Food & Water FirstElection update: June 12
In the final days of the election campaign, the parties are either supporting Food & Water First wholeheartedly, creating their own farmland protection programs or dismissing our efforts to preserve the rarest farmland in Ontario and source water regions.
We’ll begin with the Green Party. Its leader, Mike Schreiner, is the only party leader to take the Food & Water First Pledge. Green Party candidates have been strong advocates of our campaign and are urging rival candidates to do the same.
Meanwhile, the Liberals under Kathleen Wynne are vowing to introduce a “Farms Forever” program to protect prime farmland close to urban centres. She has said “We recognize that preserving farmland is a very important responsibility.” Several Liberal candidates have also taken the Pledge and posted photos with our election postcards.
The New Democrats say they would be the best party to defend farmland and would work with stakeholders to achieve that goal. However, no farmland protection policy has been unveiled during the campaign.
Meanwhile, the Progressive Conservatives have indicated there will be no special protection for Class 1 farmland should Tim Hudak form the next government. Our volunteers have spoken with PC candidates in rural and urban ridings, and the responses were the same. When asked what a PC government would do to stem the unsustainable loss of prime farmland in Ontario, a Toronto candidate responded by saying she enjoyed local food but “the PCs have no policy in place to protect farmland.” Given that local farmland grows local food, her answer was disappointing. When another PC candidate was asked to take the Food & Water First Pledge, she dismissed it by saying “it means nothing.”
Food & Water First supporters have worked hard during this campaign. Hundreds of lawn signs have been planted, more than 30,000 election postcards were distributed and radio ads are airing in key farming markets. We’re proud to stand up for the best farmland in Canada and the water that sustains us. Regardless of who forms the next government after June 12th, we will continue to do so.
