Loading...
The Rural Voice, 1982-09, Page 8PLETCH ELECTRIC WINGHAM •Residential • Farm • Industrial •Commercial • Motor Rewinding •Complete Motor Sales Phone Collect 357-1583 RALHEN HAMPSHIRES Registered R.O.P. breeding stock RALPH HENDERSON R.R. 1, Atwood, Ont. (519) 356-2656 PG. 8 THE RURAL VOICE/SEPTEMBER 1982 new focus and drive. Timbrell asked for a meeting with Barrie a couple of days after his appointment and followed that up with a more detailed briefing a few weeks later. Whether because of the dialogue with Barrie or Timbrell's own awareness of the serious situation of the beef industry, the agriculture minister dusted off a six-year-- old beef protection program which is scheduled to come before the Legislature this month (September). The $70 -million program is designed to give bankruptcy protection to beef farmers. The minis- terial string -pulling is a Timbrell trade- mark. "Timbrell is a smart man and he adjusts pretty quickly," Barrie says cautiously, "and he's been open for consultation, but so far the results haven't been dramatic." Quite simply, Barrie insists that more definitive and positive action must be taken to help the farmer and especially to help the beef producer, or "my concern is that we are going to lose what was a fairly substantial beef industry" in the pro- vince, not to mention a crush of farmers who just can't manage under the money crunch. More than many people, perhaps, Timbrell can understand the problems. Although an urban gentleman from the northern suburbs of the province's capi- tal, he grew up -- until 10 years old -- on a farm just north of the Kingston hospital where he was born November 13, 1946. The Timbrells, Walter and Beryl, lived near Sydenham. Although Walter tried to make a go of it as a mixed farmer -- a little bit of everything, Timbrell remembers with a grin -- the part-time farmer and full-time house painter couldn't really get things going the way he wanted to. Walter moved the family a few times in search of the right spread before moving to Toronto in 1956. Unfortunately, the family's farmland yielded more rocks than crops. In the city Dennis found what he had been looking for -- recognition. He pushed through public schools in King- ston artd Scarborough, attended teachers' college and York University, was gradu- ated, and then taught at Don Mills high from 1967 to 1970. It was during the 1969 municipal election that Timbrell revealed himself and shocked more than the defeated candidate. "I ran for council because I got upset about the problems in the community and the fact they weren't being addressed," he recalls. "But I think I was as surprised as the incumbent when I beat him." Two years later he surprised Tory leaders with a win provincially in the Don Milts riding. This was perhaps a victory deserved by the man who was a youthful supporter of John Diefenbaker and the president of the Young Conservatives in Scarborough. In 1973 he received the usual grooming for bright young states- man. He was parliamentary assistant in the Ministry of Colleges and Universities and then minister -without -portfolio (a training ground) responsible for the youth secretariat. He hit the big time a year later with the energy ministry. Some at Queen's Park have speculated that the agriculture ministry may, in fact, be another stepping stone to the Premier's office. Timbrell discounts such specula- tion marginally only, with, "1 suppose the media is given to rumor and had to speculate in regards to the future." Then he adds as a necessary after- thought, "But I asked to be posted as Minister of Agriculture because I wanted a new and completely different oppor- tunity and different challenge. 1 also think it is an important challenge." Many Ontario farmers would agree. They've been confronted with the dire tradition of surviving from year to year in a market that gets worse instead of better, and the more money made means the less there is to spend. Timbrell says he has solutions. While the stresses that the tripartite agreement among the two levels of government and the farm community may ease the farm bankruptcy problem with a money pool, there are other solutions he offers. "In a general way our policies have been supportive of farmers." the minister maintains cautiously, "but lately market- ing has been given more prominence and we've also established a section in the ministry to forecast the changes in the agricultural prices." He wants stability in agriculture (who doesn't) and he is also looking toward promoting the export of goods from Ontario and controlling the imported products. Resolving the mandate is another matter. Timbrell will have quite a chore righting the wrongs of the past years. He isn't accustomed to rejection or failure, although he says. "I'm not so immodest that I think I'm unique, but I have had different and productive experiences -- more than most politicians." As Barrie insists, "Timbrell is facing a situation that is dangerous for him politically, because he inherited a bad farm economy. And he's got a year to shape up or many more farmers will be facing financial ruin." This is not a threat, but it is a reality for farming in general and for Timbrell's political future in particular.