The Rural Voice, 2003-04, Page 53Ag News
Steckle, Johns pledge to keep fighting on APF
Paul Steckle and Helen Johns both
pledged they'd keep fighting for a
better deal for Ontario farmers under
the Agricultural Policy Framework
when they spoke to Huron County
farm leaders, March 22.
Steckle, chair of the parliamentary
standing committee on agriculture
and agri-food circulated a letter he'd
written to Lyle Vanclief, minister of
agriculture and agri-food calling for a
year's delay in implementing the new
Net Income Stabilization Account to
allow more time to address farmers'
concerns with the program.
"It was a shock for committee
members and myself to see how
unanimous farmers are in asking for
a one-year delay in the
implementation of new business risk
management programmes," Steckle
wrote.
"We will get this right," promised
Steckle, March 22. "If we don't we'll
live with it for a long time."
Bob Down of Hensall, chair of the
Agriculture Commodities Council
said his group, representing the
different commodity groups in the
province, had just met with Vanclief
for the second time in two weeks and
"We made it clear our stance remains
unanimous and firm."
HCFA director Wayne Hamilton
said farmers were quite happy with
the financial support from the federal
and provincial governments over the
last couple of years which allowed
them to stay close to the level of
support American farmers get. "But
what we're being offered (under the
APF) is far less than what we've
had."
He quoted economist Brian Doidge
who said the new program would
mean up to a 75 per cent reduction in
government support for some farms,
compared to the Market Revenue
Insurance program that has been in
place but will disappear under the
new program. The negotiations
process hasn't worked "to the point
when we wonder if the negotiations
have been sincere," Hamilton said.
"There's no way, absolutely no
way that the program can keep us
close to the U.S. farmer," he said. If
politicians think they've heard
complaints yet, he said, wait until
farmers really find out what APF will
mean to their incomes.
But Steckle warned Canadian
farmers could never expect to get
parity with the U.S. in farm subsidies
because the Canadian government
can't afford it.
As well, he said the government is
getting mixed messages from farm
leaders, now being told the
differences are being narrowed then
seeing farm leaders complain in
public that there isn't progress.
Meanwhile Johns promised that
until she's told by Ontario's farm
leaders that they're satisfied with the
federal offer, "Ontario won't be
Continued on page 50
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APRIL 2003 49