No Friend of the Family Farmer
Stephen Harper’s Conservatives have introduced a string of Bills, regulations, and Cabinet Orders that amount to a virtual clear-cut of the policies and agencies that safeguard Canada’s family farms. Here’s a brief tour:
- New regulations that undermine farmers’ rights to save and re-use seeds;
- Multiple attacks on farmers’ marketing agency, the CWB;
- Critically weakening the century-old Canada Grain Commission—farmers’ watchdog over grain companies;
- Playing fast-and-loose at World Trade talks, putting our dairy, egg, and poultry supply management agencies at risk;
- Cutting food inspection services, risking a catastrophic loss of confidence in our food supply; and
- Watching as family farm cattle and hog producers are decimated by markets firmly in the grips of transnational packers and retailers.
Stephen Harper’s Conservatives don’t put Canadian farmers and families first: His Conservatives put Cargill, Monsanto, and Maple Leaf first.