It was a busy week for three executive members of the Renfrew County National Farmers Union as they drove to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to attend the 45th annual National Farmers Union annual convention.
Renfrew County National Farmers Union (NFU) president Tony Straathof travelled with vice-president Tim Tabbert and secretary/treasurer Connie Tabbert to the event. Also travelling with them was Larry Vingerhoeds, president of the Stormont, Dundas, Glengarry, Ottawa, Prescott-Russell National Farmers Union local. There was around 220 people at the convention.
The convention began Wednesday evening, Nov. 26 and ended late afternoon Nov. 29. By convention’s end, Jan Slomp of Rimby, Alberta was returned as president. He was acclaimed as were all other positions: Ann Slater of St. Marys, ON is 1st vice-president; Glenn Tait of Meota, Saskatchewan is 2nd vice-president; Coral Sproule of Perth, ON is women’s president; Kathleen Charpentier of Castor, Alberta is women’s vice-president; Alex Fletcher of Victoria, BC is youth president and Ayla Fenton of Kingston, ON is youth vice-president.
Wednesday evening, Dianne Dowling of the Kingston NFU presented the film Til the Cows Come Home, which is about the work that local did to stop the closure of the farming unit of the Kingston Penitentiary. While they weren’t successful, the film gives a glimpse of how protests were organized and how the police and government responded.
The NFU is going through a review of re-branding. Through a working committee of a group of members, a review of the NFU logo and tagline is underway. It’s hoped a final decision will be delivered by year’s end. There were a few times convention goers had opportunity to discuss the issue and give their input. The various sessions on this topic were titled Branding – What is it and why does it matter; Democratic Process in the NFU and beyond; and A 21st century look and feel for the NFU. While no decision was made by those in attendance, the working committee was given the go-ahead to continue its work and fulfill its mandate and the NFU board and executive will oversee and approve any recommendations.
Other discussions throughout the convention included: The state of farm debt and agricultural financialization; Canada at a Crossroads; Land grabbing and concentration in Saskatchwan; Corporate power and the extraction of rural wealth; Farmer power; Livelihoods in a post-Canadian Wheat Board world and Acting to reclaim our livelihoods.
For those who attend convention, it’s a great opportunity to voice their opinions on various reports that are presented as well as the resolutions that are brought from various regions to be passed, or not. Some of the resolutions passed:
That the NFU urge the provincial governments to hold meaningful public meetings and have public input on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and other trade agreemments before they are ratified;
That the NFU request to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada that human wellness in agricultural communities be given the same consideration as employees of other industry and that the NFU request the government immediately begin health testing and monitoring for the neonicotinoid chemicals in use within our farming communities;
That the NFU strongly urge the provincial, territorial and federal governments, as well as the United Nations, to place an indefinite moratorium on the practice and products of synthetic biology until such time as its potential ramifications can be more fully comprehended and effectively regulated;
That the NFU lobby all provincial governments to ensure that all agricultural commodity groups which collect and/or administer check-off funds hold elections by mail-in ballot to ensure that all affected producers are given the opportunity to vote on who will be spending their check-off dollars;
That the NFU continue to support the work of the NFU Youth to develop a National New Farmer coalition with the goals of engaging new farmers, researching new farmer barriers and opportunities, and establishing a National New Farmer Policy Platform;
That the NFU urge the provincial governments of the western provinces to express their intent to purchase the assets of the Canada Wheat Board (CWB) with the intent of returning the CWB assets to its rightful owners: the wheat and barley farmers of western Canada;
That the NFU affirm its responsibility as treaty people to: 1) inform its membership on the historical relationship between First Nations and the government of Canada and the aspirations of First Nations people in Canada and 2) publicly support initiatives by First Nations people to assert their aboriginal rights.
Miss Tabbert said the convention is not only an opportunity for members to learn what is happening within its own organization, but to see members they get to see only once a year who have become friends over the years.
“Tim and I try and attend the convention each year,” she said. “One year it’s in Saskatoon and the next somewhere in Ontario, then it’s back to Saskatoon and then again in Ontario.”
The headquarters of the national organization is in Saskatoon, and that’s why it’s held there every other year, she explained.
The Tabberts have driven to Saskatoon three times and to London, Ottawa and Guelph for other conventions.
“We said we may fly this year, but that didn’t happen because two other members wanted to travel with us, so it was in our buggy (Rendezvous) and off to Saskatoon,” Ms. Tabbert said.
The ride out was pretty uneventful, she said. However, coming home was an adventure at times. Around 2:15 a.m. Monday, Mr. Vingerhoeds was driving and the vehicle started shaking and lights on the dashboard were blinking on and off. It was decided we would turn around and go back to Nipigon, ON.
“It took us almost an hour to go the 20 kilometres,” Ms. Tabbert said. “Once at the gas station, hubby, who drove back, turned off the buggy, waited a moment and restarted it. The lights were off and the vehicle seemed ready to go.
He put some gasline anti-freeze into the gas tank and off we went.
Outside of Geraldton, ON, around 4 a.m., Mr. Tabbert was driving and spotted a moose laying off to the side of the road and a pick-up truck pointed head-first into the snow-covered ditch. He turned around and we noticed the hood of the truck was pretty crumpled. We stopped and found a man inside who said he had been waiting quite a while for the police to show up.
“We told him to get into our vehicle where he could get warm,” she said.
Once the police arrived, about 40 minutes later, we headed out again. Shortly after 5 a.m., there was a Jeep towing a small trailer trapped in the deep snow. Mr. Tabbert checked the vehicle, but there was no one inside.
Travelling along Highway 11 in the Cochrane area, there were three loaded tractor-trailers on their side in the ditches.
Shortly before 7:30 p.m. Mr. Straathof and Mr. Vingerhoeds were dropped off and the Tabberts arrived at home close to 8 p.m.
