The Rural Voice, 1999-06, Page 47News
Johns says Ag
spending up, Riddell
disagrees
Is spending on agriculture up or
down under the current Progressive
Conservative government of Mike
Harris? The claim of Helen Johns,
current MPP for Huron that it is up
brought an angry response from a
former Minister of Agriculture and
Food when the Huron County
Federation of Agriculture held an all -
candidates meeting in Brucefield;
May 19.
All four candidates in the June 3
provincial election were on stage for
the debate: Johns; Linda Freiburger,
for the Family Coalition Party;
Liberal Ross Lamont and Tony
McQuail of the NDP.
In her opening remarks Johns
recalled a similar all candidates
meeting prior to the 1995 election,
saying she heard complaints that the
previous two governments had cut
back spending on agriculture. She
had listened and her government had
increased spending by $128 million,
she said.
But she was challenged by an
angry Jack Riddell later during the
question period who said he hadn't
been planning to speak but he was
biting his tongue over some of
Johns's statements until "I practically
have it chewed off' and he felt he
had to "correct the record."
During his term in office he said,
he had increased spending on
agriculture from one per cent to two
per cent. He challenged her as to
what per cent of the provincial
budget was spent on agriculture.
But Johns stuck with her claim
that there had been a decline in
agricultural spending during the two
previous governments and told
Riddell she'd be happy to show him
the figures if he wanted to "drop over
for coffee". Today spending on
agriculture is $386 million out of a
total provincial budget of $53 billion,
she said. (Someone in the audience
later shouted out that this amounted
to one half of one per cent of total
spending.)
Lamont said it was "great fun to
play with figures" but "if it was an
increase (in funding) I don't know
why we were shutting down
OMAFRA offices across the
province and cutting out services. I
don't hear too many farmers saying
their getting increased services from
OMAFRA."
However, Johns argued right to
her closing statement that her
government had been been good for
agriculture. Answering the first
written question from the floor, on
the candidates' commitment to
agriculture, she pointed to the
increased spending, including $35
million for research, as well as the
Whole Farm Disaster Program, the
elimination of the farm tax rebate in
favour of lower taxes on farmland,
the decision to eliminate the Retail
Sales Tax on farm building materials
and money set aside for rural
development programs promoting
public/private partnerships.
"We've put the taxpayers' money
where our mouth is," she said.
Lamont, who grew up on a
Saugeen Township farm, defended
the charge by Johns that the Liberals
did not even mention agriculture in
their 20/20 document, the party's
election platform. When the
document was developed the party
had not had a chance to consult with
Ontario farm leaders and the Liberals
have since published their
agricultural platform calling for
adequate funding of safety net
programs and a rural ground water
strategy.
McQuail, a farmer all his adult life
and a former president of the Huron
County Federation of Agriculture as
well as executive assistant to Elmer
Buchannan as provincial Minister of
Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs,
said agriculture is a very important
part of the solution to some of the
serious problems facing society. The
NDP strategy is based on four
principles, he said: diversification,
preservation, economic development,
and opportunities for rural youth.
"We will work to restore the
effectiveness of the Ministry of
Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs,"
McQuail said. "Our figures show the
budget has been substantially cut
despite the promises there would be
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JUNE 1999 43