For immediate release:
March 23, 2006

McGuinty and Duncan stoke the fires in tobacco country
Desperate farmers are met with deep cuts to agriculture

Queen’s Park—MPP Toby Barrett expressed the outrage being felt by tobacco farmers after being left out in the cold by today’s budget.

“Leading up to the budget, we learned that the government was practically floating in extra money from high corporate and health taxes,” Barrett said outside the Legislature.  “Over the past few weeks they have been spending our money like drunken sailors, purposely breaking their promise about deficit spending for a third consecutive year.”

“As our tobacco farmers face bankruptcy, the Liberals once again cut the budget of the Ministry of Agriculture,” Barrett continued.  “$244 million has been cut from the Ministry, which is a thumb at the nose for desperate growers.”

Given the extreme urgency of the crisis for tobacco farmers, Barrett arranged to have members of the Ontario Flue Cured Tobacco Marketing Board (OFCTMB) and the Tobacco Farmers In Crisis (TFIC) seated in the Legislature for the budget.  The government failed to provide a single extra dollar for their efforts.

“The government publicly declared war on tobacco farmers upon forming the government,” Barrett said.  “Even with tobacco farmers in attendance during the budget, McGuinty and Duncan failed to cease fire.”

“Budgets come every spring- at this rate, there will be no tobacco farmers left to attend next year.”

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For more information, please contact MPP Toby Barrett at (519) 428-0446, 1-800-903-8629, or (416) 325-8404