Farmers drive tractors to Ottawa, rally across country to pr

[B4Ranch]

By LISA SCHMIDT
OTTAWA (CP) - Hundreds of tractors, with horns blaring, rolled past Parliament Hill on Wednesday, snarling downtown traffic as farmers protested a lack of financial support from the federal government.

A five-kilometre convoy of tractors, farm trucks, and even a couple of farmers on bicycles, snaked through city streets on their way to a huge rally. "What they are offering us is not enough," said Marc Patnaud, an eastern Ontario farmer who set up signs in front of the Peace Tower. "We've installed a cross here of the Unknown Farmer. It's a little like the Unknown Soldier that's buried there across."


"If they don't help us out, it will be like the death of agriculture."


Farmers, hurt by low commodity prices and other troubles, say a new $500-million federal aid package announced this month isn't nearly enough.


Convoys of farmers headed along major highways, including Canada's busiest Highway 401, for afternoon rallies in Ottawa, Guelph, Ont., and Pickering, east of Toronto.


Other rallies were scheduled across the country, including Winnipeg, Regina and Saskatoon.


Burnel Kipfer, president of the Perth County Federation of Agriculture, said up to 600 farmers were expected to participate in the Guelph event.


Essex cash-crop farmer David Santo said the latest aid package simply isn't enough. Farmers, who said Prime Minister Jean Chretien is in the dark when it comes to the farm crisis, are urging the federal government to double the size of its aid package.


A group of Ontario farmers set up a partial blockade on a highway along the Lake Huron shore. The farmers, who didn't want to travel to other farmers' Day of Action protests, said they instead set up an information picket.


Fred Phillips, a farmer from Lucknow northwest of London, Ont., said cars were slowly allowed through the roadblock.


He said tractors and other farm vehicles partially blocked the intersection of Highways 21 and 86.


Ontario Provincial Police said there were no major problems.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/010314/6/3gff.html

[Ed S]

He said tractors and other farm vehicles partially blocked the intersection of Highways 21 and 86. Ontario Provincial Police said there were no major problems.

Bull hockey! I spent over an hour waiting for this damn parade of farm implements to pass the intersection of Bank Street (Hwy 31) and Hunt Club, this morning. The line up of inconvenienced cars extended 3 KM from Bank Street all the way to Hawthorne Road. Since Bank Street is a major artery, crossing other major arteries, the line-ups and traffic jams were horrendous!

Now I support the farmers in their struggle, but this was just too much chaos. Ottawa's street planning is terrible; the streets are not plotted in a grid, like most urban centres, they're layed out hap-hazzard, British-style. In Ottawa, when you're stuck, you're stuck, without any alternative routes. It truly was sheer chaos this AM.



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My Free Republic alias is NorthernRight

"There are some opinions so stupid, only liberals could hold them"
-- after George Orwell

[B4Ranch]

Ha Ha, What other means should these folks use to get the attention of the elected idiots.

[Ed S]

Beef, (can I call you "Beef"?), I suppose you're right. There's nothing, short of riots in the halls of parliament, that will get the attention of this arrogant and insensitive gang of crooks and elitists in government.

I suppose we'll hear some tepid, mewling, response tonight on the news.

OTOH, while my heart and thoughts go out to the farmers, who are in a bad way, whose fault is it really? How long will Canadians subsidize inefficient farming methods, or act as the insurance company for what everyone knows is a risky business. What other industry relies on the government to bail it out, when parts of it's infrastructure fails? Warty potatoes, drowned and/or parched wheat fields, etc. etc. Don't these people even plan for adverse situations? I'm confused here.

------------------
My Free Republic alias is NorthernRight

"There are some opinions so stupid, only liberals could hold them"
-- after George Orwell

[B4Ranch]

Not being a Canadian farmer vastly reduces the value of my opinion, please remember this.

The Canadian legislature, provincial and national, has been slowly making life for farmers more and more difficult since WWII. The railroads have stopped serving many small towns thereby increasing the costs of shipping produce and grain to the public. Canada is not like the US. I have no idea how many railroads there is in the US but I know you cannot count them one one hand. The same goes for trucking companies comparatively. The cost of fertilizers have gone up and up and up. All farming chemicals have done the same. This is due to legislation backed by the UN. TDD has been forbidden in the US and Canada for 40 years, but the produce that comes in from the 3rd world countries has it reglularly in amounts that our scientists have considered dangerous. Thanks to the WTO and NAFTA there isn't a damn thing we can do about it. Getting the idea ?

[This message has been edited by B4Ranch (edited 03-14-2001).]

[compatriot]

B4Ranch has pretty much nailed it.

Every time the farming community turns out a good crop, equipment & chemical companies gather around like paranah in a feeding frenzy. But, rather than compete for business, they collectively raise prices a'la gas companies.

Also, good crop = supply & demand is less = price of grain drops = farmers make less than they put in. Unlike pretty much any other sector, the farmer has no idea of what he's going to get paid for his crop, because the control is with the Wheat Board.

You cannot blame the farmer for bad management unless you also let him control what his product sells for.

[YYZ]

B4, did you mean DDT? I'm not familiar with TDD.

The main reason many of our farmer can't make a living is continuing farm subsidies by the US and EU. Canada, with our large farm acreage compared to our population, can't compete in this subsidy war. The US has found ways to subsidize farmers (although mostly large corporate type farms) that doesn't set off the GATT and WTO free trade warning bells. In any case, the US does whatever it wants when it comes to trade, as every Canadian knows.

Other than that, farming is a tough, competetive business, and we may be coming to a point where the family owned and run farm just can't make it any more. While I'm sure they enjoy this lifestyle, I'm not really inclined to subsidize it. Nobody's bailing out Nortel or other big companies that are laying off thousands of workers, and those workers just have to take their lumps. Why should farmers be a special case?

Having said all that, these are just my perceptions as a non-farmer (but not as a city boy, well not exactly).

[Canuck]

Yes, I am sure that "B4Ranch meant 'D.D.T.'' some times the fingers go faster than the mind or vis-vis.

I have been amused by this D.D.T. problem as I am sure all the old exterminators have. We spent years using it every day , washing in it, some times even swallowing it , but always breathing it.


I guess we were supposed to die from it too, but we did not die and many of my friends lived to a ripe old age.

Hell I worked with it for almost 10 years when I was in my mid 20's and I am just a few months short of 70.

I still suspect the polution is the major factor because when they took if off the market. Cancer still went "UP".

They said they found traces of it in the fish in the artic . That may be true but the fish were still alive until they caught them.