The much-beleaguered cattle farmers in Rainy River District will have a friend and advocate in Ottawa, Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP Ken Boshcoff pledged Monday night in Alberton.
Boshcoff, who is touring this end of the new riding until tomorrow, sat down with members of the Rainy River Cattlemen’s Association on Monday at the Alberton municipal office.
The visit came on the heels of an announcement by the federal government concerning a $488-million compensation package for beef farmers who have seen their livelihood devastated since the U.S. border was closed to live cattle shipments after the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in one cow in Alberta in May, 2003.
Although some of the cattlemen were gratified to see Ottawa come through, they were more concerned with how the money was going to be used—and when.
“The money is supposed to flow through by the end of October but the details haven’t been announced,” noted Tom Morrish, a former president of the RRCA.
RRCA president Peter Spuzak sat down with Boshcoff and Alberton Reeve Mike Hammond and laid out a five-point plan designed to mitigate the crisis until the U.S. border is fully open again.
The first point on Spuzak’s list was the issue of beef imports.
It may not be well-known but due to several pre-existing trade agreements, Canada continues to accept offshore beef from countries like Australia and Argentina while facing a stifling backlog of domestic product.
This, said Spuzak, is aggravating an already difficult situation and must be addressed by the federal government—even if it means rescinding trade deals.
“We have enough consumers to eat all the domestic beef being produced here, but we cannot handle the additional supply,” Spuzak reasoned.
The second point raised concerned prices. “We need to establish a floor price for beef,” Spuzak said.
Russell Richards, who also attended Monday’s meeting in Alberton, noted the prices at the fall auction in Stratton on Saturday were even lower than last year—with top steers going for as little as 86 cents a pound while some cull cows fetched a mere 15-16¢/pound.
“We can’t sustain this,” Spuzak stressed. “Some of us are living on our retirement savings.”
Spuzak’s third point concerned fast-tracking the production of slaughter facilities so producers have cheaper access to processors. He referred to the ongoing efforts to establish an abattoir here in Rainy River District, which have been bogged down with red tape.
Russell Pollard, one of the chief architects behind the abattoir project, told the group the project is going well, but he was continually frustrated by the bureaucracy at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency—the government arm responsible for licensing abattoirs.
“We submitted a set of blueprints several months ago and then I got a call from CFIA saying we had to change them,” Pollard remarked. “So I spent $5,000 on a new set and then they called me back and said the original plans were OK.”
“Perhaps you can sell that other set,” Boshcoff quipped.
“Hey, I’ve got five sets,” Pollard retorted, which brought chuckles from some of the cattlemen present.
Pollard explained to Boshcoff why the group decided to opt for a federally-certified plant instead of a provincial facility, which should have been cheaper. But continuous changes in regulations ultimately made the difference in standards so insignificant, the group decided to go federal.
“The only real difference now is a provincial facility doesn’t need to have a paved driveway,” said Pollard.
Spuzak noted although the plant was intended primarily to service local producers and consumers, by meeting the federal standards, meat also could be shipped to buyers outside the province.
Pollard said despite the administrative obstacles, the final abattoir proposal should be ready to submit to the government by next week. And if all goes well, construction could begin within a month.
Spuzak told Boshcoff the abattoir project has been delayed long enough by government regulations and implored him to make every effort to help it along now that everything on this end seems to be in place.
He also noted it probably would take a minimum of six months to get the facility up and running once construction got underway.
Spuzak’s fourth point concerned animal inspection facilities. There currently is one designated port of entry in the district, which is located in Rainy River. And it currently receives no federal funding.
Instead, local producers pay for its operation through cattle sales, but since so many animals from outside the district go through it without the shippers having to pay, it places an additional burden on local producers.
He told Boshcoff the facility requires an annual infusion of roughly $3,500 per year to keep it operating.
Finally, Spuzak implored Boshcoff to lobby the government to give farmers tax concessions on essential purchases.
“We’re selling product below wholesale prices, but we must purchase supplies at retail prices,” he argued. “We should be able to buy at wholesale without taxes at least until the border is open again.”
On the issue of the border, Boshcoff was blunt.
“You’re not going to see any movement there until after the [U.S.] elections at least,” he warned. “In fact, the earliest anything would likely happen is after the inauguration in January.”
At the end of the presentation, Boshcoff asked some questions concerning the RRCA’s priorities.
“It might be better if I approach caucus with one issue instead of five,” he reasoned. “This may be a situation where it’s better to use a rifle than a shotgun.”
It was agreed then that the abattoir be given top priority while the RRCA refined its position on the other issues.
Boshcoff also suggested that when the submissions were completed, they be submitted to him first so he could proof-read them and re-word them, if necessary, to make a stronger impression.
“I don’t mean to belittle your efforts, but when I walk into the minister’s office, I want to have something in my hands that my staff has had a chance to turn into something politicians will pay attention to,” he remarked.
Boshcoff concluded by acknowledging some of their issues were alien to him, but as someone from Thunder Bay, he also understood how the politicians down south from both levels of government are woefully uninformed about the realities of life in the north.
“Part of this is a learning experience for me, but I intend to establish open communications,” he stressed.
“I know some of the people in Queen’s Park think Ontario stops somewhere north of Barrie, but if you need something federally, we’re going to be there for you,” he vowed.
(Fort Frances Times)
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
