The Rural Voice, 1991-12, Page 121
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8 THE RURAL VOICE
ABOUT FARM PROTESTS AND
ADJUSTMENTS FROM GATT
Adrian Vos, from Huron County, has
contributed to The Rural Voice since
its inception in 1975.
The "Line in the Dirt" meeting in
Lucknow was impressive because of
its dignity. The need for financial
help was stated succinctly and force-
fully. The politicians present were
persuaded this was no idle protesta-
tion by a few hotheads, but a despera-
tion movement reluctantly supported
by many level headed farmers. This is
in sharp contrast to the brassy protest
movements of 1981 and 1982, when
dead livestock was dumped in local
banks, or when auction sales were dis-
rupted and temporarily stopped.
Then came the protest meeting and
demonstration in Guelph. All went
well until some of the same rabble
rousers from a decade ago tried to take
over the demonstration, but despite
their actions, some farm aid did come
forth.
Maybe the financial help offered
by the two governments is inadequate,
and, if so, protests should continue.
But these protests should be non-vio-
lent, or it will undoubtedly backfire.
Think of the fading sympathy with the
post office strike when it got violent.
Farmers should not fall into that trap.
The new peaceful protests, both in
Ontario, and to a greater extent in the
prairie provinces, have finally drawn
the attention of the mainstream media.
One particular Sunday night on a CBC
news panel, even a hardnose like Dalt-
on Camp reluctantly conceded that
farm subsidies are actually consumer
subsidies.
Farmers must keep this informa-
tion flowing, for not all broadcasters
understand it yet. Ralph Benmergui,
on CBC Midday, still asked the ques-
tion why farmers should be subsi-
dized. If some media and some poli-
ticians have not understood yet that
farmers' demands are justified, their
attention could be drawn by picketing
on the highway between Ottawa and
Ottawa airport Thursday afternoon
when most of them sneak home, and
on Friday when the hard working MPs
leave for their ridings.
* * *
Farmers in supply managed com-
modities don't have to worry about
losing their system because of the
GATT negotiations. Their boards do a
pretty good job already in that respect.
The chicken board is continually argu-
ing with their only customers, the pro-
cessors. The milk boards are feuding
about who pays for disposal of sur-
pluses. The egg board quarrels about
provincial quotas, which, in a world
where market liberation is the new
gospel, is asking for trouble.
All boards protect the average
producer instead of the more efficient
ones. Harvard economist Michael
Porter, who has done a study on
Canadian competitiveness, accused
much of Canadian industry of laziness
in research and development. The 70
cent Canadian dollar, he said, protect-
ed industry so much that they didn't
even try to become more efficient,
and when the dollar rose to its present
mid -eighty cents value, they couldn't
compete. We can apply this reasoning
equally to our farmers in supply man-
agement.
Two astute farm writers, Jim Rom-
ahn of the K -W Record, and Frances
Anderson, of the Ontario Farmer,
noted that the boards have put all their
energy in efforts to get GATT to
maintain Article 11, which allows
supply management, but have done
nothing in preparation of alternate
scenarios should this fail. In the July
issue of The Rural Voice I wrote about
ruminations by Trade Minister Mike
Wilson, that (supply managed) mark-
eting boards must go. He stated, as
did the PM, that provincial barriers to
trade must go. If Article 11 falls at
GATT, it means the same thing. Pro-
vincial quotas are trade barriers, and I
urge affected boards to study alterna-
tives immediately.0