Jay Hill, newly appointed Reform party agriculture spokesperson, says he brings flexibility and an open mind to his new parliamentary duties. He is urging the Liberal government to bring the same attitude to such contentious debates as reform of the Canadian Wheat Board.
“This issue has deeply divided farmers and we have to resolve it,” he said in an interview. “I’ve seen brother against brother on this, villages divided. I hope the Liberals are prepared to listen to us when we tell them the bill they had before simply doesn’t do the job.”
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Yet Hill, who with his brother ran a 3,000 acre grain farm near Fort St. John until he sold his share to his brother in 1995, has seen evidence that Reform’s policy of a voluntary wheat board does not always hold sway in voter opinion.
It was a mark of Hill’s non-confrontational style as an MP when he appeared before the Commons agriculture committee last March to tell fellow MPs the majority of his constituents disagree with his party’s wheat board position.
He had surveyed grain farmers in his Prince GeorgeÐPeace River riding. Fifty-seven percent indicated they wanted to maintain the board’s single-desk selling power.
He said many of his farmer constituents are worried that a dual system would lead to the end of the wheat board. “A full market system doesn’t have the same appeal to farmers in the Peace River region than if you’re 100 or even 200 miles from the Canadian border.”
Last week, Hill said his job as chief Reform agriculture spokesperson is to be open-minded about challenges to party policy. “I believe in the party policy and I will promote it. But they are not cast in stone. They are open to debate.”
Hill said natural resources minister Ralph Goodale, who retains responsibility for the wheat board, has not shown that same flexibility. “He seems unbending in his support for the monopoly board,” said the Reform MP. “I will appeal to [agriculture minister Lyle] Vanclief, who I think is fair and heard the full range of opinions as chairman of the committee, to try to convince Goodale that the old way is divisive. Reintroducing the old bill will not do the job.”
And Hill said the government must change its policy of punishing those who try to run the border with grain.
Hill, 45, farmed for 20 years. He is a past president of the B.C. Grain Producers’ Association and a past director of the B.C. Federation of Agriculture.
He said he will advocate a strengthened farm safety net for farmers, with national standards.
But he also said politicians should not mislead farmers about how much help they can expect from governments. “I think we can do a lot of work in this area but we also have to be careful not to hold out false hopes,” said Hill.
Although he will be the main agriculture spokesperson in Reform’s “shadow cabinet,” Hill will be supported by three veteran MPs.
Alberta’s Leon Benoit, Saskatchewan’s Allan Kerpan and Manitoba’s Jake Hoeppner have been appointed deputy critics.
