Category Archives: Agriculture (Rural)

(June 24, 2002) Lawrence Solomon’s opinions struck a perfect cord with my own views about farming subsidies (Record Harvest of Profits All Came From Subsidies, June 13). This is an excellent piece, and I hope the electorate wakes up to these socio-economic facts. It is high time we accept reality: Subsidies will not end in this world, and a smart Canada would save its billions to develop other, more productive industry and infrastructure, while it sucks those same billions from the other loser countries who would destroy their own productive industry in the process. Continue reading →

(June 24, 2002) In the last half of the 19th century, conventional wisdom in North America held that the climate in the Prairies – the vast lands that comprise much of the continent – was changing. In the United States and Canada, tens of governments, thousands of businesses and hundreds of thousands of individuals spent fortunes in line with this wisdom – the only time in human history that great sums were spent in anticipation of climate change. Continue reading →

(June 17, 2002) Letters to the Editor Re: Record Harvest of Profits All Came From Subsidies, by Lawrence Solomon, June 13. It seems inconceivable that farming in Canada generates barely enough income to cover the subsidies it receives from federal and provincial governments. Of course, if you got your news from the CBC, that sobering fact would never be mentioned. Instead, you would see Peter Mansbridge announcing "trouble down on the farm" and showing hapless farmers surveying their stunted crops. Continue reading →

(June 15, 2002) In their latest research study on agricultural subsidies in Canada, Lawrence Solomon and Carrie Elliot report that in the past 10 years no province operated a profitable farm economy. This comes on the heels of reports that suggest the federal government is about to announce a $5.2-billion increase in the level of farm subsidies. Even though the announcement of new billion-dollar agricultural subsidies has become an almost annual event, the issue doesn’t get debated on talk radio or merit a single letter to the editor. Continue reading →

(June 13, 2002) Last year was a bumper year for farmers, Statistics Canada reported recently: "Farmers’ net cash income rose 29.8% from 2000, as both cash receipts and operating expenses hit record highs." Agriculture Canada was just as upbeat: "Agricultural Exports Reach All-time High," it announced. Said federal Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief: "It looks like 2001 will be a year for the record books. Farmers did do well for themselves. Whether the record they set does Canada proud is another matter. Continue reading →