Open Letter to Andrew Mitchell
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
July 21, 2004
Hon. Andrew Mitchell
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
9th Floor, Sir John Carling Building
930 Carling Avenue
Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0C5
Dear
Mr. Mitchell:
Congratulations on your appointment as
Agriculture Minister. I look forward to working with you to resolve some of the
severe problems facing our farmers.
For 14 long months, our cattle
producers and all industries connected to the cattle sector have been devastated
by the effects of Canada’s lone BSE case. As our new Minister of Agriculture,
I am sure you are aware of the repercussions felt by Canadian farmers since May
20, 2003, however I believe the urgency for a solution to this situation cannot
be restated enough.
I represent a riding rich with the
tradition of farming. Many farms in Yorkton-Melville have been passed from
generation to generation and have been family owned and operated for well over
100 years. Our farmers have had to adapt and diversify over the years,
experimenting with new technology and crops, many adding cattle to their
operations. While some have struggled over the years, be it due to drought or
poor markets, nothing has devastated our agriculture sector the way BSE has.
That one case of BSE has hurt not only the beef industry, but has also affected
the sheep, bison and dairy herds. Those century-old family operations are being
auctioned off for very little, and our food providers are walking away from the
only way of life they know with virtually nothing.
The agriculture community is the very
heart and soul of this nation, with one of every seven jobs in Canada stemming
from the agriculture and agri-food sectors. Many communities and cities,
including those in my riding, are able to exist only because of our agriculture
producers.
I understand the frustration being felt
by cattle producers as months pass by without any change to the BSE crisis, and
I share in that frustration. I have been appalled by the Competition Bureau’s
hesitation to investigate the country’s meat packers – this despite the fact
beef prices in grocery stores haven’t dropped in comparison to the price
producers are receiving for raising that beef. There has been a wait-and-see
approach taken with the entire situation. Our producers need this government to
put into action a plan to solve this problem and it is needed now.
Initiatives such as increasing the
slaughter and processing capacity, expanding to different trade export markets,
and aiding smaller processors to meet federal regulations, would have dramatic
benefits to the cattle industry not just immediately, but in the long-term as
well.
With the very future of our cattle
industry hanging in the balance, there is no time for party politics to come
into plan. We, as representatives of our cattle producers and everyone affected
by this crisis, need to work together to create solutions to ensure the Canadian
cattle herd and our producers are able to survive this and any future crisis.
I encourage you to make this issue one
of utmost urgency as you assume your new position. Please find attached a news
release which was distributed July 9, 2004, detailing the Conservative Party’s
pledge to make the BSE crisis a top priority.
Best regards,
Garry Breitkreuz, MP
Yorkton-Melville