But Wheeler didn’t let the cat out of the bag, says National Farmers Union co-ordinator Don Mills. The cat was out and down the street a long time ago. It was just hard to find anyone with nerve enough to tell the truth about it.

Wheeler "was articulating what government has been doing for 30 years," said Mills, an organic farmer near London, Ontario. "It’s not new, but saying it to the public is. You’ve known this but when you hear it out loud it hits you and you say, ‘Oh my God, it is true.’ There’s a lot of anger over Wheeler’s comments. People are frustrated and distressed."

Wheeler’s comments came from two separate meetings last month and covered a lot of ground. He told a meeting of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture that the Canadian Agriculture Income Stabili-zation (CAIS) program was really designed to get rid of inefficient farmers. He also said cheap imports are better than more expensive domestic produce. "If you can’t compete with imported apples, should you be growing apples?" he asked.

He later told the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario that he discourages his staff from thinking of the agricultural community as family farms. "They are really hydro workers who farm on the side."

Wheeler also told the CFFO the ministry cannot pretend to be a blind advocate for agriculture as the current mindset is more "corporate" and farm policies should be directed toward commercial-sized operations, he said.

The National Farmers Union was quick to fire off a press statement saying that Wheeler appears to "indicate the provincial government is deliberately sacrificing family farms on the altar of the marketplace."

OFA vice-president and Spencerville hog farmer Geri Kamenz noted that the assistant deputy minister "doesn’t shoot his mouth off unless he’s first told to float a few trial balloons to see what comes back."

He added that Ontario’s position on agriculture must reflect the position in Ottawa. "Ontario does not set Canada’s national agenda."

Don Mills remarked, "Farmers feel their ministry should represent farmers but when you talk to the ministry they say they represent the agri-food sector. From that point of view agriculture is doing quite well."

Many agri-food businesses had their best year last year, while many farmers had their worst, he said.