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GREGG CHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca our farmers to bene"t them. For example, when as Conservatives, we saved dairy far- mers $40 million each year by blocking the ‘pizza topping kit’ loophole at the border as a result of concerns they identi"ed. I will continue to promote investment in research and development as this will ensure the future prosperity of our farmers, by lowering their costs and increasing their production.” Lemieux noted that development of new free trade agreements also o#ers expanded markets for local farms and dairy opera- tions, and cited the Canada-European Trade Agreement as one example of boosting Ca- nadian agriculture sales by $1.5 billion. “We have put in place free trade agree- ments with 39 countries and are now nego- tiating the Trans-Paci"c Partnership (TPP), Agriculture : Lemieux applauds ccomplishments, opponents criticize Some farmers drove their tractors to Parliament Hill on Tuesday to send a «political message» about a free-trade deal they fear will butcher the dairy industry in Ontario and Québec. Agriculture is amajor industry in the riding of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell. With the election calendar getting shorter along with the days of autumn, EAP asked all four candidates how they felt about the dwindling number of dairy farms in the region and what kind of support they will give agriculture issues and concerns. Incumbent Conservative MP Pierre Le- mieux cited his record in o!ce for the past nine years, including six as parliamentary secretary for agriculture, as proof of his sup- port for the farming community. “I will continue to use the knowledge I have obtained frommeeting personally with
which will grant our farmers access to 800 million new customers. We will have top- notch negotiators and will ensure that our Canadian agriculture bene"ts signi"cantly through this new access, while ensuring that the three pillars of supplymanagement remain intact.” Liberal candidate Francis Drouin criti- cized Lemieux and other rural Conserva- tive MPs for not speaking up more about vanishing dairy farms and other agricul- tural operations. “Our rural economy can no longer a#ord to sacri"ce one particular sector in agriculture for the other. I have seen abandoned homes in St. Eugene, Ste- Anne-de-Prescott, Glen Robertson, etc. As aMember of Parliament, I will always speak up for our entire agricultural sector. Right now, our dairy farmers need our help.$at is why I amcommitting to continue to defend supply management, 100 per cent.” Drouin stated that supply management guarantees for the dairy industry must be part of any free trade agreements, and he would extend that to also cover pork and beef suppliers. “I will work with farmers to ensure that services by government are received in a timely manner and this includes the business risk management program,” said Drouin. “I will always speak up for farmers even if this means speaking up against our government. Greens to support family farms Green Party candidate Geneviève Mal- ouin-Diraddo declared her support for the family farmoperation and argued for federal Liberal candidate Francis Drouin criticizes Lemieux
policies that help family farms remain viable operations in the global economy. She also supports greater public awareness about locally-grown and raised foods. “I will also support local foodmarkets by encouraging and supporting the consumption of locally- grown food and promoting adequate shelf space in grocery chains for products from local farms and local food processors.” Malouin-Diraddo noted that the Green Party supports creation of a National Agricul- tural and Food Policy to “reduce corporate control of the food supply by reforming ag- riculture regulations to challenge corporate concentration” and so ensure farm support payments are farm-based, not production- based, which will encouragemore farms and more farmers, and also to encourage more organic farming to improve farmpro"tability and sustainability. She expressed support for the supply management system which “keeps prices fair for farmers in a time where they are under intense global pressure to cut costs and quality.” She also noted that the system protects Canadian consumers “against large market variations in the price of milk” and also from foreignmilk products whichmay contain growth hormones or other additives. She said the Green Party opposes to the TPP because it would “open the doors to foreign unregulated milk and milk products which would have detrimental e#ects on our milk industry and put many of our dairy farmers out of business.” At press time, we had not heard back from the NDP candidate.
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