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The Rural Voice, 1980-09, Page 14amounts at one time raised from S75,000 to S100,000. Under the Act, the federal govern- ment loans to fa; mers through chart- ered banks and other designated lend- ing institutions for a wide range of farm improvements. These include the pur- chase of additional farm land, fencing and drainage, construction of new buildings, buying new machinery and livestock and major repairs to barns and equipment. A HARD THING TO DO On foreign ownership Jarvis says "to protect our land from foreign owners is a hard thing to do. It is under provincial jurisdiction. if the government says who cannot buy our land, then in time, perhaps the government would tell farmers what to grow. 1 can not see an immediate and clear answer." He agrees that the unemployment situation is very serious in Perth. In Stratford, many industries are car related and therefore layoffs are num- erous. An incentive for small business has been set up by the federal government. Perth is made of small businesses and the MP believes this is one of the ways to help ease the unemployment situ- ation. One of Jarvis' accomplishments was to publish a booklet called "How Canadians Govern Themselves", writ- ten by Senator Eugene Forsey. A BUSY REFERENDUM As minister, Jarvis was very busy during the referendum campaign. One way he showed the Quebeckers and the rest of Canadians how dependent we were on each other for energy was with a caravan. It included displays of all our energy resources and was set up as a question and answer display. This was very illuminating and showed Quebec that it takes more than electricity to be independent. Jarvis says this subtle way to show Premier Rene Levesque's claim that James Bay could provide all Quebec's energy needs was erroneous was more effective than a head-on confrontation. Needless to say, Jarvis was elated by the results of the referendum. Bill Jarvis was in office as a cabinet minister for nine months. During that time the referendum was a time consuming problem. He found there was never enough time to get every- thing done. He had several projects set to start in January 1980. But the early election ended those plans. Another drawback to being a member of the cabinet is there is not enough time to spend in the riding. As a busy MP trying to do his best for Perth, Jarvis finds he is always working against time. GARY GURBIN BY GISELE IRELAND For the short time the Conservatives were in power in Ottawa. they managed to prepare a lot of legislation that would have been presented before the "budget" ended their stay in power. One of the major things Bruce -Grey MP Gary Gurbin was involved with was the Beef Import Quota Law. It was slated for presentation, but, as yet, has not been. Gary was part of the Conservative Caucus Group for Policy Development. He feels this particular piece was a worthwhile effort but now it can only be brought forth as a Private Member's Bill, or if the Liberals present it. Burt Hargraves was instrumental in getting this piece of legislation together when he was the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture. Gary is very concerned about energy, the use of it and the lack of it. One main objective here would be to encourage farm production of alcohol and ethanol. Methanol and methane gas are also real possibilities on the fuel market. At the present time a farmer must be bonded for $200,000 to produce alcohol. The Conservatives, last fall, had plans to lower this to $10,000 to make it more feasible financially for the farmer. They are still pushing for this legislation. In the London area alcohol production on the farm is working. There are units of 10 farmers, united as a group, to produce enough fuel for their im• mediate needs. Gary thinks subsidiz- ation will be important in the future PG. 12 THE RURAL VOICE/SEPTEMBER 1980 production of alcohol and ethanol. The Government has now removed all Ontario tax on fuels for transportation other than gasoline and diesel fuel. One item of importance to farmers worked on by the Conservatives was an increase in Capital Gains. It currently stands at 5100,000. They had proposed adding another 5100.000 to put into Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), giving the farmer the option of withdrawing the money at intervals. So far. nothing has been done, but the opposition is still pushing for this. Last fall work was done in the Pacific Rim area to explore agricultural export markets. Agricultural personnel in the embassies increased. Nothing more has been done. The government has been publishing a farm gate pricing system since last August through Agriculture Canada showing the price the consumer pays and the price the farmer receives for the same commodity. Gary is now working on the Agri- culture Standing Committee and has tra- velled west to survey the drought damage there. The energy situation is of prime importance and he feels that we will be in a rationing situation before the end of the year. Mr. Gurbin wants to be sure farmers are given priority consideration if this comes about. Currently the farmer is treated in a secondary category. An adequate fuel supply at competitive prices is essential for agriculture to maintain present rates of production. The Conservatives feel the agricul- tural sector will have to receive sub- stantially more for their products if they are going to be able to survive escalating costs in energy, machinery, fertilizers and sprays. If the consumer does not pay more, the government would still be advo- cating a "cheap food" policy and subsidization should be forthcoming to the farmer. This subsidy could be clearly labelled, "for consumer conven- ience", and not made to appear as if the farmer is being subsidized. With high rates of interest and escalating costs many operations have been severely crippled and cannot survive if more financial burdens are imposed. The fact that other provinces have better deals for farmers also bothers Gary. He feels all provinces should be dealt with equally. One should not have such large financial advantages over others and all provinces should make revisions in their policies if necessary, he feels. Ontario seems to be lagging in this respect, he added, and the Conser- vatives are pushing to change this.