The Dalton McGuinty Liberal government is paying far too little attention to the crisis in agriculture, according to Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott.
“Not acting on the crisis in agriculture is, in fact, the McGuinty government’s deliberate choice,” said Arnott in the Ontario Legislature last week.
He made his comments during debate on a motion from his Progressive Conservative colleague, MPP Jim Wilson, who is advocating a comprehensive Business Risk Management program for Ontario farmers.
In a June 1 letter to MPPs, the Ontario Agriculture Sustainability Coalition called the future of farming in Ontario “very bleak” without risk management programming.
“Of course, the McGuinty government should have known the magnitude of the crisis facing farmers in Ontario,” said Arnott.
By a vote of 24 to 16, the Liberals used their majority to vote down Wilson’s risk management motion.
The vast majority of Liberals in attendance voted against it, while the premier wasn’t there and the Minister of Agriculture Carol Mitchell did not show up, either.
