Ontario budget not farmer friendly
Wilkinson figures more is coming

TORONTO — Ontario budgeted $65 billion for 2002 with $245 million going for environmental improvement. Most of the environmental money appears to be headed towards municipalities to upgrade their water and sewer systems.

But with the imminent passage of Bill 81 (nutrient management legislation) Ontario has not given any indication in the budget that help is on the way to farmers. In his report on the Walkerton water tragedy Justice Dennis O’Connor said that since the implementation of Bill 81 represented a shared benefit the cost should also be shared by government .

In Quebec, that province gave farmers funding for 70 per cent to 90 per cent of costs for all new construction required by its new nutrient management laws for manure storage facilities. The province also paid for 50 per cent of the purchase price of manure spreading equipment. Without government assistance, Shawville, Quebec, beef farmer Bob Young told Farmers Forum last winter, the nutrient management legislation would have destroyed Quebec’s beef industry.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) president, Jack Wilkinson, told Farmers Forum that he has been assured that provincial money is available for capital expenditures for Bill 81. However, he doesn’t know how much.

No money in the budget was designated for the made in Ontario safety nets. Wilkinson says "Something will be provided" after the federal government shows its hand. The provinces and the federal government have been arguing over whether or not trade injury from U.S. subsidies should be solely a federal responsibility or a shared responsibility.

Last December, the Quebec government committed $305 million annually for the next seven years to ensure the stability of different agricultural programs.

Wilkinson says agriculture has been given some bits and pieces of help from the province. The 14.3 cent per litre excise tax exemption for bio-diesel fuel could lead to the development of soybean plants, he said, and changes to the retail sales act should benefit farmers. In addition, $38 million has been given to support alternative crops; in this case, tobacco and horticulture.