SPEECH
FROM THE THRONE:
GOOD POLICY THEMES FOR CANADIAN
GRAINS & OILSEED PRODUCERS
by
Cam Dahl,
Executive Director Grain Growers of Canada,
On February 2,
the Governor General of Canada opened a new session of Parliament with the Speech
From the Throne. The Speech was the first opportunity for Prime Minister Martin
to outline, in a comprehensive way, the goals and objectives of his government.
This was also an opportunity for Canadians to get a first glimpse of the policies
that the governing party will carry into the next federal election. For these
reasons, I believe it is worthwhile reviewing what was said in the Throne Speech.
Generally, Canadian grains and oilseed farmers have reason to be pleased with
the direction the Prime Minister outlined for the Government of Canada. Three
themes in particular deserve focus:
The Grain Growers of Canada (GGC ) agree and support the Throne Speech statement
that, "there are growing opportunities for Canadian exporters." Unquestionably,
this applies to grains and oilseed farmers. However, the ability of our industry
to take advantage of these opportunities, and the future viability of our sector,
is threatened by international barriers to trade (e.g., tariffs, foreign subsidies).
This is why we are looking to the Government to translate this broad policy objective
into actions that demonstrate leadership and flexibility at the international
negotiation table. This must be done if we are to ensure the goals for access
to international markets are achieved. The Throne Speech did identify the ability
to reach international markets as a key objective for the Government of Canada.
The GGC will continue to support the Government in its efforts to accomplish these
goals at the World Trade Organization (WTO). The GGC is also appreciative of the
fact that the Throne Speech committed the Government of Canada to ensuring "that
farmers are not left to bear alone the consequences of circumstances beyond their
control." The policies of foreign governments are clearly outside of farmers'
control. Foreign subsidies cause in excess of $1.3 billion in damage to Canadian
grains and oilseed farmers' incomes each year. Grains and oilseed farmers are
looking to the federal government to implement policies that will mitigate the
impact of this foreign market interference, until the excessive subsidies are
substantially reduced or eliminated through the WTO. GGC has brought forward a
Trade Injury Compensation Program (TICP) that would accomplish this goal for the
grains and oilseed sector. This GGC is also pleased with the Government's commitment
to "fostering a technologically advanced agricultural sector," which we believe
is critical to the future prosperity of Canadian agriculture. The adoption of
new technologies will increasingly become a key means by which Canadian grains
and oilseed farmers compete in global markets. Canadian grains and oilseed producers
want to rely less and less on bulk exports of raw commodities. Grains and oilseed
farmers will need to find ways of pursuing high value niche and specialty markets.
Research and new technologies are going to play a key role in this advancement
and an increased commitment to the development of Canada's capacity in this area
is important. However, also important is the urgent need to address the negative
implications of restrictive marketing structures, internal barriers to inter provincial
trade, and other regulatory obstacles that stifle innovation and inhibit investment
in the many opportunities that exist. It is important to pursue the elimination
of these internal hurdles, while we move forward with the commitment, included
in the Speech from the Throne, to bringing down foreign barriers. The GGC will
continue to urge the government to address and aggressively rectify these impediments
to growth and development. While the broad policy outline for agriculture included
in the Speech from the Throne is quite positive for grains and oilseed farmers,
it must be remembered that this is not legislation or specific policy measures.
Grains and oilseed policy objectives will only be achieved if these broad-brush
strokes are translated into specific and concrete actions. There will almost certainly
be an election during the spring of 2004. During this time all grains and oilseed
farmers will have an opportunity to question their local candidates regarding
the agriculture policies of their parties and to specifically question how these
policies will meet the needs of our industry. I believe that it is important for
farmers to take advantage of these opportunities to interact with their current
and/or potential Member of Parliament. This can be one of the most effective ways
of helping to ensure that good policy outlines, like the ones included in the
Speech From the Throne, become reality