He feels he didn't really make much of a difference. He feels somewhat defeated this year. On Feb. 1, a delegation met with agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief, who promised he is working to find more money for farm support. Each evening, the farmers invited parliamentarians to meet them. When Ontario Liberals Murray Calder and Larry McCormick turned up on Jan. 31, they were bombarded by complaints about government inaction.
Incomes are too low, they said, and production costs are escalating.
Existing farm support programs are inadequate. Hearing the names of those programs gives me the same shudder as I get when I hear my former wife's name. Agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief and his officials often complain that Canadian farmers hold several billion dollars in their NISA accounts, even while demands are being made for more farm aid. I could draw all that out and it wouldn't pay my fuel bill. Calder, who is expected to be elected chair of the Liberal rural caucus this week, defended government policies, but also admitted he is frustrated by the government's failure to do more.