EDITORIAL
Lying environmentalists winning public relations war

It's damned galling. An industry that created $24.5 billion in exports in the first 10 months of last year and a $6.7 billion export surplus came under fire from an industry that spends public money and manufactures public opinion to further its own ends.

Government bureaucrats and the industry of environmental consultants do not produce any real wealth. Yet in their quest to suck more money out of the system, they have turned to propaganda and the distortion of facts.

Here's two of many examples. Terry McRae, associate director with the environment bureau of Agriculture Canada, last month said an ECKOS survey found that 81 per cent of people polled agreed that farmers needed more knowledge to ensure their farming practices are environmentally responsible.

Under questioning at the Water and Soil Conservation Society annual meeting, he admitted the statistic wasn't meaningful. Most agree people in any field could use more knowledge, he said. Why use the statistic? To manipulate public opinion.

Two months ago, weekly papers in Prescott and Russell counties published an erroneous report giving farmers in the counties a bad environmental report. When our reporter asked the source, the author screamed incompetence at him over the phone. A check of facts showed most of the conclusions erroneous and outrageous.

In December, the federal minister of agriculture came out with a vision. He's coming up with an action plan to make Canada number one in the world for food safety, environmentally sound production and innovation.

Now what's wrong? It's dishonest. The minister and environmentalists have been manipulating public opinion. The government proposes to change 200 years of farming practices, to create hardship in the farming community without any promises of financial help with the changes. Instead of coming up with a comprehensive plan based on some reality with the people effected, the minister is furthering the ends of the environmental lobby