Toronto Star | March 15, 2002
Through nearly four years of drought and flood, if anything has been consistent among the farming community, it's been the need for great patience.
Through three consecutive bad growing seasons, through the stigma of Walkerton's E. coli crisis, through the turmoil over so-called "factory" farming and growing anger over foreign subsidies, the message to farmers has been the same: A solution is on its way, you must be patient.
The message was repeated this week by Finance Minister Paul Martin in a brief stop in Woodstock. Martin's message to farmers: As soon as the provinces and the feds can hash out all the details of a new farm safety net, Ottawa will release all the cash that deal requires. Well, local farmers have been nothing if not patient. Tobacco farmers are still waiting on funding to help them make required changes to their kilns. Others are waiting to see if the mild winter will damage their chances of a good yield this year.
They are waiting for word on Bill 81, which would regulate the use and storage of manure on farms.
That bill has been in the works for about two years now; it had its first reading last June, but failed to get unanimous support because the NDP would not vote in its favour > the bill failed at the third reading in December.
Ontario Agriculture Minister Brian Coburn has said that the speedy passage of the bill was the top priority for his office and still the farmers wait.
Almost all of our farmers are waiting for details of the so-called "Made in Ontario Safety Net" to help them get over the damage caused by years of bad crops and dropping commodity prices.
Not only is this new package, now two years in the making, nowhere on the horizon, try getting anyone in official circles to get more specific about its potential contents than "Made in Ontario Farm Safety Net."
And farmers across the nation have been waiting for years for someone to step forward on an international level to address the growing problem of foreign subsidies which make the concept of global competition virtually impossible.
Our farmers know how to wait. What none of us knows is how long the waiting game can continue.Toronto Star:
