Prime minister Stephen Harper says farmers should be watching Parliament Hill May 2 for good financial news as the new Conservative government tables its first budget.
But the government would go no further April 24 than to indicate that the budget will fulfill a campaign promise to add $500 million to the farm safety net budget, although agriculture minister Chuck Strahl has said the government has a detailed plan in the works for farm help.
National farm leaders already have said that adding half a billion dollars to the safety net budget is inadequate and billions of dollars in new funds are needed now.
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“An announcement of $500 million is simply not going to be enough to get farmers close to being able to get a crop in this year,” Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Bob Friesen told an April 24 news conference near Parliament Hill.
He said $2 billion annually for three years is needed simply to get farmers on an even keel and to replace losses. And the money should be sent to provincial capitals where province-specific support programs can be developed.
The Conservatives have promised an additional $2.5 billion over five years. There has been no commitment to ship money to provincial capitals.
As tractors once again disrupted some traffic April 24 on Wellington Street in front of Parliament and in front of 24 Sussex Dr. where Harper lives, Friesen and CFA affiliated farm leaders released a letter to the government calling Canada’s support for farmers “disgraceful.”
The letter said Canada is unique among developed nations in not supporting its farmers adequately.
Liberal agriculture critic Wayne Easter called the farm leaders’ letter an “indictment” of the new Conservative government.
In the House of Commons April 24, the prime minister faced a barrage of questions about farm aid. Tractors were back in the capital and since a mass Parliament Hill rally April 5, a small group of Ontario activists has been blockading food distribution warehouses in the Ottawa area, trying to force retailers to pay farmers higher prices.
“We are very concerned about the agricultural situation,” Harper told Bloc Québecois leader Gilles Duceppe in the House of Commons. “I will tell him to wait for the budget to hear the news.”
Duceppe had cited a claim by Quebec farm leader Laurent Pellerin that every day, a Quebec farmer goes out of business.
Earlier, agriculture minister Chuck Strahl had rejected a meeting with protesting Ontario farmers by pleading for patience.
“The government committed to increasing the annual federal investment in agriculture,” the minister said in response to a demand from the food warehouse protesters that he meet with them April 21. “We’re going to follow through on that commitment and are currently working on a detailed plan to be announced in the near future. In the meantime, we ask for your patience.”
Friesen said the plea for patience is wearing thin. They need help now.
He said the May 2006 census of farmers will show an “alarming” exodus of young people from the land and a serious problem of equity erosion on the farm.
“This is a crisis and the government simply has to come forward with help,” Friesen said. “Farmers are questioning the government’s commitment to their industry.”
All opposition parties embraced the farmer call for more funding.
“Will the minister of agriculture act now to provide immediate aid today to farmers so they can put seeds in the ground this spring?” New Democratic Party agriculture critic Alex Atamanenko asked April 24 in the Commons.
Liberal critic Easter demanded an immediate announcement.
Strahl was not in the Commons but parliamentary secretary David Anderson gave a feisty response.
He noted that the government’s first action was to begin sending out $755 million promised by the previous Liberal government but not delivered.
“This government has already delivered $500 million to the farm community,” he said. “There is another $255 million coming from that first program. There is another $500 million committed in the budgetary process. We will look after our farmers.”
