The Rural Voice, 1979-06, Page 29Rural news in brief
Committment to farming:
That's what Hannam wants from the province
Government committment to the farming industry is what the
Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) wants according to OFA
president Peter Hannam who outlined a three-part proposal in
the OFA's annual brief to cabinet.
The proposal calls for: a 10 -year plan by all ministries
containing "realistic" goals for agriculture; beefed-up
government committments to encourage farm stability including
$10 million for market expansion in Canada and abroad and an
enriched income stabilization program; and government policies
to protect farmers' rights to farm in view of increasing threats
from urban sprawl and other social pressures.
"The government has let down all the citizens of Ontario by its
lack of committment to agriculture," Hannam said in the brief.
The OFA charged that provincial budget proposals would
decrease the agriculture ministry's allottment by 1.6 per cent,
even without considering inflation.
"Farmers can no longer tolerate the minister (Provinical
Agriculture Minister William Newman) travelling around the
province telling farm audiences how important agriculture is to
the economy, while at the same time his cabinet colleagues cut
his feet out from under him by cutting his budget," said
Hannam, a Guelph -area seed farmer.
The OFA said that higher consumer prices and the loss of
thousands of jobs could result from the provincial government's
farm policy failures, adding that farm efficiency would decline if
government cutbacks in agricultural programs continue. This
will result in higher consumer prices, loss of jobs in food -related
industries and a decline in farm competitiveness, the OFA says.
Both Premier William Davis and agricultural minister
Newman defended the government saying it is committed to
agriculture and Davis said that every ministry would like more
money but Ontario is in a period of constraint.
Newman said he'd like more money for his industry but that
last year the Ministry overran their capital grants program by
about $13 million.
He said funds are available to farmers under other
government programs such as the S200 -million industrial
development fund.
Also presented in the brief were some recommendations to the
other Ministries including the Ministry of Energy urging that
food production, processing and transportation be given top
priority if fuel rationing is ever needed. The brief also urged
energy conservation measures to benefit farmers.
Ontario Hydro was also criticized in the brief for building
transmission corridors and generating plants in prime
agricultural areas. The Ministry of the tnvtronment was
criticized for failing to protect farmland from garbage dumps,
gravel pits and hazardous industrial waste disposals.
Harrassment by urban -oriented residents because of noise,
odors and dust from farms was another problem Peter Hannam
talked about.
Hannam said that "farmers will not continue to commit their
money, their muscle and their lives to producing food unless they
can be assured of some stability in their industry and protection
from the pressures that are growing every day."
Turnberry experience used
at Banff conference
A group of Turnberry Township resi-
dents made known their views on the
programmes organized by public agencies
to inform and get input from the public at a
national conference held recently in Banff,
Alberta.
Members of the Township Federation of
Agriculture executive and Township
Council met with Professor J. Wolfe, of the
University of Guelph to comment on a
paper entitled 'Design and Implementation
of Public Programs.' The group was invited
to present their criticisms of public
programmes, and their own constructive
suggestions because they had organized
several local meetings last year in conjunc-
tion with the secondary plan development
procedure in their township. Of particular
interest was a series of 'Kitchen Meetings'
designed to supplement the public work-
shop program held by the Huron County
Planning Department when the township
was developing its secondary land use
plan.
The groups' comments included the
following: that the language used in
written information and oral presentations
to the public be free from jargon and
technical items; that local communities
should have some say in the sorts of
meetings held in their area; that those who
make the decisions should be present to
hear what the public has to say; that an
objective of any such program should be to
develop an informed electorate with the
skills to participate and make their
opinions known.
These and other comments were written
and circulated to the 150 people who
attended The National Workshop on Public
Participation in Environment Decision
Making held in Banff, Alberta. Louise
1 Mt RURAL VOICE/JUNE 1979 PG. 27