Help us grow

Dear editor:
Ontario’s agriculture sector has become a cornerstone of the province’s economy.
The Christian Farmers’ Federation of Ontario believes that, with the right business climate in place, the farm and food sector can grow its contribution to the economy and society.
A number of factors are limiting Ontario’s farm and food sector’s ability to reach its potential. Energy costs—forecast to increase by 38 percent over three years—are going to severely hurt Ontario’s businesses’ ability to compete in the global market place.
Wages are a significant cost to businesses, and wage policy changes impact businesses’ ability to grow the number of jobs in Ontario’s food sector.
Regulatory red tape, meanwhile, is not taking into consideration the triple bottom line (social, economic, and environmental) sustainability, and is costly to businesses and to the people of Ontario.
The board of the Rainy River Christian Farmers’ Association is urging the political candidates to consider the factors that need to be dealt with in order for the farm economy to grow and for the processing sector to become all that it can be.
Specifically, we ask our political parties for commitment to wrestle down the rate of increase in energy prices, a commitment to balance the needs of business and wage earners, and a commitment to agricultural red tape reduction in the areas of planning approvals, environmental compliance approvals, and border-crossing waiting times for business.
Giving the right business environment, Ontario’s primary agriculture and agri-food sectors will be able to grow their contributions to our economy.
Sincerely,
Arnold Kaemingh
(president)
and Sietske van Zwol
(secretary),
Rainy River Christian
Farmers’ Association