They’re Ottawa politicians and they want to know what you think about
agriculture policy and the government’s role.
At a time when domestic farm policy and international trade policy are
in flux, the House of Commons agriculture committee is holding three
weeks of hearings across the country this winter to listen to farmers.
“Modern agriculture is a risky and competitive business and government
intervention has often been used as a stabilizing force,” committee
chair and New Brunswick Liberal Charles Hubbard said when he announced
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the hearings Jan. 17.
“Emerging factors such as environmental accountability, biotechnology,
market concentration and multilateral trade negotiations are changing
the development of the partnership relation between farmers and the
government.”
He said MPs want to ask farmers “what they expect from the government
in the future.”The committee will be in Stonewall, Man., in the morning
of Feb. 18 and Brandon in the afternoon.
The following day, there will be a morning meeting in Davidson, Sask.,
and an afternoon hearing in Swift Current.
On Feb. 20, MPs will be in Grande Prairie, Alta., for a morning
meeting. The following day, they will hold a morning meeting in Vulcan,
Alta.
The committee wraps up the western tour in Kelowna, B.C., the afternoon
of Feb. 21 and in Kamloops the morning of Feb. 22.
The committee will travel to Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada in
March and present a report to Parliament in the spring.
The Commons committee is one of several groups looking at the future of
Canadian agricultural policy.
Federal and provincial agriculture ministers are debating a radical
revamping of national agriculture policy. Their discussions continue
this week in Toronto and the goal is implementation by summer 2003.
The Senate agriculture committee continues to hold hearings on the
state of agriculture and appropriate policies.
And a task force of Liberal MPs has been touring the country, asking
many of the same questions, with a report due to the prime minister by
the end of the year.
The Commons agriculture committee is encouraging farmers and those with
an interest in farm policy to contact committee clerk Suzanne Verville
at the House of Commons to arrange either an appearance or submission
of a brief.
