About 50 people gathered at the Arthur Community Centre on Oct. 1 for an all candidates meeting hosted by the Wellington Federation of Agriculture.
Not surprisingly, the focus of the debate was farming, but it was actually the environment that seemed to generate the most heated exchange at the meeting.
In his response to a question about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease, incumbent Conservative MP Gary Schellenberger appeared to remember a point he had wanted to make during a previous question about the rising cost of farm implements.
“One thing we don’t need is a carbon tax because that will definitely add more costs to production,” Schellenberger said, referring to the effect he feels the Liberal Party’s $15.5-billion proposal would have on local farmers.
Liberal candidate Sandra Gardiner interjected and asked if she could respond to the comment, which she said had nothing to do with the question that was asked.
She was denied that request, but later in the meeting said the Conservative Party is using “scare tactics” when it comes to her party’s plans for a carbon tax.
“There has been a lot of misinformation about the Liberal platform,” she said. “I don’t think that any party has ever been attacked as much as the Liberals have for the platform we have for the environment.”
She explained there will not be any job losses as a result of the carbon tax because green technology is growing.
“We’ll be creating jobs,” she said. Schellenberger had said it is important to protect the environment but not at the expense of jobs.
Green Party candidate John Cowling said neither the Liberals nor the Conservatives have the best track record when it comes to the environment.
He told the crowd his party, for at least the last 12 years, has been talking about “tax shifting” to penalize those who use more non-renewable resources, which he said is the only way to change behaviour.
“The Liberals have been advocating it for three or four months now,” he quipped. He added that it is not right for the Canadian government to point the finger at other countries with poor environmental records.
“We should be hanging our heads in shame, not pointing at at India or China or Russia and saying, ‘You have to cut your emissions,’ ” he said. “Canadians have to fix up our own situation first.”
NDP candidate Kerry McManus agreed. She said a cap and trade system would work best to address the domestic problem because it targets the big polluters, forces them to take responsibility, and generates revenue for green solutions.
Irma DeVries, of the Christian Heritage Party, took an entirely different approach on the environment.
“Nothing,” she said of what her party intends to do about global warming. “We don’t believe that global warming, as presented by the other parties, is true. We believe the earth actually moves in 60 year cycles.”
DeVries said a recently introduced program in British Columbia is proof that carbon credit plans don’t work.
“The price of everything went up,” she said, noting residents in the end did not see much of a rebate, as most of it was taken by the government.
She added that trying to use the same idea for big companies makes little sense because a lot of them have so much money they are willing to pay the price rather than risk lowering production.
Agriculture
Two of the more interesting questions asked about farming were what each candidate will do to address implement “price gouging” by large agricultural suppliers and what they will do to attract younger generations to farming.
Schellenberger said his party wants to ensure there is no gouging taking place, whether it be in agriculture or the fuel industry. He noted the Conservative government has introduced $400-million to help with the increased cost of production.
The Conservatives have also introduced a $500,000 capital gains exemption for farmers and those in other professions when property is transferred within a family, Schellenberger said.
“Young farmers programs have to work,” he added. He explained that sometimes those programs have to be “re-jigged” throughout the process.
He also said, “It’s grossly unfair” that often young farmers are denied loans or access to various programs because they do no yet have established profit margins.
DeVries said the Christian Heritage Party supports small family farms and objects to huge corporations altogether.
“There should be a cap on how much those companies can receive in payouts from the government,” she said, using the BSE crisis and the huge amount received by Cargill as an example.
DeVries said there should be sector-by-sector producer savings accounts, similar to RRSPs, that could be used to offset rising farm costs.
As for younger farmers, she said those individuals should be allowed to qualify for farm credit whether they have a background in farming or not. She also talked about special capped loans, exempting new farmers from land transfer tax, and establishing a mentoring system.
Gardiner repeatedly suggested Stephen Harper could not be trusted, given his track record of dealing with farmers. She said the Liberals are proposing a new $564-million regional flexibility fund, recognizing that each region across the country has different issues.
“Cookie cutter, one-size solutions don’t work. Regional flexibility is a must,” she said.
Gardiner said agriculture has to be stable and functional in order to attract new farmers. She reiterated the regional flexibility fund would be part of that, combined with a program that will allow farmers to depreciate their equipment and other capital assets faster.
McManus said she has not heard about agricultural price gouging in particular, but the NDP is committed to eliminating price gouging in all sectors.
She said her party is focused on newcomers in agriculture, specifically new education and training.
Cowling said he doesn’t deny a certain amount of price gouging may go on, but a lot of farm inputs rely on non-renewable resources, which have their prices set internationally.
“The key I think is to get farmers to start farming somewhat differently,” he said. “If your costs go up, I’m not really all that concerned, as long as you’re getting paid as much as possible for your products.” He also noted Canada has to look after its domestic market before it worries about exporting farm products.
“Food and energy are the economy of the future,” Cowling said, noting profitability is the main avenue to attract new farmers.
He told the audience it is important to support young people who are seeking farming education, and also to partner them with someone who is already working the land.
Another candidate
A sixth candidate, Julian Ichim, of the Marxist-Leninist Party, was absent at the Arthur debate, though he did take part in a debate the previous evening in Sebringville.
Ichim, 29, previously ran in the 2006 federal election as a Marxist-Leninist candidate in the riding of Kitchener-Waterloo. He moved to Stratford a couple of years ago, and has since been a leader of the activist group Stratford Action For Equality (SAFE), which, in particular, has called for more affordable housing. Ichim is also trying to start a youth drop-in centre.
