After spending most of last week in Washington, Senate agriculture committee chair Len Gustafson returned to Canada with a blunt message for the federal government.
The Americans are in no mood to reduce farm subsidies. They are headed in the opposite direction.
If Canada does not compete, its grains and oilseeds producers will fall further behind. Find more money for the grains and oilseeds sector, he said.
“We spent time meeting with congressmen and they told us bluntly they will not back off subsidies at all,” said Gustafson.
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“Their farm lobby is too strong.”
In fact, while Canada’s senators were in Washington, D.C., the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate voted to support $5.5 billion in additional emergency aid.
“The message is clear from them,” said the southern Saskatchewan grain farmer.
“They are gearing up to be even more supportive of their grain farmers. So the message to our government is also very clear. Are we going to have a grains and oilseeds industry and if we want one, are we prepared to support it? If we don’t, we could lose it.”
He said American politicians are considering using a new farm bill to expand the basket of crops eligible for federal subsidies.
Gustafson said one of the differences between the political moods in Washington and Ottawa is that public opinion polls in the U.S. show 75 percent of the population supports increased support for farmers if they need it.
In Canada, public opinion research completed for Agriculture Canada suggested public support for more farm aid is weak. Gustafson said it may be because agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief constantly argues that Canada cannot afford to match American or European Union subsidies.
“That seems to be a message to farmers and taxpayers – not to expect more,” said Gustafson.
“But I don’t know how the government can turn a blind eye to the problems in our grains and oilseeds sector.”
In fact, the federal government insists it is not ignoring the problem.
Recent Agriculture Canada projections on farm income say direct payments to farmers from programs supported by federal and provincial governments will increase to $3.5 billion in 2001, more than double the 1996-2000 average.
The level of support this year is projected to be close to record levels established a decade ago, before the Liberals assumed office in 1993 and began to cut farm supports.
