IT IS a sign of the fiscal and political asylum that pre-election Ottawa became last week that an agriculture minister could announce a three-quarters-of-a-billion dollar aid package and it was barely noticed on Parliament Hill.
Led by finance minister Ralph Goodale and other ministers who have been hammered by farm lobbyists over a lack of farm spending announcements in the recent $30 billion-plus mini-budget, the government last week found a major chunk of farm money to at least promise.
In national media Nov. 23, a much bigger Indian residential schools package plus impending multibillion-dollar announcements for softwood lumber and military purchases literally knocked farm aid out of the newscasts all day.
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Mitchell even lost out in coverage to a bizarre campaign by a Toronto-area MP to keep misogynist, gun-violence extolling rap singer 50 Cent out of the country.
And in the House of Commons that day, not a word, not a question from the opposition nor even a planted friendly question from a Liberal MP.
It was almost as if even the Liberals knew the announcement would get lost in the shuffle in the frantic and desperate Liberal pre-election spending spree.
It was almost as if they knew that in a $30 billion Liberal spending frenzy, farm aid was small potatoes.
It was almost as if they knew it would be disparaged as ‘too little, too late.’ On the Prairies, it received major attention and some praise but nationally, it was not even a blip.
Maybe the promise will find some traction during the election campaign but for the moment, rarely has an announcement of $755 million in spending sunk so quickly beneath the surface without a ripple.
On the other hand, Mitchell probably wishes the announcement had not received as much coverage in battleground Ontario, or at least the kind of coverage it received.
Rarely has a major farm aid announcement received such negative reviews and this is in an electoral territory where dozens of rural seats are up for grabs in a tight, unpredictable election.
Ontario farm leaders savaged the announcement. They have been lobbying for a program that would bring $300 million to Ontario annually rather than the $123 million one-time payment promised.
“Farmers across Ontario are disappointed and angry with the federal government’s offer of financial assistance earlier this week,” said Ontario Federation of Agriculture vice-president Paul Mistele. “The reasons are obvious – the amount offered was only a fraction of the amount identified as what the industry needs to survive the ongoing crisis, and the federal government assistance is for one year only and does not address needs across Ontario’s diverse agricultural sectors.”
Campaigning Conservatives ended the week saying they will not necessarily be bound by the details of the Liberal farm aid announcement, while being quick to insist a Conservative government would offer help.
Rarely have so many dollars drawn so little attention or hostility from so many.
Politicians must sometimes wonder if the political energy and compromises needed to extract farm funding commitments from government are worth the effort, given the usual less-than-generous response.
Conservatives who dream of being loved by farmers when in office should lower their expectations.
