He has had little success trying to convince the federal government to help rained-out Peace River farmers.
Now, Reform MP Jay Hill is turning his gaze westward.
The Reform agriculture critic and Peace River MP last week asked British Columbia agriculture minister Corky Evans to request aid from Ottawa for part-time farmers affected by two years of excess rain that kept them off the land.
Hill said in a letter to Evans the federal government has suggested Peace River farmers are not eligible for help because the provincial governments have not asked for help.
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“It’s time to call his bluff,” he said.
In fact, Alberta has made a similar request but has not received agreement from Ottawa.
Federal agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief has said the problem is that Peace River farmers do not appear to fall within the rules of emergency aid because crop insurance was available and they did not suffer asset damage from the rains.
Military buys meat
Two Edmonton meat packers have won a significant federal contract to supply meat products during the next year to three military facilities in Alberta.
The public works department could buy as much as $1.5 million worth of product from Edmonton Meat Packing Ltd. and Capital Packers Ltd.
If needed, meat products will be purchased for federal workers and service personnel in Edmonton, Cold Lake and Wainwright, Alta.
The federal government said if the maximum amount of product called for under the contract is purchased, it could create eight new jobs and help preserve another 185.
Bureaucrat honored
During the first Liberal government, Nick Mulder was one of the most powerful bureaucrats in Ottawa. As deputy transport minister working for minister Doug Young, Mulder helped orchestrate the 1995 end of the Crow Benefit subsidy, pressed for deregulation of the rail industry and oversaw the sale of CN Rail.
Then, he left government to take a high-profile, lucrative private sector job in the telecommunications industry.
This week, Mulder receives one more honor from the federal government. On Thursday, he stands with others at Government House to be sworn in as an officer of the Order of Canada.
When the honor was announced, he was credited with the change of Transport Canada from one of the government’s largest departments to a small one.
“He led the department’s restructuring drive with a clear vision of the future, mindful of the need to maintain the integrity of our domestic transportation system,” read the citation issued by Government House.
