THUNDER BAY, Ont. – The Liberal government plans to act quickly this autumn to reintroduce a bevy of farmer-affecting legislation it did not get through the last Parliament, agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief promised last week.
Among them will be changes to the Canada Labor Code to ensure export grain cannot be held up by third-party labor disputes on the West Coast, he told the Canadian Federation of Agriculture board of directors July 25.
John Pearson, of Alberta Wheat Pool, said he had been disappointed the last government did not ensure approval of labor code changes, new marine legislation and Canadian Wheat Board Act amendments before the June election was called.
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“We’ll be moving on all those quickly after the House is back,” said Vanclief. The new Parliament is expected to sit in mid-September.
Later, he said changes to modernize co-operatives legislation also will be brought back to Parliament.
It was Vanclief’s first public appearance before the CFA board since his June appointment to cabinet.
It was a day of general promises, good wishes and introductions, tempered only by one caution that Vanclief should not forget who he represents.
“Farmers want to have someone to represent them, to be their lawyer to the public service,” Quebec farm leader Laurent Pellerin, president of l’Union des Producteurs Agricoles, told the minister.
Sometimes, ministers become spokesmen for the government to farmers, rather than spokesmen for farmers to the government, he said. “I hope the minister of agriculture will keep the interests of farmers in mind and represent their views to government.”
Later, when asked about environmental issues and whether he would defend farmers against the encroachment of increasingly costly and restrictive environmental rules, Vanclief returned to Pellerin’s point.
“I will defend the industry because I have faith that we in the industry can make it sustainable,” he said. “But I’ll not defend anyone who is irresponsible.”
The minister told CFA he knows that cost recovery, safety nets and income volatility remain issues for the industry even though it is generally an optimistic time for farmers.
And he warned them that once Parliament starts to sit, he will be tied to Ottawa more because of the Liberals’ thin majority. He said ministers will not be able to travel as much as they once did, for fear of a government defeat in a close Commons vote.
It means farmers who want a meeting will more often have to travel to meet him, rather than having the minister visit their turf. “It’s not the way I would prefer it but I think that will be reality.”
CFA president Jack Wilkinson was unfazed.
“We are really looking forward to a good working relationship,” he told Vanclief.
