In a recent editorial in La terre de chez nous, UPA President Laurent Pellerin expresses the frustration felt by many farmers in Quebec and across Canada regarding the looming implementation deadlines for the Agricultural Policy Framework (APF).

Describing the federal government’s negotiation tactics as the ‘bulldozer’ approach, Mr. Pellerin offers harsh criticism of the consultation process to date, the overcentralized approach to agricultural programming, and the apparent refusal of the federal government to consider input received from the provinces and from farm groups. He questions the wisdom of replacing existing programs that have proven their worth with new programs based on, in his words, “the lowest common denominator.”

The editorial cites a letter from Ontario Agriculture Minister Helen Johns sent to federal Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief which questions the federal contention that current provincial programs are not trade-compliant. Minister Johns, who “like Quebec, defends her agricultural programs because they are adapted to the realities of her agriculture sector” according to the editorial, receives high praise for the leadership she has shown in the APF discussions.

Mr. Pellerin assures the farmers of Quebec that their position is not an isolated one, pointing out that the “increasingly recalcitrant provinces” agree that the APF programs “need to have the flexibility necessary to adapt to their particular characteristics and to complement and work in synergy with their agricultural financial tools.” He suggests a one-year delay in implementation of the APF and a return to the fundamental principles that guided the introduction of the policy framework, principles that were supported by all the provinces as well.

The full editorial, as it originally appeared in the February 6 issue of La terre de chez nous as well as in English translation, can be obtained by contacting the OCPA office.

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