The Rural Voice, 1999-12, Page 29demands are made to stop Canadian
products coming in. The Americans
use NAFTA and WTO challenges to
try to pry their way into Canadian
supply managed markets but Canada
seldom challenges the U.S. under the
same trade regulations.
"I think that's because the
Americans really outdueled us at the
table at the last (trade) negotiations. 1
think the Americans knew perfectly
well what they were doing. I'm not
sure our negotiators fully understood
what we wanted. I think the
Americans got the better of the deal."
Canadian leaders like Prime
Minister Chretien and
Agriculture Minister Lyle
Vanclief keep saying we have a
rules -based trade system but. "the
rules are different for the Americans
than they are for Canada and why?
— because we didn't do a good
enough job at the negotiating table."
Part of Gaunt's 18 -year career in
politics as a Liberal MPP overlapped
the era of the revered Bill Stewart as
minister of agriculture, a time when
Stewart had tremendous intluence on
the Progressive Conservative
governments of John Robarts and
Bill Davis. It would be difficult today
for any agricultural minister to have
that kind of clout, Gaunt feels.
"The whole milieu has changed. I
mean it's a different scene than it was
in Bill Stewart's day. There were
politicians who represented rural
ridings who were constantly
bombarded by people saying 'I'm
going broke! I can't get a decent
dollar for my chickens. I might as
well give them away!' Bill Stewart
captured that sentiment, mobilized it
and he carried it at the cabinet table
and he had enough respect and power
at the cabinet table that he was able
to pretty much get what he wanted to
get.
"Today, you count up the number
of rural MPPs in the provincial
government. You count up the
number of rural MPs in the federal
government."
Of the 101 ridings in Ontario now
there are only a handful that could be
considered semi -rural.
"Rural representation has been
eroded to such an extent that there
isn't the rural representation at the
cabinet table that there used to be.
That void is going to have to be filled
1101,
A very
DAY CHEETUS
�\
merry Christmas and sincere best wishes to a!l our good friends.
from the Staff and Directors of .. .
howvick MUTUAL INSURANCE
COMPANY
Wroxeter, Ontario
EQUIPMENT Built to Last
SNOWBLOWERS
Feed Mixer Wagons
Feed Mixers
Grain Buggies
Season's Best Wishes
HELM WELDING LIMITED
LUCKNOW, ONTARIO, CANADA PHONE 519-529-7627
DECEMBER 1999 25