You sometimes have to wonder what goes through people’s heads.
The federal agriculture minister comes to Saskatchewan to view rain-soaked fields and to meet with farmers.
He views the fields, but then pushes without speaking through a crowd of farmers who have come to talk to him to go into a closed meeting with a handpicked group of mostly Liberal MLAs, candidates and defeated candidates, some of whom don’t even farm in the area.
He insults the provincial government by refusing to meet with the provincial agriculture minister. Then, to top it off, his aide suggests that farmers, who have had weather problems for three years, might consider, well, going out of business.
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Insensitive? Yes. Stupid? Definitely.
Had Vanclief set out deliberately to alienate Saskatchewan, he could not have done better. This may sound harsh, but look at the facts:
- The federal agriculture minister came to talk to farmers and he talked to Liberals, ignoring real farmers.
He says it wasn’t up to him who he met with, but he must have known the plans and approved them. If by some chance he didn’t know, he better get rid of the people who set up the meeting without his knowledge.
Either way, he doesn’t look good.
- He refused to meet with his provincial counterpart. While the provincial government hasn’t been easy to deal with on AIDA, Eric Upshall is still the elected representative of the Saskatchewan people when it comes to agriculture matters. It was crass to refuse to meet with him. Vanclief could have scored a lot of brownie points by inviting Upshall along on the tour.
- Back in Ottawa, our favorite federal agriculture minister announced there will be no special help for flooded-out farmers.
Think back.
Aid for Manitoba farmers and communities devastated by floods in the Red River valley.
Aid for Ontario and Quebec after a massive ice storm.
But no aid for farmers in Saskatchewan and Manitoba who can’t get their crops in the ground through no fault of their own.
When the Liberal spin doctors in Ottawa are wondering why the party doesn’t have more support on the Prairies, they might think back to Lyle Vanclief’s visit in the spring of 1999.
When the provincial Liberals are planing their strategy for the Saskatchewan provincial election, they might think of sending a thank-you card to Vanclief for giving them yet another major hurdle to overcome.
