Saskatchewan politicians and farm leaders don’t plan to return to Ottawa any time soon to press for farm aid.
But their presence, and they hope that of all Saskatchewan residents, will be felt.
Members of the delegation who went to Ottawa late last month to ask for $1 billion in assistance agreed last Friday to start a letter-writing campaign.
They want all Saskatchewan people to write to prime minister Jean ChrŽtien to increase his awareness and understanding of the situation facing farm families.
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Saskatchewan agriculture minister Dwain Lingenfelter said the letters, faxes, phone calls and e-mails could also go to other cabinet ministers. He said the business community and unions will be encouraged to show their support as well. He said it’s all part of an expanded approach to the issue.
“We’re looking at the opportunity of meeting with the port authority in Vancouver, which is severely impacted by a cutback in grain production, if that’s what it means to get them to come on side,” Lingenfelter told reporters.
“We’re looking at the unions who produce steel in Hamilton because much of that steel is used in the process of building (farm) equipment.”
Alfred Wagner, president of Pro-West Rally Group, said members of his group have sent hundreds of letters to Ottawa over the past year without a response.
“I think that is a shame for a prime minister of Canada to not respond and especially the hundreds of letters that went that the schoolchildren had written to him, expressing the hardships that they were having on the farms,” Wagner said.
“If we could get a tractor rally in Ottawa I would certainly be all in favor of that. More than that, unless Ottawa understands the seriousness of the farm crisis in Saskatchewan, our farmers are talking … unless we get some money here fairly quick we just might have to shut off the food into Ottawa.”
Asked if farmers would take a more militant approach, Lingenfelter said the delegation members would not condone that.
“It was decided very clearly that any acts of civil disobedience would not be accepted, tolerated or condoned by this organization.
“In fact it was clearly indicated that if there were organizations involved in that kind of actions they couldn’t be involved in our group.”
Stewart Wells, of the National Farmers Union, said the letter-writing campaign is a good idea.
“It’s a small part of the puzzle,” he said. “In and of itself it may be inconsequential,” but it shows the effort is expanding.
Saskatchewan Wheat Pool president Leroy Larsen said the group has to continue its focus on getting money outside the current safety net package.
“They should deal with it as we would a flood or an ice storm,” he said.
