Western Producer staff
In power, the Liberals have benefited from falling farmer expectations about what they can expect from government.
It has meant that while the new government tries to sort out what it wants to do and what it can afford to do, there have been no poignant demonstrations by dispossessed farmers. There has been no politically-awkward need for a member of the government to stand in the glare of television lights and say “no” to farmers predicting rural tragedy.
When the new government used its first budget to affirm the previous government’s plans to continue cuts to some agricultural program funding, there was barely a peep from farm representatives.
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Part of it is the usual political honeymoon given most new governments.
A bigger part is that most farmers or their leaders seem to have concluded that the days of billion-dollar requests to Ottawa are over. The well is dry. The political mood has changed.
Nothing illustrates the point better than to note what didn’t happen this year.
No farmer lobby groups appeared in Ottawa this winter to demand emergency financial aid from the government — an occurrence that had become almost predictable in past years.
True, the National Farmers Union issued a statement reminding governments that for many farmers, the financial crisis remains very real.
But just a year ago, there were massive farm rallies across the Prairies, predicting disaster if special government aid was not announced. Some farmers called for more than $1 billion in aid from a Conservative government heading toward an election.
A year ago last month, the presidents of the prairie wheat pools were in Ottawa pleading for help.
Although he would not put a figure on what was needed, Saskatchewan Wheat Pool president Leroy Larsen told reporters then that if government did not come through, many farmers would not be able to seed a 1993 crop. “If we don’t get that support, many farmers will have to exit the industry,” he said.
The Conservatives did not respond with special help, fewer prairie farmers declared bankruptcy than in the previous year and the Prairies produced a substantial crop.
This year, there has been no similar plea for massive aid.
Instead, there are comments like this from Garry Wagner from Kootenay Orchards of Calgary, speaking last week to the annual meeting of the Canadian Horticultural Council:
“Individuals and companies must unlearn the old habits of asking governments for everything. The highly-subsidized agri-food sector is in for a serious readjustment.”
Wagner’s comments likely were noted with interest down the street at the offices of agriculture minister Ralph Goodale.
His message has been that farmers will have to live within the $850 million or so the government has budgeted for farm safety net spending. There will be no add-on money.
Apparent farmer acceptance of this reality gives the new government room to manoeuvre as it tries to figure out how to revamp farm support programs.
