What would you do if you were ag minister for a day?

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One of our readers recently asked others what they would do if they were Ontario's agriculture minister for a day. Tell us what you would do

Comments

1.If I was Minister for a day I would look up the definition of the word "agriculture" to find out what that truly means. Agriculture is defined as a "class of people that till the soil a/o raise stock". Agriculture consists of two components. It deals with liberty and security of property interconnected with liberty and security of “persons”. If there is no farmer, there can be no agriculture. The Minister is responsible for a class of people, the farmer, first and foremost.

2.If I was Minister for a day I would direct every person working in OMAFRA and especially OFPMC to research agricultural rights in Ontario. I would ensure that farmers were correctly informed what rights they have. I would stand along side the farmers to protect those rights. I would respect the first Act of Ontario and every right awarded to the farmers of Ontario under that Act.

3.If I was Minister for a day I would I would respect each and every contract that the farmers received from the Crown via the land grants. I would respect the fact farmers have Crown given rights to water, woods, drainage, the climate, manure use, licences to trade domestically, production of all or any product for personal use, lot development, COP, rights to all roads in Ontario, etc. The Crown granted farmers the rights to the "soil and the climate". If society wants to encroach on any Crown given right awarded to farmers, I would ensure fair compensation was offered when taking rights. Farmers were awarded individual rights directly from the Crown long before municipal rights were created by the Province.

4. If I was Minister for a day I would explain to all citizens of this Province WHY agriculture is an important Public Trust. I would explain why farmers have the sovereign right to marketing licenses and why those securities have a value. I would not keep such important information secret from the very people that were awarded sovereign securities protected under the Constitution. I would explain the Covenant Chain and how it affects the rights, duties and obligations farmers have to the domestic population.

5. If I was Minister for a day I would seek and demand social justice for all farmers in Ontario. When farmers' rights are protected, the rights of the domestic people are protected. Agriculture is the foundation of this Province. Agriculture in Ontario has unique sovereign rights that enhances our society and I would be foolish to ignore those rights.

I would do that if I were Minister for a day... and since Ms. Mitchell will have more than a day, I expect she could fulfill the list with ease..... if she is willing.

I would make sure I was the minister "for agriculture" not the minister "of or from" agriculture. As a minister "for" agriculture and the person responsible to cabinet for the successful report of this file, I would stand up "for" agriculture against every "non government organization" feeling the need to micro manage environment through my file.
This is agricultural food production for all of the public in harmony with an agricultural environment not Parks Canada or Untamed Wilderness with unlimited funding to comply with urban mystic wishes and unproven science.

Agreed - let know what we are doing.

I would really listen to the farmers.

I would do everything I could to promote buying local, fresh products.

I would make sure that farmers make a decent living because when farmers prosper, the rual areas they live in prosper.

I would protect farmer's rights on their land.

I would instruct the food safety bureaucrats/zealots within OMAF/MOE to audit the public production and food safety regimes and regulations for any raw and processed ag products that enter ON from outside the province. I am sure stats are kept on these imports so start at the top volume products and move down. A food safety inspection 'fee' could be attached to all imports to cover the cost. Doesn't the US already do this? Any products that are shipped in with regimes not comparable to ours will be listed on a public website for all to see. Ditto for those products that are imported with equivalency. A rating scale could be given so that consumers have an idea just how close foreign systems are too ours. In this way consumer could vote to buy with their pocket books and 'if' there is an outbreak, gov't can say...."Hey, you were warned!" Domestic processors could also be listed. We do this with restaurants...and are pushing traceablity on producers...why NOT first collect the data at the source of where ALL recent food safety issues have arisen???

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