On the provincial election campaign trail

Thursday, May 29, 2014

by SUSAN MANN

Things are heating up on the agricultural campaign trail after Ernie Hardeman, Progressive Conservative agriculture critic and MPP for Oxford, challenged the other parties’ agricultural spokespeople to an agriculture debate now that the one that was being organized by farm and food groups has been cancelled.

Neil Currie, Ontario Federation of Agriculture general manager, says the debate was cancelled because “we just couldn’t get the leaders together at the same time. They’re focused on the June 3 debate so we’re going to try and get some relevant questions into that.”

I believe in Ontario campaign

In other campaign news, Hardeman sent out a press release earlier this week, noting he has signed on to the federation’s “I believe in growing Ontario campaign.” The federation’s campaign focuses on affordable energy, the need for ongoing agri skills training, fair property taxation for farmers and reintroducing food literacy in schools.

New Democratic Party agriculture critic John Vanthof, the MPP for Timiskaming-Cochrane, says by email he didn’t have time to explain why he was signing on to the federation campaign because he was busy canvassing but he will definitely be signing the pledge.

Other candidates from these two parties plus candidates from the Liberals and Green Party have also signed on.

“We’re proud of the strong relationship we have with both producers and the agri-food sector as a whole,” writes Liberal spokesperson Gabe De Roche in an email. “The Ontario Liberal Party is the only party to lay out strong and detailed commitments to growing the agri-food sector in our platform.”  

Tractor Cab telephone town hall

On Monday, Grain Farmers of Ontario will host the first of its Tractor Cab Telephone Town Hall from 11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. with Hardeman. A second call has been scheduled for June 6 at 11:30 a.m. with Liberal Jeff Leal, currently the government’s rural affairs minister and MPP for Peterborough. Information about other town halls will be released when they are confirmed, Grain Farmers says in a May 29 press release.

Grain Farmers says in its release it will have several prepared questions for each candidate during the town halls on the business risk management program, a soy innovation centre, increasing research capacity and the regulatory process for agricultural technology.

The call in number for Monday’s town hall is 1-888-886-7786.

Sustain Ontario questions party leaders

Sustain Ontario, a province-wide, cross sectoral alliance working to create a healthy, ecological, equitable and financially viable food system, has sent out 11 questions to party leaders seeking their commitments to healthy food and farming policies.

The party responses will be published online on the Vote ON Food Report Card beside other web-based resources that will inform both MPP candidates and the public about the importance of Ontario’s food systems.

Food and farming policies and programs can grow Ontario’s economy, reduce health care costs, improve the province’s environmental impact, reduce poverty and improve educational outcomes, Sustain Ontario says in a May 27 press release. BF