Throne Speech Government plan for new session has little new in it for agriculture; Ritz non-committal on grain commission changes
As agricultural visions go, last week’s throne speech to launch the last two years of the current Conservative mandate was thin gruel.
In a 23-page speech that took governor general David Johnston almost an hour to read Oct. 16, there was just one paragraph about agriculture to launch the new session of Parliament.
It was as much about the past as the future.
“Our government has given farmers marketing freedom and is helping them adapt and innovate,” Johnston read.
“It will continue to develop new markets around the world for Canadian products while supporting supply management.”
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Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz said later that farmers should not expect grand new initiatives during the next two years of Conservative government. Trade policy will be the key to agricultural success.
“As far as agriculture goes, it will be more of the same, free trade agreements and when there are issues like country-of-origin labelling, we use our muscle at the WTO (World Trade Organization) to get those countries to a panel,” he said.
“We will continue to focus on trade and the marketplace, not the mailbox.”
He said the government wants to see more investment in new varieties and plans to reform the varietal registration process.
However, Ritz was non-committal about whether further changes to the Canadian Grain Commission are on the agenda.
Last year, the government changed the Canada Grain Act to shift more regulatory responsibility to the grain industry, reduce the number of mandatory services provided by the commission, end the system of regional assistant commissioners and increase commission fees to make it financially self-sufficient.
At the time, chief commissioner Elwin Hermanson said the next phase of reform should be to change the governance structure from the current commissioner system to a more typical corporate model.
Ritz said he met with Hermanson last week but would not comment on whether more changes to the commission are in the works.
“I’m not going to commit to anything because those discussions are ongoing,” he said. “Everything is on the table at this time.”
The throne speech also made scant mention of the long-time Conservative promise of Senate reform, noting that the Supreme Court of Canada will hear a federal reference this autumn to rule on whether Ottawa can act unilaterally to change the Senate without provincial agreement or constitutional change.
The Senate is mired in controversy over the expense claims of three Conservative senators appointed by prime minister Stephen Harper. This week, senators are debating a government motion to suspend Pamela Wallin (Saskatchewan), Mike Duffy (Prince Edward Island) and Patrick Brazeau (Quebec) without pay for up to two years.
Wallin has vowed to fight any suspension in court.
The throne speech said the current Senate is “unacceptable” and must be changed.
“The Senate must be reformed or, as with its provincial counterparts, vanish,” said the speech written by the government and read in the Senate chamber by Johnston.
“The government will proceed upon receiving the advice of the supreme court.”
A court ruling is not expected until next year.
