AGRICULTURE MINISTER HAS LOST CREDIBILITY;
SHOULD RESIGN: RUNCIMAN
QUEEN’S PARK –
A 23 per cent funding cut to Ministry of Agriculture
is a clear indication that Minister Steve Peters
has failed the farming industry and rural Ontario
and he should step down, said Leeds-Grenville
MPP Bob Runciman in a statement in the Legislature
today.
Runciman said that while he bears no ill will
towards Minister Peters and likes him personally,
he has failed to do his job.
“Many parts of rural Ontario are now
in crisis,” continued Runciman. “The
continuing closure of the United States border
has impacted not only on beef farmers, but virtually
everyone in rural Ontario -- dairy and cash
crop farmers, feed and implement dealers, small
business owners and on and on.
“Our Agriculture Minister promised leadership
in providing stability to the farming industry
but instead of providing leadership, he’s
furnished failure and surrender.
“I don’t see how he can face the
farming community; he’s lost all credibility,”
said Runciman.
“He sat by while two of his Liberal cabinet
colleagues secured $400 million for a casino
in Windsor – almost 80 per cent of the
Agriculture budget – and then allowed
his cabinet colleagues to gut his budget to
the detriment of thousands of rural Ontario
families.”
This year’s Agriculture ministry allocation
is $564 million compared to $733 million budgeted
last year and that doesn’t include an
additional $444 million that was spent in emergency
funding.
Media Contact:
Bob Runciman
(1-416-325-1522)
