The Rural Voice, 1988-03, Page 80BRUCE COUNTY Federation of Agriculture NEWSLETTER
446 10th St., Hanover, Ontario N4N 1P9 519-364-3050
by Grant Collins
At the beginning of February a dele-
gation (Gerry Poechman, Bill Davis,
Brian Ireland, Art Houghton, Grant
Collins) from the BCFA made a visit to
Queen's Park to check the attitude and
dedication of our provincial govern-
ment toward agriculture.
Our first meeting was with Bob
Martin and David Wilkes from Monte
Kwinter's Department of Industry,
Trade, and Technology. They reaf-
firmed the government's stance against
free trade and indicated that there are
about 400,000 jobs that could be sensi-
tive to declining tariffs. According to an
OMAF study, the only positive effect
for agriculture is in the red meat sector.
The department has eight trade of-
fices in major population areas in the
U.S. as well as several throughout Eu-
rope and Japan. Staff are briefed several
times a year to keep them current about
products we may have to trade or to
indicate niches in markets that we might
be able to fill.
Our next visit was with Claudio
Polsinelli, Mr. Nixon 's policy advisor in
the Treasury Department. He, along
with three of his assistants, listened in-
tently while we explained some of our
ideas for assisting agriculture.
Some of the topics covered were:
1. The need for more and/or the
continuation of present programs that
put money in farmers' hands to enable
them to pay today's bills — programs
such as the farm tax rebate, OFFIRR,
and the safety and repairs program.
2. Possibly a more meaningful beef
cow -calf program to offer more incen-
tive to build our Ontario herd since
Western Canadian calves are prohibi-
tively high because of better subsidy
programs in the Western provinces.
3. The need for new sources of
agricultural financing. Farm Credit and
the banks are often willing to make a
cash settlement with farmers in diffi-
culty but there is virtually nowhere to
find some cash. During the Depression,
the Province of Ontario Savings Office
lent money for agriculture and we sug-
gested that this be looked at again.
4. Tripartite stabilization is not
adequate for Ontario producers. While
Ontario adheres to the program, the
78 THE RURAL VOICE
other major provinces are either side,
bottom, or top -loading their programs
with more benefits, and it is extremely
difficult and in most cases impossible to
compete with our fellow Canadians,
never mind free trade with Americans.
We had a good dialogue with these
people and while no promises were
made we felt their concern was sincere.
We discussed the same topics with
Noble Villeneuve, P.C. agriculture
critic, Len Terkevics, his assistant, and
Al McLean, MPP for Simcoe East.
They were all forward -thinking indi-
viduals who saw and promoted the
benefits of free trade. They were also
aware of the financial crunch and the
current inequities in the beef sector, as
Noble indicated that his feedlot at home
was empty. They said they would try to
keep the govemment on track.
We met briefly with Murray Elston
• The Rural Voice is provided to Bruce
County federation members by the BCFA.
between his cabinet meeting and budget
estimates. He discussed our concerns
and we suggested that he look favorably
on agriculture when he gives final ap-
proval to various departmental budgets.
Our last visit was with OMAF. We
met with Henry Ediger, Ken Knox, Bob
Sequin, and Lou D'Onofrio. After we
offered some of our ideas for discussion,
they seemed generally to be rather de-
fensive of present programs and not all
that open-minded about the possibility
of initiating any new ones. We hope
there will be a surprise when the budget
is announced.
They did agree that other provinces
provide more government support than
Ontario does, but that didn't seem to
bother them. One cannot expect a warm
reception everywhere, but a cool recep-
tion from our own department, so to
speak, was not very encouraging.°
FARMERS MUST COMMUNICATE PROBLEMS
by Brian Ireland
I have the unique privilege of represent-
ing the rural community as a co-ordinator for
the Queen's Bush Rural Ministry and as
Bruce South provincial director for the OFA.
The experience has certainly been an
eye-opener. As a co-ordinator for the minis-
try, I have received more than 300 calls since
the service began in early December. As a
director for the federation, I have received
fewer than five, and inevitably the caller
challenges me with the statement, "What is
the OFA going to do about this?"
Most of the calls coming into the help-
line are related to finances. The farmers are
those who three years ago hs.d enough equity
to continue farming had the financial institu-
tion they dealt with co-operated in restruc-
turing their debt. Because this did not hap-
pen. they are now facing being petitioned
into federal debt review with vastly eroded
equity statements.
The calls that are not financial have
finances at the root of the problem. These are
the people who can't deal with spouses who
have drastic mood swings and suffer from
severe depression. Parents are at a loss about
how to deal with children who are getting the
backlash. "Heart -breaking" is the only term
to describe this litany of misery.
Were I to depend on the information I get
as a provincial director for the OFA, I would
never know that anything is amiss in my
area. At the last provincial directors meet-
ing, this sentiment was echoed by directors
from other counties. I suspect, from the lack
of action to make any changes, that MPs and
MPPs aren't being informed either.
The OMAF Helpline is getting a major
portion of its calls from the Huron and Perth
County area. The OFA directors of these
counties are getting no calls. How can they
be effective in representing the concerns of
their counties when the farmers there won't
at least use the phone to inform them of their
situations? The directors were elected to
represent them, and if they weren't trustwor-
thy enough to assure confidentiality about
concerns, they wouldn't have been elected.
Calling a helpline to solve immediate
concerns may be temporary relief, but in the
long run it won't make an impact. If farmers
are ever to get their recurring problems
solved with any degree of success, they must
inform their local commodity boards and the
associations that represent them. Silence
may be golden, but it can also be deadly! In
the past, farmers' greatest strengths were
pride and independence. Now these quali-
ties are their greatest weaknesses.
As a co-ordinator for the rural ministry,
my aim is to help those who call on an
individual basis with an immediate problem.
As a director of the OFA, my aim is to bring
these problems to light so they can be dis-
cussed and changes can be made on a long-
term basis for the benefit of all farmers in
Ontario. Right now, this is proving impos-
sible because farmers insist on hiding behind
their pride and independence.0