Governments must respond with a political action plan to get other nations to re-open their borders to Canadian livestock and meat products.
Canadian livestock producers are growing impatient, and rightly so. Most are facing huge financial losses, some to the point of being forced from the industry.
Last week, representatives of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture attended the semi-annual meeting of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and the discussion with other farmers focussed quickly on the ongoing ramifications of the BSE-closed border. There is realization that other commodity sectors soon will be affected by the disastrous collapse of beef prices.
We don’t want to see a domino effect on prices of other commodities!
We have listened to a variety of government leaders, including agriculture ministers, talking publicly about the situation, even meeting with their counterparts from other countries, including Japan. Yet, nothing appears to be happening to open up borders to Canadian animals and meat products.
Government response to this crisis can be divided into three categories of intervention – scientific analysis and technical examination, financial assistance and industry support, and international political crisis management. Science has proven the integrity of our system and the validity of our claim that borders should be open.
The financial assistance announced to date by governments is only a partial solution. It addresses some of the losses being experienced by farmers, but is only a short-term patch. Farm organization leaders from across Canada are disappointed that our Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Hon. Lyle Vanclief, has chosen to use this crisis as a bargaining chip to force acceptance of Ottawa’s Agricultural Policy Framework.
Most recently Minister Vanclief said there’s another 1.1 billion dollars available to farmers if the APF is implemented. This approach is insensitive and irresponsible.
The APF, as it is now designed, will not address the BSE crisis we now face. For proof of this, we need only look at the ad hoc funding governments are announcing. If the recommendations of the farm community are incorporated into the APF, the proposed new safety net program may be able to respond to a crisis such as the mad cow situation.
Governments must respond with a political action plan to get other nations to re-open their borders to Canadian livestock and meat products. The farm community has started along this route, but much more could be accomplished working in partnership with our governments, not in isolation. OFA supports OCA’s call for the formation of a national BSE crisis operations centre. This centre should be comprised of high level industry and government representatives with authority to make decisions, and have the resources available to fast-track actions.
OFA, CFA and the International Federation of Agricultural Producers and its President Jack Wilkinson are meeting with farm leaders from the United States, Mexico and other nations in search of a solution. We have asked IFAP President Wilkinson to speak with Japanese farm leaders at the WTO meetings in Montreal. Leaders of the Ontario and Canadian Cattlemen’s Associations are meeting with their U.S. and Mexican counterparts.
What is the action plan of our governments? Will our Prime Minister intervene directly? With the future of rural Canada hanging in the balance, he must!
OFA’s leaders will continue to work with the leaders of Ontario’s livestock commodity organizations to push for a more responsible level of action from our elected leaders. A major push must take place now to re-open our markets. The industry can remain in limbo no long. If trade is gone, we must face that harsh reality of re-shaping Canada’s rural landscape.
~Ron Bonnett~
President of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture