It’s been a year since the busses and pickup trucks brought thousands of farmers to Sask Place for a protest rally.
Sponsored by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, the rally was planned as a finale to other prairie rallies aiming for political attention. Farmers were angry, and showed solidarity. Some were plain desperate for help.
The event grabbed media attention — but the politicians bluntly said there was no more money to give.
A year later, there’s a strange silence across the land. No more rallies. Few angry meetings, except those which involve health care or education for rural areas. Was the past year really such a positive change?
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Statistics Canada has presented nice sounding numbers about how farm income has grown; the politicians sell the latest international trade deal as a good deal for Canada; market prices for grain are stronger than they were a year ago; cattle prices continue to remain favorable; canola became the cinderella crop of the year; moisture levels are up and grasshopper numbers are down.
However, on the flip side, the trade deal has led supply management farmers to be unsure of their future; U.S.-Canada trade relations in agriculture are heated at times; debates among farmers over the Canadian Wheat Board and continental marketing continue; the weather was not a positive factor in the past year for virtually everyone across the prairies; and grain prices must rise significantly to meet the costs that went into producing the loaf of bread for consumers.
Did the rally really help? Have farmers changed their attitude about the need to protest, or is this just a temporary lull?
The answer will follow whether the new government in Ottawa treats agriculture as a sacred cow, or a target when dealing with a $42 billion federal deficit.
