For immediate release
October 8, 2009
Hog Producers Lose Farms While Band Plays On

QUEEN’S PARK – Today in the Ontario Legislature Ernie Hardeman, Oxford MPP and PC Critic for Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs questioned the Minister of Agriculture on how she could afford luxuries on the taxpayer dollars while hog producers are struggling to keep their farms.

“Minister, hog farmers in Ontario are losing their farms today. They came to Niagara-on-the-Lake this summer to tell you that but you wouldn’t talk to them,” said Hardeman. “While you were in Niagara you could afford to serve $3,300 worth of wine, hire a band for $3,500 and even found $110 for bottles of insect repellant – all on the taxpayer’s dime. But you couldn’t find any money to help the hog producers or the time to even talk to them.”

These were a few of the expenses that were discovered through a recent freedom of information request on the expenses of the federal-provincial-territorial meeting that took place in Niagara-on-the-Lake in July.

 “Hog farmers in Ontario have been hit with one thing after another – rising costs, low market prices, flawed programs from the McGuinty government and now N1H1,” Hardeman said to the Minister of Agriculture. “The federal government has announced their share of support, why haven’t you?”

Dombrowsky cited federal support but failed to provide any solutions for farmers who are about to lose their farms. As current support programs are based on average production margins from the previous years. Therefore farmers who have suffered more than one year of losses facing declining support when they need it the most.

“Hog farmers rallied at the Minister’s constituency office, they rallied at Queen’s Park and they rallied at the federal, provincial, territorial meeting in Niagara-on-the Lake,” said Hardeman. “How many more times do they need to tell the Minister of Agriculture they are in trouble before she finally listens and takes some action to help them?”

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For more information, contact:
Ernie Hardeman, MPP Oxford
(416) 325-1239