For immediate release:
August 22, 2007

Farmers need support – not broken McGuinty promises
Dalton McGuinty should keep past election promises before
breaking new ones: Barrett

Dunnville—MPP Toby Barrett questioned whether farmers would believe Dalton McGuinty’s latest promise to introduce a Risk Management Program, in light of four years of broken promises on the same file.

“In 2003, Dalton McGuinty promised that if he was elected Premier, he would introduce a new generation of farm safety nets,” Barrett said.  “When Dalton McGuinty said that the best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour, he was right – Chalk this up to another broken promise to farmers.”

“I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve asked the Minister of Agriculture to keep Dalton McGuinty’s promises to farmers,” Barrett continued.  “I fear that in a couple of years, farmers will be wondering why Dalton McGuinty never delivered his latest agricultural promise.”

Unlike Dalton McGuinty, Barrett and the PC Caucus have a plan and the determination to provide real solutions for Ontario’s farmers.  The plan calls for an additional $150 million to be spent on support for farmers in the first budget.  That total will rise to $300 million in the final year of the first term.  By developing a system of safety nets similar to the model used in Quebec, Ontario’s farmers will finally have a level-playing field.

“Farmers know that the weatherman is wrong nearly half the time,” Barrett concluded.  “But when it comes to making promises to Ontario’s farmers, Dalton McGuinty breaks his word every time.”

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