News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 8, 2004

(OTTAWA) - Today Canadian farmers across the country have an opportunity to hear where the country's major national political parties stand on agriculture issues. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) is hosting a debate featuring Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Bob Speller and opposition agriculture critics Gerry Ritz (Conservative), Dick Proctor (NDP), Louis Plamondon (Bloc Québécois) and Tom Manley (Green Party).

'I want to first of all thank these candidates for taking time away from their campaigns to meet with farmers and answer their questions,' said Bob Friesen, CFA President. 'Canadian farmers are very concerned the major parties and media address agriculture issues in this election. Having these key candidates here today is a good first step in addressing this concern.'

In today's debate, taking place before an audience of producers, a panel of farm leaders, including Friesen, CFA Vice President Laurent Pellerin and CFA Second Vice President Marvin Shauf, will put questions to the five candidates on the key issues producers want to see addressed in this election. Those issues include:

• The need to work together to increase profitability for farmers. This includes the need to have plans in place to deal with future income disasters like BSE and Avian Influenza, and to mitigate any further damage that results from those crises.
• The future of WTO agriculture negotiations, and the need to develop trade rules that increase Canadian market access and preserve Canada's right to maintain vital domestic orderly marketing systems such as supply management and the Canadian Wheat Board.
• The need to improve rural infrastructure and attract new human resources and capital investment into the industry.
• The need to ensure Canadian environmental regulations are fair and do not hurt the competitiveness of Canadian farmers. This includes, in particular, improving the operations of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency and ensuring its accountability to stakeholders.

'Today farmers have the chance to hear what the national political parties have to say on these issues,' said Friesen. 'It's CFA's hope these five candidates will now go back to their party leaders and stress the importance of making agriculture a key issue in their national campaigns. One debate is just a start.'

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Founded in 1935 to provide Canada's farmers with a single voice in Ottawa, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is the country's largest farmers' organization. Its members include provincial general farm organizations as well as national and inter-provincial commodity organizations from every province. Through its members, CFA represents over 200,000 Canadian farmers and farm families.