Last week’s column called attention to Gerald Stanley’s trial in Battleford, Sask.
It was intended to help tell the tale of why the national media are identifying we prairie farmers (for those of you that don’t know, I do some, too) the way they do.
And you let me know that you weren’t very happy with my column. OK, lots of you let me know you weren’t happy about it. And some of you told me you support my point of view.
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The point of the column was to illustrate that even though we are all frustrated about rural thefts, we have to remember there is an active movement around the social license to farm. As well, much of the 98 percent of Canadians who don’t farm base their impressions about us on what appears in the media.
The same logic applies to glyphosate use and the term corporate farm.
Our abilities to remain farming in a sustainable manner are, to some extent, determined by urban Canadians’ impressions of who we are as fellow citizens.
The impression we make on Canadian society will determine what rights we have in the future, our ability to compete internationally and whether we get what they see as a break on everything from carbon taxes to gun ownership.
Western Canadian agriculture has a great story to tell.
Talking about our frustrations with rural crime doesn’t paint a prairie portrait to be proud of. These are products of rural poverty and inequality in our society.
While we shouldn’t avoid dealing with them, telling our urban neighbours that we need enhanced property defense rights isn’t the way to do it.
So, for anyone who thought my column last week was ammunition for left-leaning, urban folks who really don’t understand what it is to live out West, it wasn’t. It was intended to inspire you.
It was also meant to ensure that we all understand how we are perceived by the people who eat the food we produce, who allow us to remain viable — such as that is, sometimes — and maintain our traditional ways of life.
Asking for more policing and encouraging better livelihoods for all rural people through investment, education and, yes, taxation where appropriate paints a more accurate picture of who we are .
Let’s tell that tale.
