When some Saskatchewan farmers go to the polls Nov. 5 they’ll get to vote twice.
The provincial election is being held the same day that rural municipalities hold votes for half their councillors.
Some wondered whether this was the second time rural voters would be slighted. In 1999, a harvest campaign drew much criticism.
But premier Lorne Calvert said having the elections the same day will benefit farm voters.
“Knowing that election would be on Nov. 5, knowing that approximately 80 percent will be returned by acclamation, it was my view that in fact by co-ordinating on Nov. 5 those people that live in rural Saskatchewan will only have to make one trip to town that week,” he told reporters.
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Polling stations could be located in the same facility, and this could lead to increased voter turnout at the RM elections, he suggested.
Provincially, if that farm vote does turn out, it is expected to stay with the Saskatchewan Party.
But all three parties are pledging to address an issue that has festered for years and on which most farm groups agree – high education tax on farmland.
“They have to deal with it,” said Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities president Neal Hardy.
Property reassessment in 2005 will result in taxes on grazing land going up 45 percent, mostly on the education side.
“That’s just totally unacceptable,” Hardy said, especially considering what beef producers are going through due to bovine spongiform encephalopathy.
He said the NDP’s plan to wait for a commission to make recommendations for change is not enough.
The Saskatchewan Party plan at least contains a definitive number, Hardy said, “as long as they live up to it.”
Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan president Terry Hildebrandt said farmers want the education tax formula changed so people services are paid for by a people tax.
APAS has asked the parties where they stand on subsidies, farm sustainability, BSE compensation, hidden taxes and assurance policies for livestock producers.
Hildebrandt said the parties aren’t offering enough concrete solutions to agricultural issues.
He said a study done for APAS found that agriculture is accountable for more than 50 percent of the economic activity in Saskatchewan.
“If there’s room to invest in that, why wouldn’t we want to keep it?” he said. “We don’t really have a party coming out and appreciating that.”
Hardy also said a new government must focus more on rural economic development. The Action Committee on the Rural Economy has provided recommendations but no real action has been taken, he said.
National Farmers Union president Stewart Wells said measures to improve farm income or keep it from slipping further have to be front and centre for the government.
That includes keeping utility rates as low as possible and maintaining the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly. The Saskatchewan Party advocates producer choice for grain marketing.
