By Paul Bootsma September 25, 2015
The upcoming federal election on October 19 is an opportunity for rural Ontario to make its presence known. Rural Ontario has felt somewhat marginalized within the political landscape since the last provincial election. Very few rural ridings have representation within the governing provincial liberal party. Since ridings are similar federally and provincially this gives opportunity for rural residents to have an impact on their federal candidates.
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At all-candidate meetings or debates voters have the opportunity to ask questions and should challenge the candidates about rural concerns and agricultural issues. Simply asking questions at these meetings raises awareness, and allows farmers to voice concerns about their industry. Some topics that could be discussed at these meetings by all parties are trade issues, foreign ownership of Canadian farmland, protecting farmland, and environmental concerns.
Trade is important for Canadian agriculture since we produce more than our domestic market requires. Manufacturing also relies on trade and exports, making this a complex issue. We need to view the economy as a whole, even though we often think only of our "part." The economy works best when all sectors can be productive and sustainable. This is the time to challenge potential policy makers on their trade policies.
Food producing land is a valuable asset which we need to keep and preserve. Canadian farmland is a valuable natural resource which cannot be replaced. Farmers should question candidates about what impact foreign ownership of our farmland has on our agricultural industry or on our economy.
Farmers are some of the most environmentally concerned business people in our society, generally striving to protect and maintain their surrounding environment. It is important to raise environmental concerns specific to agriculture in federal candidate debates.
By raising these topics during this election campaign rural Ontario has the opportunity to draw attention to farming concerns among the candidates, media and urban Ontario. Many of the concerns we have in Ontario are similar to farmers' concerns in other areas of Canada. Agriculture was one of the main industries when Canada became an independent nation, and is still one of the main job creators in our national economy. Rural Ontario needs to speak up during this election campaign.
As citizens of this great country it is our responsibility to cast ballots when an election is called. It is easy to ignore this, or to be apathetic about elections, but the results do affect our families and our lives. As Christians we are also called to do our part in the land where we live, including, for many, being politically active. The CFFO encourages all its members to take the time to cast a ballot on October 19. Your voice matters.
______________________________________________________________________________________ Paul Bootsma is the Field Services Manager for the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario. The CFFO Commentary represents the opinions of the writer and does not necessarily represent CFFO policy. The CFFO Commentary is heard weekly on CFCO Chatham, CKNX Wingham, and UCB Canada radio stations in Chatham, Belleville, Bancroft, Brockville and Kingston. It is also archived on the CFFO website: www.christianfarmers.org. CFFO is supported by 4,000 family farmers across Ontario.
