by SUSAN MANN
A Hamilton-area MPP is the new agriculture minister in Premier Dalton McGunity’s slimmed down Cabinet sworn in Thursday.
Ted McMeekin, the MPP for Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale, takes over from former minister Carol Mitchell who was defeated in the Oct. 6 provincial election. He has been an MPP since 2000 and was the minister of consumer services in the Liberal government before the election.
Ontario’s farm leaders are pleased with McMeekin’s appointment. Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Bette Jean Crews described him as being well informed and open to meeting and continuing the work started by Mitchell. “I’ve been at meetings where Ted has approached me and asked about what the agricultural issues are or talked about them.”
One thing McMeekin will need to do is get ready for the next Federal-Provincial-Territorial agriculture minister’s meeting on business risk management and Growing Forward 2. A significant part of the work in determining what funds will be transferred to the provinces from the federal government is being done now. “I want to bring him up to speed on that one so he can really hit the ground running,” Crews says.
John Clement, general manager for Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, says they look forward to a constructive dialogue with the new minister in advancing the interests of Ontario farmers.
“At a time when very few Liberals were elected from rural areas, it will be extremely important that McMeekin has the confidence of Ontario farmers and be able to effectively communicate farm concerns and aspirations to his urban-based colleagues,” Clement says.
Joe Dama, National Farmers Union Ontario coordinator, says McMeekin’s appointment “sounds good.”
NFU officials were quite concerned that so few Liberals were elected from rural ridings. But now that McMeekin has been appointed that will help alleviate their concerns. During the election campaign, the new minister put out a lot of information “that he was very much in favour of farmers and agriculture,” Dama says.
Two things NFU officials want to talk to McMeekin about are their concerns with the provincial Green Energy Act and the proposed Canada-European-Union trade agreement.
Before entering provincial politics, McMeekin was the mayor of Flamborough, a Hamilton city councilor and a leader in several community organizations. He has been a strong advocate for children with special needs, seniors, the environment and community development, it says on his website.
McMeekin is part of the new 22-member cabinet in the Liberal minority government. That’s down from the previous cabinet of 28 members the Liberal government had before the election.
A veteran MPP from St. Catharines is the new environment minister. Jim Bradley, who has served as an MPP since 1977, held the environment post previously from 1985 to 1990 under former premier David Peterson. Most recently he was the minister of community safety and correctional services.
MPP Michael Gravelle of Thunder Bay-Superior North is the natural resources minister. BF
Comments
In one year will the resulting legislation and programs of Minister Ted McMeekin prove helpful to all classes of ontario farmers, or will it be just supply management farmers,.
Will there be real change and see real economic results for farmers?
If there is no meaningful positive MEASURABLE economic result legislation with programs, what approach will 37000 member OFA and 28000 member GFO take?
Mr. McMeekin, from many accounts is a decent likable person. It is a credit to him but so was Carol Mitchell. We had many good people as Ministers in the past.
The big question is whether McMeekin will be allowed to do the "right" things for agriculture of will be just another puppet as we have seen the last 8 years?
So what kind of a country when we have a decent likable person as minister and the right things for agriculture are rigged to not get done
who is doing the rigging and why We had many good people as Ministers in the past. If we have had all those good people as ministers why wont they speak up for the good of all ???????
Sounds like our governing system is no better than the middle east countries , except we vote the crooks in and accept it
How do you respect these ministers with the term" Honourable" attached when they wont speak up, but go into retirement holding all wrongs secret. What kind of example is this to future generations?
Gays and lesbiens come out of the closet,......so,... when are our past and present Ministers of Agriculture going to come out with" straight" truth????
It has long been the measure asked, "Is he a minister of agriculture, or a minister for agriculture"? We can only hope he sets himself and his political career apart from those of the past who fell on their swords for the premier and the party, meeting their political demise as ag ministers.
The linage of ministers of agriculture have allowed this file to become little more than a commenting agency doing the bidding of natural resources and ministry of environment. Present mapping would suggest much of the north is NDP non friendly territory as is the majority of the southern ag area.
Take a good look around at the deservedly fallen ministers of this (agricultural) file and the near demise of McGinty. Agriculture is a strong file with vote clout and career determination. Few minority governments have survived more than 18 months. Your future and self preservation in this province depends on your management of this file. You can be a hero... or just another here-after.
The biggest problem facing any ag mininister in Canada is the perceived need to buy into the essential contradiction of supporting free trade for beef, pork, and grains, while supporting protectionism for dairy and poultry, thereby ending up looking stupid and silly, not just to his/her fellow Cabinet Ministers, but to the general public, and to many farmers as well.
For example, an article titled "Agricultural policy depends on which farmers Ottawa is wooing" on page A4 of Satday's Globe and Mail, outlined our continuing two-faced approach to agricultural policy, including the cost of losing a seat at major trade talks among Pacific Rim nations.
More to the point - given the requirement to suspend all critical thought processes as a condition of getting the post, why would anyone even want to be Ag Minister?
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
More to the point - given the requirement to suspend all critical thought processes as a condition of getting the post, why would anyone even want to be Ag Minister?
Set up ameeting with the defeated ministers and maria.Our system is failing
Looks like people are coming out of the wood work and camping out world wide to pressure Wall Street.
By the replies on BF it looks like people are getting tired of Canadian politicans.
What is he a roof top farmer pro,or a cement and pavement type of guy. They all talk about how good they are and all I see is their will to protect the land for pavement and buildings in the future. Well the good thing is at least he,s got a great paycheck and pension. The tax payers don,t have to worry where is he going to get his next pay, Bless Canada.
Farmers must help themselves. Farmers are too busy with their every day work to know and understand the provincial/ federal/ global politics affecting their farmer lives. 75 years ago Ontario farmers had a better idea to form a farm organization to defend farmers needs. Through the years other farm organizations formed because like politics, some farmers didn't believe the organization was helping. now we have OFA, CCFO ,NFU
In the 40s and 80s the soy board and corn board were formed to do what OFA/cffo/nfu didn't do in detail. All the while we have had OMAFRA Ministry there looking out for the best interests of society, country and farmers for everything rural with agriculture.
We had the go go boom farm years of the 70s then the depressed 80s of high interest rates, farm foreclosures etc . Up popped 2002 and farmers of Ontario for the next 5 years started road protest blocking highway 401 parade and marches at Queans Park Toronto, closing food terminals. All these termed hard line protest's were organized by ordinary farmers and had little help or aid from the major organizations except maybe NFU. The executives of the farm organizations took the high road so they could negotiate needed change with government.
The jury verdict evidence should now be clear,...... farmers didn't get much needed economic long lasting change because of govt. programs or legislation.
Ontario farmers have survived because the international grain prices went high, ethanol production, but livestock farmers were hurt. Why bdid the farm organizations not achieve much?
Question how do you make farm organizations accountable to farm economic needs with PROVABLE RESULTS . Should a penalty be placed on the executive and staff for continued failure when using reasonable benchmarks?
HAS OUR FARM ORGANIZATIONS BEEN FOR THE BIG PICTURE NET INCOME GOOD for farmers ? It is foolish to distroy farm organizations but what good are they with the evidence we have? When are we farmers going to get anwers
I would clamor to be in the lineup to have the ag minister accountable to the industry instead of a commenting agency to other ministers files.
I would fully support the likes of the OFA executive and staff being accountable and job dependent on benchmarks of success. It would be a start. Bureaucrats jobs and pensions could follow.
Change comes from the ground up. Accountability from the top down
Now if we could only find those ever promising pre-election politicians and the fairy godmother with the three wishes.
Dreams are only wishes or plans not yet realized. It is not too much to expect this to be an action plan of the future.
If the OFA executive aren't doing the job, you'd better be at your county annual meeting to make sure your delegates know who to vote for. Better yet, become a delegate yourself and vote the bums out.
The OFA executive is only as accountable as we make them through our county federations.
Honestly. Does anyone pay any attention to the OFA?
They have become irrelevant by todays standard.
Surprise surprise BF is not editing OK county meetings is made up of selfserving clicks Non click farmers have gave up years ago and will not come to county meetings, this started about the time OFA was given stable funding. There is so much to be said.
At least he will get a big severence package when he leaves his post.
According to the Sun:
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/10/24/outgoing-mpps-to-depart-with-cash-i...
"The biggest paydays went to long serving cabinet ministers on their way out, such as the retiring Sandra Pupatello and the defeated Leona Dombrowsky. Each should get about $250,000 for their years of service."
This from a government that cut the farmers pension, the retirement lots, and didn't even offer up an alternative pension plan.
The Toronto Sun brings this story out $250,000 for years of service after election defeat
WHERE IS THE FARM PRESS GIVING FARMERS THIS AND OTHER STORIES?
WHY DID not BF pick up on this story?
We have a summary on PKI what about a summary on damage to Rural Ontario and farmers as talked about in all the BF replies of present and in the archives of last years?
We need to scratch our ?? and ask what is going on.
We need to ask does any of these BF replies have merit or truth needing to be investigated
Farmers need accurate press info to stay in business
My former MP, Paul Steckle, once argued during an all-candidates meeting that it wasn't appropriate to compare MP pensions to pensions in other sectors of society, because being an MP (and/or MPP) was a job like no other, and he's right.
Indeed, MPs, for example, don't contribute to the Employment Insurance program, and therefore, if/when defeated, can't collect EI the way anyone else can.
In addition, many MPs and MPPs, particularly the good ones, take a substantial drop in pay (and therefore experience a substantial drop in the amount of money they would be contributing to a private pension plan) when they get elected. Therefore, having a good pension plan for elected officials is critical to encourage good people to run for public office and take a reduction in pay as long as they are there.
More to the point, since we all want someone who could earn at least $300,000 (and the more, the better) in the financial industry as our Minister of Finance, we should either be paying them $300,000 (instead of half that as a basic MP) or making up the difference in a pension plan.
The Toronto Sun is, of course, once again simply pandering to its blue-collar, and sensationalist-loving, readership base.
Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON
Oh, gimmie a break. Farming is like no other career also. Most farmers don't get EI benefits either, or other members of the family if they work on the farm. Farmers don't have pension plans and have to contribute their own portion if they want the paltry CPP benefits. Truth is the retirement lots were farmers retirement plans and this governmet scrap it without offering anything in its place.
I know, heard it a thousand times, encroached development in farm territory. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. Lot development is a societal problem but the farmers are bearing the total financial burden. If it really is a encroachment on "prime agricultural" lands then society should have at least offered compensation for the loss of retirement rights.
Society don't care about farmers. They only care about pristine real estate. Chinese farmers produce cheaper food.
Why should a MPP booted from office get rewarded when farmers get nothing after a life time of cheap labour?
For argument sake let us say everything you say is correct.
WHERE IS THE BENIFIT WE FARMERS GOT IN ECONOMIC VALUE FROM THE LAST 3 LIBERAL PROVICIAL AGR MINISTERS OR FEDERAL MINISTERS.
WHAT EXCUSE ARE WE GOING TO HAVE FOR THESE OFFICALS THE NEXT FARM ECONOMIC DOWN TURN???????
One minute you say farmers are getting screwed ,... the next minute we praise the politicans,....sounds like free trade on one hand and protection on the other SM hand,
I have really tried to stay focused while reading your posting. 'MPs and MPPs, particularly the good ones, take a substantial drop in pay'.your quote
Pray tell when and where you think we have had "good ones" or any worth the money? Like any other job, if you are accountable and doing a good job, you stay.
Simple truth is the election spoke loud and clear. It was time for rural s Leona, Carol and Maria for eg. to take a hike. Like any other job pay stops and pension should proportionately represent their years of service, not a lifetime of indebtedness to the industry that, repeatedly wanted and were denied accountability like audits, and economic stability.
You forget the high-paying consulting jobs that most ex MP's/MPP's migrate to after their house days expire where they feel their previous favors and contacts hold them in a continued position of influence with financial reward.
You often criticize supply management as a gravy train lacking the fluid movement of supply and demand markets but fail to see similar need to have accountability from those who swear oaths to represent and serve while affecting trade and support programs.
Leaders that lead are rare. Leaders that lead by example with accountable ethics are non existent.
What we need is a person who knows rural Ontario and agriculture.
A person who can work with others a team player but still be the leader
A person who sets the rules and will not let the Premier screw up agriculture a take charge person
Such a person would not be welcome in a McGuinty government
"Such a person would not be welcome in a McGuinty government"
AMEN! Ain't that the truth!
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