Commentary
This week’s federal funds spells additional catastrophe for Canadian farmers and the agriculture. Whereas promising cash for Ukrainian farmers, the Trudeau authorities is continuous to insist Canadian farmers cut back their use of fertilizers—solely as a result of it’s fanatically dedicated to a local weather change disaster situation that fraudulently insists the nitrogen in fertilizer is hastening that disaster.
However let the federal funds discuss for itself. In a piece ludicrously titled “Supporting Farmers for Diversifying Away from Russian Fertilizers,” the federal government says: “Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine has resulted in greater costs for nitrogen fertilizers, which has had a notable impression on Jap Canadian farmers who rely closely on imported fertilizer. Finances 2023 proposes to offer $34.1 million over three years, beginning in 2023-24, to Agriculture and Agri-Meals Canada’s On-Farm Local weather Motion Fund to assist adoption of nitrogen administration practices by Jap Canadian farmers, that can assist optimize the use and cut back the necessity for fertilizer.”
Later within the doc, the finance ministry guarantees “$34.1 million over three years for a top-up to the On-Farm Local weather Motion Fund to assist Jap Canadian farmers undertake nitrogen administration practices that cut back fertilizer use and finally end result in value financial savings for these farmers.”
First the federal government appears to consider—incomprehensibly—that the fertilizer situation solely impacts “Jap” farmers, when a lot agriculture manufacturing resides in Western Canada. However the local weather change disaster navel gazers not solely blame nitrogen for promulgating greenhouse gasses however really appear to consider that fertilizers is some kind of luxurious in agriculture—when it’s really key to the efficacious rising of important crops that feed not solely Canadians however the world.
When this sort of distorted considering is utilized to agriculture, the ramifications may be catastrophic as a result of whereas political insurance policies may be merely disagreeable, all of us require meals to reside and breathe.
Former Conservative agriculture minister Gerry Ritz has been sounding the alarm on the Liberal authorities’s menacing agriculture insurance policies for over a yr.
Ritz told me in a current interview that Trudeau gained’t cease at successfully banning fertilizer however will proceed with different very important supplies farmers want to provide meals.
“Fertilizers would be the starting on a landslide of chemical compounds that farmers use,” he stated. “This would be the begin of a warfare on pesticides.”
He famous that farmers are barred from even utilizing strychnine to manage the gopher inhabitants on the Prairies.
Ritz stated the irony is that farmers are among the many most “environmentally sound” contributors to the Canadian financial system and are consistently testing soil to “make the best use of that floor.”
Nevertheless, they get “no credit score” for his or her environmental stewardship, he stated.
Making warfare on agriculture is one hallmark of totalitarian regimes that both search to restrict meals manufacturing or use it within the pursuit of an ideological aim.
Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin created a man-made famine in Ukraine whereas making an attempt an in a single day industrial revolution in Russia. Chinese language tyrant Mao Zedong starved peasant farmers whereas he tried to create a courageous new world of Chinese language business within the Nice Leap Ahead. Each political experiments not solely destroyed their nation’s agricultural output however exterminated hundreds of thousands of innocents.
Even when the federal authorities isn’t deliberately planning for famine, its wrongheaded insurance policies can nonetheless produce that unintended consequence.
However the Liberal funds has assist for Ukrainian farmers.
“Canada will proceed to offer additional help to the folks of Ukraine,” it states. “Finances 2023 broadcasts that $84.8 million in 2023-24 shall be allotted by World Affairs Canada to offer focused assist to Ukraine for humanitarian help, psychological well being assist, demining, agriculture, and different precedence areas. All funds can be sourced from present departmental sources. To assist Ukraine’s final restoration and reconstruction, Canada may also work to help Ukraine in guaranteeing its means to entry non-public capital within the years to return.”
What Ukrainian farmers require most is peace. Nobody has suffered extra from the ravages of warfare than they.
However Canada continues to pour billions into the Ukrainian warfare with Russia, although the battle is bringing Canada and NATO to the brink of nuclear warfare. The countryside and the folks of Ukraine have been ravaged not solely by this warfare however by a authorities suffering from corruption that continues to obtain worldwide navy and civil help with no strings hooked up.
Britain’s determination to provide Ukrainian forces with armour-piercing depleted uranium shells will additional contaminate the soil.
Canada must assist peace efforts in Ukraine and cease imposing reckless local weather change ideology on Canadian farmers who should proceed to feed Canada and the worldwide market.
Views expressed on this article are the opinions of the creator and don’t essentially replicate the views of The Epoch Occasions.