Love him or hate him, Gerry Ritz has achieved a lot

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

He is a very divisive agriculture minister but, measured by his ability to achieve government goals, he ranks as one of the most successful ag ministers in recent history

by BARRY WILSON

It is an odd and predictable thing that food and agricultural issues flare up as an issue in urban media and then disappear.

Last year, briefly, after a high-profile food industry executive said unregulated local food markets would kill people, it was front page in the Toronto Star for a few days. Then food appeared safe again, at least until the autumn E. coli outbreak at XL Foods in Alberta, and interest largely faded.

At one point, The Globe and Mail, self-proclaimed national newspaper, proclaimed the food industry one of the "Industries to Watch." It even briefly had a global food reporter. Now, it appears, it too has decided that the food industry is back of the pack, or at least in the middle.

Of course, the food industry remains one of Ontario's and Canada's economic powerhouses and the second largest provider of economic activity and jobs. But in mainstream media, where most politicians get their information, that is not a reality.

Consider the end-of-year calculation by a national columnist of the most important performers in Stephen Harper's government. Not all got high marks but they all were "important."  Harper made the list, of course. Jeez, if the prime minister doesn't make the A-team, we have a problem, Houston.

Then there were the usual Toronto-centric issues ministers: Calgarian Jason Kenny for his immigration reforms that matter so much in Metro, natural resources minister Joe Oliver for his uneven campaign on selling resource development and Edmonton-based public works minister Rona Ambrose for salvaging the government's military procurement program.

And, of course, there was the perennial Toronto media favourite, finance minister Jim Flaherty, who has governed with a steady hand.

But nowhere in this A-list was one of the most successful agriculture ministers in recent history, if success is measured by their ability to accomplish government goals, change the lay of the agricultural land and keep the notoriously rambunctious farm lobby relatively quiet.

Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz, soon to become the longest-serving minister in 30 years and the longest-serving Conservative minister since the 1930s, had a remarkable year. And he oversees one of the country's largest economic engines and one of its most politically active business sectors.

He is a very divisive agriculture minister, particularly in Western Canada, but with provincial support or force of will, he has been getting his way. During the past year, Ritz oversaw the creation of a new five-year farm support program that, with provincial support, will save governments billions of dollars and fundamentally shift support from the farm income bottom line to research and innovation priorities.

Some farm leaders condemned the lack of consultation and cut in farm supports and then went back to work. Score one for Ritz.

After 69 years of the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly and a brutal decades-long prairie debate, he ended the single desk. Score two for Ritz.

He implemented the first major changes to the Canadian Grain Commission in four decades. Score three for Ritz.

Despite a major food safety failure with the E. coli outbreak from the Brooks plant in Alberta, he got a comprehensive new food safety act through Parliament to generally good reviews. Score four for Ritz.

He continued to convince supply-managed farmers that he is on their side. Score five for Ritz.
Love him or hate him (both sides have their cheer leaders), this is an impressive record of accomplishment in political governance for one of Canada's major economic, social and political sectors.

Reading urban media, you'd never know. BF

Barry Wilson is a member of the Parliamentary Press Gallery specializing in agriculture.