One of the perks of being involved as a director with a farm organization is meeting the movers and shakers in agriculture and in politics. Over the years I met many federal and provincial ministers of agriculture.
I remember going to the Eganville Town Hall with my dad in the early 1960s to hear the federal minister of agriculture at the time, Alvin Hamilton. He was minister from 1960 to 1963 in the John Diefenbaker PC government. When Lester Pearson and the Liberals took over in 1963, Harry Hays was appointed agriculture minister. From 1965 to 1968 former Arnprior lawyer John James Greene (better known as J.J. Greene) was the agriculture minister in the Liberal government. I recall hearing Greene speak on agriculture.
Tuesday, April 12 was an interesting day as a group of local directors of the eastern Ontario federations of agriculture, wearing their Sunday best, went through security on Parliament Hill at 6:30 a.m. and were ready to meet MPs in the Parliamentary Restaurant for the breakfast from 7 to 9 a.m. The rest of the day was spent meeting MPs who came out to the special room set up for meetings. Local federations met with their MP ––Renfrew County met with Cheryl Gallant, Lanark met with Scott Reid, Ottawa-Carleton met with Karen McCrimmon.
The idea of having breakfast with the MPs and the Hill Lobby Day came from the Lanark Federation of Agriculture, who have co-ordinated this event for the past 12 years.
With so many new Liberal MPs elected in the last election, it was a great chance to meet many of the new MPs. About 40 farmer representatives and members of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, Quebec Farmers’ Association, L’Union des cultivateurs franco-ontariens and the Canadian Federation of Agriculture attended the Hill Lobby Day. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) is the largest general farm organization in Ontario, representing 36,000 farmers.
It provided an opportunity for Ontario and Canadian farmer representatives and members to interact and discuss key agriculture and agri-food priorities with Members of Parliament, including Hon. Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. Minister MacAulay addressed the attendees and spoke about the value of the Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector.
Key issues and priorities that were discussed throughout the day included Business Risk Management programs, Canadian food policy, investments in agriculture & agri-food and market access opportunities.
Some of the many important facts of Canadian agriculture that were brought to the attention of the MPs are:
* Agriculture has a tremendous role in Canada, contributing $107 billion annually to the national economy.
* The agriculture and agri-food sector employs 2.1 million Canadians –1 in 8 Canadian jobs are in the agriculture and agri-food industry.
* Food and beverage processing is Canada’s largest manufacturing industry, with more than $93 billion in shipments.
* Canada is the fifth largest agricultural exporter in the world.
* Canadian farmers utilize more than 160 million acres of land from coast to coast –occupying approximately 7 per cent of Canada’s land resource.
* 98 per cent of Canadian farms are proudly family-owned and operated
I got to meet and chat with the Hon. Lawrence MacAulay at the breakfast. He knows farming, having been a dairy farmer before he entered federal politics.
Lawrence A. MacAulay was born in St. Peters Bay, PEI, in 1946 and has represented the riding of Cardigan, Prince Edward Island in the House of Commons since 1988. On November 4, 2015, he was appointed the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in the present Cabinet.
He is a former Minister of Labour, Solicitor General of Canada, Secretary of State (Veterans) and Secretary of State (Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency).
It’s great to have an agriculture minister who has milked cows and tilled the soil.
