If the Canadian Federation of Agriculture represents mainstream farmer opinion in Canada these days, the federal Liberal government has a problem.
It is not trusted. It is seen as not caring about farmers.
“We are dealing with a government that is very close to spinning its wheels when it comes to agriculture,” CFA vice-president and Manitoba turkey producer Bob Friesen told the federation’s annual meeting Feb. 26.
It was a common theme expressed many times, on many issues, in many ways.
When he discussed agriculture’s almost total absence from last week’s federal budget, president Jack Wilkinson said it appears the re-elected Liberals have forgotten the number of rural seats they hold.
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“People have become increasingly cynical over the last few years,” said Wilkinson. “They really feel they don’t have (government) departments which listen to them. There have been big cuts. It is time for reinvesting.”
The complaints ranged from the government refusal to stop imports of foreign butteroil to safety net under-funding, a lack of budget recognition and an unclear resolve to defend supply management and marketing boards at the next round of world trade talks.
In an interview, Quebec farm leader Laurent Pellerin aimed his criticism at agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief.
“You always give a new minister time to learn the file,” he said. “But I think farmers in Quebec and Canada now think he has had enough time. It is time for action. So far, we have not seen that. We have seen file management and delay.”
But the criticism did not extend just to Vanclief.
Friesen, chair of the association’s trade committee, reported on meeting last week with trade minister Sergio Marchi. The minister listened but he did not impress the farmer delegation that he will go into trade talks next year with farmer interests at heart.
“I don’t get the sense we had someone here determined to work for agriculture,” said Friesen.
And the concern extended beyond government attitude. There also were worries the farmer voice is being manipulated by government and bureaucrats.
Lack strong voice
Ontario Federation of Agriculture past-president Tony Morris said the animal welfare lobby in the province has become splintered with many voices claiming to speak for it. The result has been a dilution of the power of the message and the chance for government to pick and choose between messages.
“We risk the same kind of thing happening in agriculture,” he told the convention.
Wilkinson said the problem even extends to funding for the CFA.
It has struggled to balance the budget and in recent years, contracts with Agriculture Canada for shared-cost projects have become a key source of income and project staffing. He said one of the down sides is that in recent years, the CFA has become more dependent on government funding.
At one point, when he criticized former agriculture minister Ralph Goodale, Wilkinson received a telephone call from a departmental bureaucrat suggesting it would be unfortunate if the contract arrangements were disrupted.
“Are you threatening me?” Wilkinson said he asked.
The official quickly said no, but the CFA president used the incident as an example of how dependence can be dangerous.
