Rural Ontario Liberal backbencher Paul Steckle was sounding more like an opposition politician than a government man last week after listening to Ontario farmers plead for help.
“Agriculture in Ontario, across the country, is being hurt,” he said. “Either we as a government pony up more money or we might not have an agriculture industry left.”
For two days, Ontario farm leaders prowled Parliament Hill last week, reminding politicians and bureaucrats of the support gap between American and Ontario farmers and demanding parity with the United States.
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This week, they are doing the same at the Ontario Legislature.
Ontario Federation of Agriculture vice-president Bill Mailloux said they received support in Ottawa.
“I think we found much more support from the politicians and bureaucrats this time than we did when we were there last spring,” he said Sept. 29 in an interview from his southwestern Ontario farm. “I believe we will be getting help.”
At Wawanesa, Man., Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Bob Friesen said any help for Ontario will have to find its way to farmers nationally.
Last week, the CFA stepped up the pressure on Ottawa and provincial governments by endorsing the OFA call for support similar to what American and European Union farmers get.
“Farm groups are looking for governments to take the lead,” he said in a news release. “This crisis is not over and our members are frustrated more and more every day.”
The CFA calculates that for every $1 Canadian governments spend, the U.S. spends $2.06 in support and the EU $2.14.
The national farm lobby called Canada’s support for farmers “embarrassingly low.”
Despite the growing political support for government help that is proportionately equal to American levels, there is no agreement on how much that would cost. The Ontario lobby suggests their gap with the Americans is $65 per acre and would require $300 million additional federal and provincial dollars to fill.
The Ontario coalition says that translates into $1.5 billion more across Canada.
The CFA has not endorsed that number.
“We are not setting a dollar figure on it because we have not seen detailed calculations, but we are supporting the principle of parity and that definitely means more money,” Friesen said in an Oct. 2 interview.
At a recent conference in South Dakota, agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief complained to the Americans about their subsidy levels but promptly said Canada could not keep up.
Mailloux from the OFA said that did not seem to be the mood inside the Liberal caucus in Ottawa.
“I believe a number of MPs we spoke to support the idea that if we are to compete with the Americans, our government must be competitive with American support levels,” he said.
Steckle agreed.
“If we want an agricultural industry, governments must do more,” he said. “Americans are in the farm subsidy business for the long haul but we never seem to do more than short-term commitments. That has to change.”
Canadian Alliance MP Gerry Ritz of Saskatchewan, who met with the Ontario farmers, agreed more help is needed now.
“We do not believe it is the long-term solution but right now, as the government has full pockets, I think some additional support would help.”
