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Copyright © 2001 Eastern Ontario Farmers Forum Inc. All Rights Reserved |
DAY ONE - Night fell and about 50 tractors stayed put outside an Ottawa Loeb food terminal. At 6 a.m. the next morning, some of the fellas were asleep in their cabs.
Farmer blockade runs day and night
OTTAWA — Eastern Ontario farmers had talked about ramping up their protests for five years. This year they did. They blocked the entry and exit to three Ottawa food distribution terminals. Other farmers blocked terminals at Whitby and Cambridge. By the second day, they learned of area restaurants running low on food. The Atrium Truck Stop, west of Ottawa, was out of fresh vegetables.
"I just heard that in Cornwall the shelves are getting empty of food," grassroots leader Jean-Marie Menard announced Saturday, April 15, the fourth day of the blockade.
About 150 tractors blocked traffic as dozens of truckers waited for hours in line to deliver their produce. Protestors allowed three trucks through every hour.
Trucker David Quinn was delivering pineapples from Philadelphia and had been waiting to drop off his produce for about 18 hours. He was almost at the front of the line and expected to wait another two hours. "I support what the farmers are doing but I have my job too," he said.
What farmers want is a federally and provincially funded risk management program and production insurance programs, especially in the crop sector, to ensure viability during crop failures and to compete with U.S. farmers willing to sell cheap food in exchange for government subsidies. Ontario’s farmers are also seeking immediate bridge funding to keep some crop farmers in business this year.
Protesting farmers gathered one night in front of a food terminal and hosted a barbeque. Amidst the festive atmosphere, with country music and free coffee, dairy farmer Reg Presley discussed strategy among friends. He said that college teachers didn’t care about their students when they recently went on strike. The farmers’ protest is different, he said. "What are people going to do? Stop eating? They just not going to have a little cranberry on their turkey dinner."
By Easter Saturday, North Gower crop farmer Dwight Foster told a crowd of farmers: "Our politicians have their heads in the sand."
Assistant deputy ministry of Agriculture Terry Hearn showed up. TV-news cameras were fixed on him but he
could only say that his department was working on the problem.
"Since 2001, we’ve been subsidizing the consumer and we can’t do that anymore," Spencerville farmer and vice president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture Geri Kamenz told the press conference. He added: "Every farm organization in the country is watching what’s going on here."
It was back in 2001 when Green Valley’s feisty Martin Renaud compared his earnings from the year’s harvest with a friend’s cheque in Quebec. When he and others learned of the great top-ups in support payments from the Quebec government, it stung. Soon after, eastern Ontario towns witnessed the first tractor rallies in years. Farmers have had their protest signs at the ready every since.