CFA Commentary - September 2008

2008 Election Commentary: Make the farm vote count
by Laurent Pellerin, 1st Vice-President
Canadian Federation of Agriculture
The 2008 election campaign comes at a time of increased public interest and widely reported media coverage of agriculture issues. Consumers are paying more attention to food quality and where their food is produced. Agricultural-related issues have been splashed across the front pages of newspapers from coast to coast. It is time that agriculture became an integral part of all parties’campaigns.
Members of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) are working hard to put Canadian agriculture on the election map. On September 29, 2008, CFA will host a national debate on agriculture in Ottawa, featuring the Minister and agriculture critics, which will be broadcast nationally by CPAC and via web cast.
We are also sending our message to every candidate in every riding in this country and asking them to make a firm commitment to agriculture. We have provided our member organizations with a toolkit to help producers engage candidates at the local level. CFA also released its 'Cast a vote for agriculture' booklet which provides a synopsis of current issues of importance to farmers.
Although the majority of farmers live and work in rural areas, CFA members are reaching out to urban voters during this election.  We are emphasizing that urban voter’s benefit from a healthy agriculture sector through not only a high-quality food supply, but also through a range of socioeconomic contributions. There are more than 225,000 farm operators in this country, and our industry directly impacts the lives of millions of other Canadians. The farm vote counts. If we work together during this election, we will show that our issues cannot be ignored.
In this election, CFA will highlight the following policy priority themes:

Business Risk Management
Farmers seek responsive and flexible risk management tools to provide stability for farmers to mitigate uncontrollable business factors. CFA's AgriFlex proposal would provide such support by responding to regional and commodity-specific needs. CFA has also requested the expansion of production insurance programs, particularly for livestock and horticultural producers.
Public Goods and Services
From environmental stewardship to food safety, farmers should be compensated for their many contributions that benefit Canadian society as a whole.

Strategic Growth
Ensuring the strategic growth of the sector requires action on a range of issues such as food labeling, research and development, grain transportation regulations, and taxation. Farmers also seek a Cooperative Investment Plan (CIP), consisting of tax incentives to encourage investment in agricultural cooperatives, help co-ops raise capital, and direct investment back into rural communities. 

Trade
While WTO negotiations are on hold, farmers require governments to pursue Canada's balanced trade position in bilateral and multilateral agreements. CFA members seek a reduction in global export subsidies, increased market access, and continued support of our domestic marketing systems. Also of major concern are the trade-distorting levels of domestic support in the U.S. and other countries.

How can farmers help ensure media and candidates don’t ignore the agriculture sector? Attend all your local debates and all-candidates meetings. Ask questions. Organize your own debates. Watch the news coverage in the mainstream media. If there’s a call-in show, call in. Visit the web sites of major media outlets and comment on stories. Get together a farmer delegation and attend the party leader events. Come out and help us establish a farmer presence at the national leader debates.  Farmers will have to work hard, mobilize, and get active in order to make the farm vote count.