The Rural Voice, 2006-03, Page 17John Beardsley
announcement which caused the
Grains and Oilseeds groups to
postpone their scheduled delivery of
30,000 yellow postcards. But more
meetings alone won't help the current
financial crunch experienced by most
farmers.
My question at the rally to the
provincial government was, will they
act unilaterally to announce what
they are going to do? If the provincial
government has budgeted money for
the risk management program then
let's get on with it and get the
cheques rolling. At least let farmers
and their creditors know what might
be coming. In the past Agriculture
Ministers have personally contacted
the Canadian bankers to get a
reprieve on foreclosing on farms. We
could use those calls anytime now.
I get the feeling that someone,
either in the political wing or the
bureaucracy, doesn't understand what
is actually happening. I've heard lots
of nice words about wanting a long-
term program but all we get is
disasters like the CAIS program.
Excuses like "we can't afford it" or
"it's someone else's problem".
Rather than blaming the European
Union or the U.S. for investing in
their farmers, why doesn't our
government put its money where it
will do some good? I have heard
economists say that every dollar that
goes into the farm economy will put
eight dollars into the rural economy.
This will allow the rural areas to
support their schools and hospitals.
The current policy of the provincial
government of doing nothing will
actually work in eliminating the
problem. If nothing is done farmers
will mostly get big or get out, but it
will be at great expense to the rural
economy.
I think the majority of Ontario
consumers want to support farmers.
In my experience, consumers think
the government is supporting
farmers, and are quite shocked when
they find out the facts. A provincial
Liberal MPP once told me that even
if the Liberals could lose all the rural
seats, Dalton McGuinty would still be
Premier. Well, in the last federal
election Ipsos Reid polling company
reported that 64 per cent of farmers
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MARCH 2006 13