Re: Ignatieff pledges review of farm programs, supports (March 3,Western Producer).
Michael Ignatieff has a lot of opinions on the state of agriculture in Canada and makes many promises that he hopes to deliver in this article. It could be perceived that many of these promises he has put forth are just an election ploy to sway the rural vote in his direction. Many others have stated that they would back agriculture and continue to support the industry, but they failed to deliver on these promises.
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Ignatieff seems very much all talk when he proposes that a half billion dollars will be spent to improve rural areas, but in the next statement says he cannot confirm actual numbers until he is in office.
Rural areas and the agricultural sector need real solutions to be put forth, not just money thrown at them. In Canada, a serious commitment from the government to address the difficulties faced by agriculture, including the development and sustainability of agriculture, needs to be made.
Ignatieff promises to give tax cuts and breaks to rural volunteer firefighters and to encourage health-care workers to move to rural areas by relieving some of their student loans costs, but this will not solve the problem of the decreasing rural populations. Money alone may not be enough to entice people to relocate to rural areas. Even though money is important, it is not the only element needed to help maintain rural communities. There needs to be more support made available to people in rural areas, including services, infrastructure, jobs and adequate housing. Health-care providers, for example, need current technology and adequately sized facilities, to facilitate their effective and safe delivery of health services.
Election promises often seem to be forgotten quickly once a leader gains office. For agriculture’s sake, if Michael Ignatieff is elected, hopefully he will follow through on helping out agriculture in Canada.
Lindsay Benbow,Edmonton, A lta.
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