SASKATOON – While federalist and sovereigntist politicians in Quebec and Ottawa slug it out and create the impression of a country where co-operation is impossible, Quebec young farmers are quietly building bridges.
“We’re taking the initiative with the national round table to see if there’s any interest in the rest of country,” said Jacques Demers, the president of La Federation de la Releve Agricole du Quebec, a group for new farmers.
“The way we view it is not as a Quebec thing,” he said through a translator during a Saskatoon stopover on a tour of Western Canada.
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Demers’ organization wants to establish a forum, a “national round table,” for young farmers from across Canada. This would give them the chance to build alliances across the country and have a stronger voice when talking to the federal government, Demers said.
There is no cross-Canada young farmers organization now, he said, but there are many issues that are as relevant in Western Canada as they are in Quebec.
Demers said the hottest issue for young farmers in Quebec is ensuring that parents can pass their farms down to their children.
But agricultural education and financing for young farmers are also pressing topics, and it seems these are shared across Canada, he said.
Although he had only visited British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan so far on the Farm Credit Corporation-financed trip, Demers said there was much common ground and he was hopeful the national roundtable could be built.
The organization his group envisions, Demers said, would have a very “light structure.” This would not only keep costs down, but also allow young farmers to be involved without taking a lot of time away from their farms.
Demers said young Quebec farmers are keenly interested in what is going on outside the province and aren’t worried about being drawn into federalist-sovereigntist battles.
What’s going on
“It’s not that controversial an issue because people want to know what’s happening elsewhere, especially in English Canada,” Demers said.
And while he was uncomfortable with and shied away from discussing the national unity debate, he said Quebec farmers don’t mind getting involved in other issues.
“It depends what the word ‘politics’ means. If it means getting people together and wanting to work together on something like (farm financing for beginning farmers) that’s something we’re really comfortable doing,” Demers said.
