It was with, at first amazement, then disbelief that I read the letter published in the Ontario Farmer of October 16, 2007 sent in by Mr. Ritz, the Federal Minister of Agriculture. Mr. Ritz's rhetoric is very impressive, however he failed miserably to actually address the matter at hand. Currently, Canadian farmers are going broke.

Do we honestly care if, according to Mr. Ritz, that Canada is the world's fourth largest agricultural exporter? At the grass roots level this isn't benefitting farmers. We already know that Canadian farmers work hard to deliver high quality food. Never has there been a recall of Canadian lettuce, spinach or other salad food for any of the various reasons that California counterparts have been removed from shelves.

A this point in time the Canadian farmer does not need an aggressive agricultural negotiating agenda internationally, what is needed is an immediate and aggressive agenda that will relieve the financial pressure on Canadian farmers NOW!

Rather than outline any initiatives that the Federal Government intends to implement, Mr. Ritz indulged in political doublespeak that has absolutely no bearing on the issues at hand. He states that "Supply management has been providing financial stability to farm families for nearly forty years" What utter and complete nonsense. The diminutive amount of funds that the Federal government has grudgingly doled out is far from the amount that gives any farmer, much less a farmer with a family, financial stability. I suggest that Mr. Ritz has not farmed and had to depend on the "provided" financial stability.

He also states that "making sure a safe and secure supply of products like milk, poultry and eggs are available on store shelves". I would also suggest that the general public will very quickly become bored with a diet that consists only of milk, poultry and eggs.

Mr. Ritz states, in his letter, that in Geneva he will be negotiating with other countries that export products to Canada. He will be petitioning these nations to decrease the subsidies they currently supply to their agricultural communities in order to give Canadian farmers a more equitable playing field. How naive is this man?

Apparently his education did not include either economics or political science. What politician, that has been elected, is going to approach his/her constituents and inform them that they will be receiving less in subsidies in order that Canadian farmers be able to compete on an international level? This definitely falls into the category of a CLM (career limiting move). Alternatively, what country is still going to subsidize their farmers and then place these products, at the international level, at a reduced price that Canadian farmers can compete with? The word deficit comes to mind. If these countries are going to consider following this course of action, perhaps they should just subsidize Canadian farmers directly and cut out the middle man.

Previously Mr. Ritz was the Agricultural Minister for the New Reform Party and I recall a comment made by the most honourable minister, that if a certain gentleman couldn't make it in farming perhaps he should apply at the local Tim Horton's.

Did I mis-recall the comment? I don't believe so, and in view of his letter published in the Ontario Farmer, I believe that essentially he still believes that farmers are whiners and complainers. His comment that "Our farmers work hard to deliver high quality food" is patronizing and insensitive. There will be no food from Canadian farmers if there are no farmers. Rhetoric won't pay the bills or feed the children. Rather than ensuring that government and farmers become partners, Mr. Ritz is actively instigating them to become protagonists. This government needs to step up to the plate and formulate a long term strategy that will enable farmers to continue what they do best. Farm.

This is a minority government. There are a lot of farmers in Canada. It is time that we made our voices heard. It is time that we demanded that any government that deserves our vote is a government that will respect what Canadian farmers do and will support us. Not with rhetoric or double speak, but with actions that will directly benefit farm families and producers.

When this government walks into the negotiating rooms in Geneva, it would behoove them to ask the Swiss Government, and the other members of the WTO, how much support their farmers receive from these governments and then duplicate that level of support to Canadian farmers. At this point in time, no level of government has even commented on the current dismal future of Canadian Beef and Pork producers.

Even though farmers are selling out at a record rate. Mr. Tory made great promises during the election, and has now faded away. Mr. McGuinty, well he made promises last election and we saw what happened.

The photo op with all the campaigning leaders driving tractors has faded into sepia photos. The PC Representative, who has been elected in this area, has said and done nothing, however, she is new at this and the Federal MP has been incredibly silent and he's been around a great deal longer. As farmers we need to demand that our elected official serve our best interests!

Whether this is beef and pork prices, or whether it is to declare a level III drought in order to get financial relief for all the wells that have had to be drilled.

Essentially they do work for us, and if they don't, we have the ability to "fire" them in the next election.

H. Foster Orangeville