EDMONTON – The third week of Alberta’s election campaign began with the major party leaders arguing who knew the most about farming and which would fight the hardest for producers with Ottawa.
Later in the week, premier Ralph Klein, Liberal leader Nancy MacBeth and New Democrat Raj Pannu all denounced the federal government’s $500 million farm aid package as insufficient.
The leaders faced each other Feb. 26 in a televised debate, where they were asked what they would do to ease this year’s looming farm crisis. Klein said the most serious problems are in irrigated areas of southern Alberta where the government has already invested “billions of dollars into the main canals and the headworks of irrigation.”
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Klein acknowledged farmers are facing higher input costs because of the price rise for natural gas and fertilizer. He said his government has already set up natural gas rebates, and will ask Ottawa to help bring fertilizer costs down.
“If they don’t, we’ll do as we’ve done in the past. We won’t let our farmers down,” Klein said, referring to Alberta’s $600 million in provincial support programs announced last year.
MacBeth attacked Klein for deregulating electricity and creating another soaring input cost.
“Southern Alberta farmers are facing many things, but our irrigation farmers can’t afford the electricity to run the pivots,” MacBeth said.
Her comments sparked a heated exchange with Klein whether more electricity than natural gas was used to power irrigation, and which leader knew more about agriculture.
MacBeth charged that Klein has failed to press the federal government to fight unfair international farm subsidies.
“Why didn’t you support the premiers of Saskatchewan and Manitoba when they went to fight Ottawa? You ignored them all,” she said.
Klein replied he is “not the kind of person who goes begging to Ottawa,” and that he expects MacBeth to lobby her federal Liberal cousins for Alberta’s fair share of farm aid money.
New Democrat Pannu also attacked electricity and natural gas deregulation, saying, “unless it’s reversed … we are facing a disaster in the rural areas.”
The New Democrat farm policy calls for an investigation of railway competition policies and a halt to grain elevator demolition and rail line abandonment.
The Liberal agriculture platform promises a restructuring of existing Alberta aid programs into a “one window” system, which MacBeth said could receive higher funding levels, if required.
MacBeth also said the Liberals would set provincial air and water quality standards for intensive livestock operations but would give municipalities zoning powers to exclude such farms if they choose.
Albertans go the polls March 12. Current standings in the 83-seat Legislature are Progressive Conservative 63, Liberals 15, New Democrats two, one independent and one vacant.
