Party promises to agriculture

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

by SUSAN MANN

Conservative Party of Canada

Liberal Party of Canada

New Democratic Party of Canada

Green Party of Canada

Conservative Party of Canada

The Conservatives’ just-released election platform includes $500 million in program spending over the next four years to help farm families cope with cost of production pressures, promote innovation, ensure environmental sustainability and respond to provincial market opportunities and challenges.

This agricultural flexibility program was announced in Toronto on Tuesday as part of the Conservative election platform, “The True North Strong and Free, Stephen Harper’s Plan for Canadians.” In it, the Conservatives reaffirm their support for supply-managed sectors both nationally and in international negotiations.

“A re-elected Conservative government led by Stephen Harper will continue our strong support for Canada’s farmers and farm communities,” the platform document states.

If elected, the Conservatives will spend $50 million to strengthen slaughter capacity in various regions of Canada to support beef, dairy and other livestock sectors.

They’ll also cut the federal excise tax on diesel and aviation fuel in half to two cents a litre from four cents a litre to reduce the burden on industries that use fuel. This will save farmers $47 million a year in inputs, it says on the Conservatives’ website.

Included in the plan is $1.5 billion over the next seven years to support the production of biofuels. The Conservatives will require gasoline to contain five per cent renewable content by 2010, while diesel will need to have two per cent renewable content by 2012. “We will continue to make biofuels and renewable energy a key part of our environmental and energy strategy,” the Conservatives say.

The Conservatives will continue to implement their Food Safety Action Plan and invest $160 million over the next four years in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) so it can hire new inspectors. That will help it track imports better and improve safety systems, it says in the platform.

The party will end what it calls the wasteful and ineffective long-gun registry but it will ensure all firearms belong to licensed gun owners and all restricted firearms, including handguns, are registered.

For the rural communities where farmers live, the Conservatives say they’ll continue to support them by investing in new infrastructure throughout rural and Northern Canada.

To read the entire policy document, go to: www.conservative.ca

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party’s platform includes a Regional Flexibility Fund — a four-year, $564-million program to develop regional financial programs to support farmers.

If elected, the Liberals say they’ll work with farmers and farm organizations to develop programs, such as Ontario Risk Management, a crop insurance program for grains and oilseeds growers.

Differences in climate, soil and terrain across Canada mean that growing conditions aren’t the same across the country. By developing national objectives and allowing provinces to implement programs tailored to their local conditions, the Regional Flexibility Fund will help ensure farmers get regional programs to meet their specific needs, it says on the Liberal’s website.

Other proposed programs are:

• $30 million over four years to promote local farmers’ markets and brand Canadian-grown foods;
• $50 million for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to strengthen the inspection of food imports;
• $400 million for an Emissions Reduction Credit that would be available to farmers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
• and $250 million for a Green Farms Fund to help farmers invest in energy-efficient technology and reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

The Liberals have also promised to protect supply management.

To see the Liberal plan, called ‘Richer, Fairer, Greener: An Action Plan for the 21st Century’ go to: www.liberal.ca

New Democratic Party of Canada

Preserving Canada’s orderly marketing systems is one of the New Democratic Party’s key priorities in this federal election.

The party’s other top priority is to eliminate predatory export practices and subsidies in both domestic policy and international trade negotiations.

If elected on Oct. 14, the NDP says it will entrench the Canadian Wheat Board as the single-desk marketer for Canadian wheat and barley and commit Canadian policy to the principle of orderly marketing systems for commodity sectors.

On the financial front, the NDP plans to work with farm organizations and provincial governments to implement income stabilization programs that are: consistent with Canada’s international trade obligations; tailored for each commodity sector; and focused on the family farms that most need the support. They’ll also improve access to farm safety net funding for natural disasters and poor markets, particularly for small farms.

Another major component of the NDP’s policy is to implement a Canadian organic food and agriculture strategy that would:

• ban the use of Terminator seeds and protect every farmer’s right to choose, save and control their seeds;
• provide transition funding for education, equipment and training for farmers who want to switch to organic or bio-intensive integrated pest management systems;
• and give support for independent agricultural extension workers to facilitate environmentally friendly farming methods, such as low tillage, water conservation, and reduced fertilizer and pesticide use.

The NDP would introduce measures to readjust the economic power balance between farmers and agri-business corporations. For example, they’ll limit meatpacker ownership of cattle by adding provisions to the Competition Act.  The party would also encourage more farmer-run cooperatives to as a counterweight to the power of multinational agri-businesses and to encourage more value-added processing and jobs in Canada.

The NDP platform can be found at: www.ndp.ca

Green Party of Canada

The Green Party believes small to medium-sized family farms are the best at producing food and agricultural policies must be designed to keep them viable.

The party proposes to reform agricultural regulations to challenge corporate concentration, eliminate international dumping and subsidies and continue to allow seed saving by farmers. They also plan to ensure farm support payments are farm based and not production based as a way to encourage more farms and farmers.

In its 160-page policy document, Vision Green, the party outlines its plans, including a pledge to restructure agricultural markets to sustain family farming and provide family farms with a fair share of the consumer food dollar.

The party wants to expand local and small-scale agriculture saying in its document that it will “support a rapid transition to organic agriculture rather than subsidizing costly agro-chemicals, industrial food production and genetically modified food.”

In fact, the Green Party proposes limiting the commercialization of genetically modified crops and labeling GMO products. It would also bring in legislation to prevent the patenting of life forms and ensure the developers of genetically engineered crops are liable for any damage those crops cause.

The party believes Canada should move to regional self-sufficiency “as we begin the shift to organic agriculture as the dominant model of production.”

It would provide transition assistance to those farmers switching to certified organic practices and shift government-supported research away from biotechnology and energy-intensive farming toward organic food production.

Policies supporting local food production include:

• supporting farmers’ markets and local culinary tourism activities;
• enabling local areas without industrial scale agriculture to develop area-specific food safety regulations that meet national standards but that don’t put undue financial burdens on local farmers and food processors;
• and promoting adequate shelf space in grocery chains for local products.

The Green Party also proposes support for the Canadian Wheat Board and supply management systems.

On farming and the environment, the Green Party says it will strengthen the monitoring of pesticide, herbicide, fungicide, insecticide and non-therapeutic antibiotic use in food production, processing and storage with the goal to reduce residue levels until they are undetectable.

The party would require farmers to follow practices that avoid contamination by agricultural runoff. Farming methods that increase carbon sequestration and decrease water requirements would be encouraged with financial rewards through domestic carbon trading.

It proposes GST rebates and compensation to farmers for ecological services such as protecting wildlife habitats, marginal lands and water quality, and retaining or improving soil quality.

To view the entire agriculture section in the policy document go to www.greenparty.ca BF