lead
by a fifth generation farmer named John
Wise from Elgin County in Ontario.
Definite farm policy outlined so far, and
supported by our leader, Joe Clark, and
myself, includes: 1. A firm beef import
quota law. 2. Expansion of grain handling
facilities in the West. 3. Reduction of
cheese import quotas by at leat 10 million
pounds. 4. Trade and tariff arrangements
that are consistant and fair to the
agricultural community. 5. Once in a
Lifetime exemption from capital gains in
farm sales and the opportunity to use
income deferral plans for fair taxation.
NORMA H. WATSON, CANDIDATE,
THE LBERTARIAN PARTY OF CANADA
BRUCE -GREY
Successful farmers must have freedom
to chahge and expand. We hold that
property rights follow from the nature of
man and are entitled to the same respect
and protection as other individual rights.
The owner of property has the full right to
control, use, dispose of, or in any manner
enjoy his property without interference,
until and unless the exercise of his control
infringes upon the rights of others.
In order to achieve a free economy, in
which government victimizes no one for the
benefit of anyone else, we oppose all
government subsidies to business, labour,
education, agriculture, science, the arts,
and any other special interests. We
support the immediate reduction of all
tariffs and quotas.
The only solution to inflation is a
balanced federal budget. As a means of
achieving this solution, we propose to
implement legislation negatively indexing
the salaries of Members of Parliament and
senior civil servants to the inflation rate.
Each year that inflation remains, the
salaries of Members would be reduced by a
percentage rate of inflation.