The federal Liberal response to the March 14 farm rallies across the country was to spend thousands of dollars the next day purchasing advertisements in prairie and Ontario newspapers, extolling the government’s generosity.
“Supporting our farmers,” said the ads, which cost more than $4,000 in Ottawa and Winnipeg newspapers. “The government of Canada is doing its part to help farm families cope with hard times. This year, we have committed $1.6 billion in income assistance.”
In the House of Commons, opposition MPs denounced the ads as costly propaganda to try to convince urban voters that the farmers on the streets demanding more help were wrong.
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Agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief refused to say how much money the government spent.
He defended the campaign as simple information.
“The government has an obligation to inform Canadians what it does,” he said March 16. “(opposition MPs) often remind us that we should tell Canadians what the government is doing.”
Manitoba Conservative Rick Borotsik, who first raised it in question period, said Canadians should also know what the minister has not done.
He said Vanclief likes to talk about how much the agriculture budget has increased since 1995, the year when the Liberals stripped more than $1 billion out of farm support spending.
“Can he tell us why in 1993 there was $4.4 billion in federal government spending and today there is only $2 billion in federal spending?” said Borotsik. “What happened to the difference?”
Vanclief said it has gone toward the $42 billion debt the previous Conservative government left.
Later, Alberta Canadian Alliance MP Leon Benoit joined the fray.
“The agriculture minister has responded in a cold and callous way to farmers’ rallies by placing ads in big city newspapers saying that he is right and farmers are wrong,” said Benoit.
“Why is this minister more concerned with protecting his own image than in protecting the family farm?”
Laying out facts
Vanclief denied he was saying farmers are wrong. He was simply setting out the facts about how much the government spends.
“Farmers are not suffering from a lack of Liberal rhetoric.
“They are suffering from a lack of government action,” retorted Benoit.
The agriculture minister said the Alliance is a late convert to the farm aid issue, only recently indicating support for farm aid and supply management.
“Contrary to that, the Liberal government has been there, will be there and will always be there for our farmers and getting support and resources to grain farmers, supply management and other primary producers in this country,” Vanclief said.
