Agriculture was the topic of choice at the third Wellington-Halton Hills all candidates meeting in Wellington County.
The Wellington Federation of Agriculture and the Halton Region Federation of Agriculture hosted the Sept. 28 debate at the Rockmosa Community Centre in Rockwood and those in attendance kept their questions rural-focused for the most part.
Liberal candidate Don Trant, NDP candidate Anne Gajerski-Cauley, Conservative candidate Michael Chong and Green candidate Brent Bouteiller participated in the debate.
Business risk management
The first question of the night was about what each party would do to improve the responsiveness and effectiveness of business risk management (BRM) programs and whether they were willing to collaborate with farmers and provinces to make improvements.
Trant answered first saying the Liberal position is that farmers shouldn’t suffer as a result of things they have no control over, such as climate and weather events.
“The Liberal party is committed to meet with the provinces and the farmers to enhance the current … risk management programs and make sure that they deliver what the farm community needs,” said Trant.
Gajerski-Cauley said although the NDP is committed to improving BRM, if elected, it will put a program in place where farmers won’t lose money if a customer goes bankrupt.
Chong explained Canada is currently in the second year of a five-year joint federal and provincial plan for agriculture, run by Agricorp. The 60/40 funding program, split between the federal and provincial governments, provides the BRM “suite” of programs. The plan is not negotiable for the next three years due to contracts, he said.
“At the end of the five-year period I’m open to improving the BRM suite programs, in particular, as an Ontarian and a member of parliament representing an agricultural riding in Ontario, I believe strongly that agri-recovery really doesn’t do anything for farmers east of the Manitoba border,” he said.
He sees agri-recovery as only available to western farmers and said it shouldn’t be part of the national program.
Bouteiller said the Green party thinks BRM programs are good programs and would work to make sure risks are dealt with in the best way possible. However, the party has different focuses, one of which is to ensure farmers are getting a fair share of the consumer dollar so they have more income and can buffer more of the risks themselves.
Infrastructure
Candidates were asked what their party would do to make improvements to roads, bridges and internet connections.
Gajerski-Cauley said her party’s platform is to allocate and transfer one cent per litre of the gas tax to municipalities to rebuild roads, bridges and the required infrastructure.
Chong pointed out that in the last 10 years there has been a record amount of federal money put into municipal infrastructure and last year the federal government announced another $70 billion over the next 10 years for infrastructure.
He also said the government has put millions of dollars into rural internet access and has auctioned off the 800 MHz spectrum and telecommunications companies will be rolling it out soon for rural areas.
“If re-elected we’ll put another $200 million in improving broadband access for rural and remote communities,” Chong said.
Bouteiller said the Green Party wants to take five cents of the gas tax and transfer it to the provinces to address infrastructure challenges and debt. He also suggested changing the tax laws to allow for new municipal RRSP bonds, allowing municipalities to develop the funds necessary for infrastructure needs.
Trant said the Liberal Party has announced the largest infrastructure initiative in Canadian history, rolling out $6 billion dollars a year over 10 years, in addition to what is already going to municipalities.
He said when he talked to farmers two of their biggest concerns were roads and bridges.
“They’ve got to be able to move their equipment around and they’ve got to be able to get their goods to market,” he said. The Liberals are willing to run a deficit to improve infrastructure, he noted.
Agricultural research
Candidates were asked about the federal government’s role in agricultural research.
Bouteiller said he thought it was important for Canada to study the effects of genetically modified organisms because it’s important they don’t move or cross contaminate other crops.
“One of the things that we have to do is that we have to be partners with businesses overall and we need to lead the direction of the country as a whole,” he said.
Trant said Canada should improve its leadership status in agricultural research. Under the current government, Trant said federal scientists aren’t allowed to speak or share their results with media and internationally until they’re approved by the Prime Minister’s Office.
He said the Liberals would establish the position of chief science officer.
“That person’s role will be to ensure streamlining access to research and that all research results are communicated and shared widely with Canadians,” he said.
“The role of federally-funded research has to be determined but there is certainly some benefit in terms of independence and that information is more valuable.”
Similarly he said the long form census needs to be reestablished to provide population data.
Gajerski-Cauley agreed with Trant.
“The destruction of scientific knowledge in this country is … terrible,” she said. She cited a number of cases where the federal government removed access to scientific libraries. She said the NDP will reinstate access because the research being done is providing information farmers need to be competitive in the global market place.
Chong responded saying, “the reality is that the federal government is funding research development at universities and colleges at record high levels.”
He said it’s the private sector where the country falls short in research and development, regardless of the incentive programs various governments have attempted to implement.
Natural gas
Another question asked what each party would do to extend the distribution of natural gas to rural areas.
Trant stated a national energy strategy is need in Canada. He said the “mega-project” the Liberals announced will allow individual municipalities to set priorities, so if extending access to natural gas is a priority, that direction could be taken. He also said alternate forms of energy could be considered.
Gajerski-Cauley said she’s not aware of any NDP policies towards extending natural gas to rural communities. However, she said the party supports alternative forms of energy to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels.
“Certainly geothermal might be a way to go in the future as we need to get weaned off of burning our fossil fuels,” she said.
Chong said it is unfortunate that natural gas wasn’t rolled out like hydro or television services and delivered to all homes in the province.
“What I’ve been pushing for is some kind of long-term federal loan program that would allow people or the industry itself to put in that last mile of pipeline to the 500,000 Ontarians that do not have access to natural gas,” he said.
He said paying off the infrastructure would be spread across a number of years and households.
Bouteiller said the Green Party also wants to put together a national energy strategy. He said while natural gas is more efficient than heating oil, wood and other systems, the party believes the country needs to move away from carbon-based fuels and look at alternative power sources, like solar.
Supply management
On a more personal level, one question asked specifically for each candidate’s personal opinion regarding supply management.
Chong said he personally supports supply management.
“I believe that the best way to approach the Canadian economy from a trade liberalization point of view is a sector by sector approach,” he said.
Chong explained there are certain sections of agriculture that must have free trade and trade liberalization.
“We grow way too much wheat in this country to eat it all so we must export our wheat and barley,” he said. “We produce too much cattle here to eat and so we must export beef.”
But he said sectors like eggs, chickens, turkeys and dairy need the “protected market of supply management” to ensure stability for farm families.
Bouteiller said the Green Party supports supply management and so does he. However, the party is also focused on ensuring farmers are making a fair wage so they’re able develop their products further. He said some trade acts have been unfair to farmers and they need to be renegotiated to ensure fair trade rather than just free trade.
Trant was also in agreement and stated his support for supply management. He said supply management offers stable gate prices for the farmers, stable high quality food for the consumers, and opportunities for people to enter the system.
Gajerski-Cauley also agreed and voiced her support for supply management. She said it not only helps to preserve incomes but also the farming way of life.
“The other aspect is supply management in dairy is that it protects the well being and the health of our nation,” she said. “If the Americans get into this country at 10% into our market, 17% of their milk products have antibiotics and they have growth hormones and those are health concerns that we do not allow in this country.”
Overall, the debate gave each participating candidate the opportunity to share their individual and party views on agriculture within Canada.
