LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO - Thursday 20 April 2006

Ms. Lisa MacLeod (Nepean-Carleton): I thought I would get much more excitement out of the front bench over there than I am.

My question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Food. I stood before this House Tuesday talking about the plight of farmers, distributors, grocers and consumers, but to no avail. The Minister of Agriculture and Food has still not addressed the concerns of Ken Ross, an independent grocer, nor has she addressed the concerns of Gib Patterson, a farmer. They are both concerned with ongoing farm protests and the lack of attention, lack of action and, apparently, lack of respect. Has this Minister of Agriculture and Food met with the food industry, or is she just prepared to? When will this government step up to the plate and begin restoring the cuts to our farmers?

Hon. Mrs. Dombrowsky: I'm very happy to say that I believe the relationship that our government has established with farm representatives, certainly since we've come to government, has been a very respectful one. That's not to say that we always agree, but I always have left those meetings feeling that everyone had a fair hearing.

With regard to the respect issue, I did find it interesting today -- this was reported in the Toronto Sun, with respect to the federal government -- that Minister Strahl has said he won't meet with farmers who have gone to Ottawa. They want to talk about the $5 million that he claims he has set aside for them. So far, all we've heard from the federal government is talk about $500 million that's sitting securely in the bank in Ottawa. Farmers need it in their pockets, and we want to sit down with the federal government and talk with them about our plan that will deliver it to farmers when they need it, which is right now.