OTTAWA – Canada’s largest farm lobby group plans to use the political uncertainty of an election year to try to win its campaign against escalating government service fees.
Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Jack Wilkinson said last week politicians are heading into a period when they become sensitive to criticism and anxious to please.
It will be a perfect time to turn up the heat on the government to establish some co-ordinated control over rising government fees and to develop some way to keep track of the cumulative impact of these multi-million dollar cost increases.
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“This issue has got to be resolved and it has to be done by the politicians,” he said. “The bureaucrats seem to think if they delay, it will go away. It is infuriating that this issue is still hanging around when the impact on farmers is obvious.”
He said farm lobbyists have been amazed the government appears to have launched its cost recovery program without analyzing the possible overall effects.
And they have been angered that the government refuses to concede the higher costs are making the Canadian industry less competitive in the marketplace.
“They seem to be operating on the assumption that the farm economy is far stronger and that farmers are far better off than they are,” he said. “Hopefully, heading into the campaign period, everybody is paying better attention now.”
Wilkinson said the CFA also will be asking all political parties for their commitments on a number of issues, from farm financing and marketing boards to research and user fees.
“They may not do what they say once they get in office, but at least we’ll have something to measure them against,” he said.
