The Rural Voice, 1993-03, Page 33he said, so the real cost to the Ontario
economy could be $10 billion.
"Before the end of 1993 this province
is going to wonder what happened,"
Lowry said.
Frank Anthony, president of the
Ontario Corn Producers Association,
said the seriousness of the losses for
farmers that can't be made up in
safety net programs is a situation that
calls for special aid from government.
"We may have to look at government
loan guarantees to farmers," he said.
"We'd like to use programs that
aren't as highly visible (as outright
grants)."
John King, a Wingham-area farmer
and member of the Huron Emergency
Assistance Response Team (HEART)
and Brian Ireland, from Queen's
Bush Rural Ministry, a counselling
service for farmers in distress,
pointed out the 1992 crop disaster has
already hurt people. HEART received
a grant from the Ontario Ministry of
Agriculture and Food to provide
short-term assistance for families
without money for food or shelter and
has already had at least 12 calls
seeking help, King said. Farm
families are also turning to food -
banks, he said. "Imagine in Canada,
land of plenty and one of the bread
baskets of the world that a committee
would have to be set up to see that
farm families don't starve."
Ireland said calls to the Queen's
Bush helpline "have increased
dramatically. I'm on the road every
day dealing with problems." His
group also received $20,000 in
emergency assistance funding and
$10,000 has been spent already.
He was distressed at complaints he
had heard about people who "have
been dealt with very badly" by the
Ontario Crop Insurance Commission.
Once an appeal is lost, he said, there
is little a farmer can do to change the
situation.
Ireland stressed the strength of the
rural community . "We've gotten
away from being neighbours and
we've got to go back if we're going
to survive." He said farmers must
also take advantage of the niches in
the market left when big firms stake
out the major markets.
Still, he warned, the situation is
serious. "If something isn't done I
think we're looking at 10 per cent of
farmers having real difficulty this
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