Vanclief replaces outgoing minister Ralph Goodale, who was appointed to the portfolio of Minister of Natural Resources. Lyle Vanclief was first elected to the House of Commons in 1988. Though most readers will not see this newsletter until several weeks after the June 2 federal election, OCPA takes the opportunity to congratulate all of those who were elected, and to thank other candidates for their willingness to serve. Being a Member of Parliament can, at times, be a thankless job.
Interesting times lie ahead.
Ontario and other Canadian farmers should note that this was probably the first Canadian election in which agriculture was almost a non issue during the national debate. The political effects of a declining farm vote, especially in proportionate terms, are becoming more apparent. In fact, for the first time, we saw a national party, the Progressive Conservatives, actually campaigning to spend less money on agriculture - perhaps considering that the potential loss on farm votes would be more than compensated by political gains elsewhere. We express disappointment that Elwin Hermanson, former Reform Party agricultural critic will not be an MP in the new Parliament. Mr. Dingwall did nothing to counter the efforts of Health Canada staff to create a huge pesticide regulatory bureaucracy, funded in large part by Canadian farmers, and duplicating regulatory functions carried out in a dozen other OECD countries of the world.