WESTERN Canadians would be right to feel extreme disappointment with the federal Liberal party after hearing the details of last week’s mini-budget.
While the fiscal plan stands little chance of being passed before an election is called, the exclusion of agriculture sends a message that the sector is not important in the Liberal vision.
If it were, the Liberals would have mentioned it within a $39 billion announcement that included new spending and tax cuts over the next five years.
Although he ignored it in the mini-budget, federal finance minister Ralph Goodale, who grew up in a farming area south of Regina and now represents a riding that includes south Regina and surrounding countryside, should know the situation well. His plan came after farm lobby warnings of an income crisis in the grains and oilseeds sector.
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As well, a major review earlier this year by parliamentary secretary Wayne Easter outlined problems in the sector and recommended action. There is no shortage of reliable information on the problem.
To top it off, Ottawa has forecast a budget surplus of more than $8 billion this year. The money is there.
By including agriculture in the Nov. 14 pre-election mini-budget, Goodale could have elevated the issues in the minds of many and signaled that the industry is as important as the high-tech sector, which received much attention.
Instead, Goodale has relayed the same message that dogged the Liberal party when Jean Chrétien was prime minister – that agriculture is not an important player in Canada’s economic future.
Compounding this is the missed opportunity to deliver needed assistance to struggling farmers.
Is an announcement on agriculture in the works, as some in Ottawa, including Easter, suggest? If so, why wait?
An announcement anytime is better late than never. However, providing the necessary programs to help struggling farmers should not be secondary to gaining political points, which the Liberals may hope to do by delaying action until the election campaign.
On the matter of the election, it is imperative that all parties use it to thrust agricultural issues onto the national stage. Past election experience shows such issues don’t often receive the attention they deserve.
This time, all parties must release agricultural platforms and discuss agriculture during debates, at meetings and in their economic plans for the country.
There is no shortage of issues: shortcomings of the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program; compensation for farmers who use desired management practices that benefit society as a whole; and international trade threats to supply-managed systems and the Canadian Wheat Board, to name a few.
Agriculture may be a minor consideration for the country’s urban population, but elections provide a perfect time to ensure the sector gets a share of the spotlight that befits its national importance.
