cee A ee TE CANADA By KIMBALL CARIOU Under intense pressure to act on the worst agricultural crisis in Saskatchewan in decades, the Devine cabinet has finally announced a relief program. But the measures do not meet many of the demands raised by the National Farmers Union and other farm organizations. - While the government estimates its proposals could be worth $50 million in direct cash and $100 million in cash advances’’, agriculture minister Lorne Hepworth him- self admitted, July 8, that the industry faces a $1 billion loss this year, a 25 per cent reduction of the normal $4 billion it adds to the provincial economy. The provincial package provides some aid for beef producers, but little for wheat farmers. The outlook for many Saskatchewan farmers is bleak this summer. The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) says 14,000 farmers, over a fifth of the total, are suffering from drought, grasshoppers, and economic pressures surpassing the 1930s. The agri- culture policies of the federal and provincial govern- ments in recent years have made the situation worse, not better, for most farm families. _ Earlier in 1985, fear of the worst grasshopper infesta- tion in memory was uppermost here. Last summer, Over $30 million worth of grain was lost to the insects. This spring, farmers were forced to spray repeatedly, at a cost of $3 to $7 per acre, and in many cases had to replant Crops eaten by the insects. Now one of the worst droughts on record has destroy- ed much of the crop and pastureland in southwest Saskatchewan. Although the moisture situation is better north and east of a line from Lloydminster to Estevan, the Hudson Bay area in the northeast is suffering from too much rain, as it has for several years. Crop insurance claims are running double those of last year, which was also a bad year, especially in the south. The poor weather and grasshoppers of the last two years, on top of the long-term cost/price squeeze, have combined to create a crisis situation for thousands of farmers. In desperation, many are selling off beef herds and grain reserves. By Jan. 1, 1985, the Saskatchewan beef herd had already reached a 21-year low, and cattle sales have been substantially higher this year than last. The selloff began after last summer’s dry weather depleted feed supplies and drove up costs. But industry analysts say the prob- lem is more fundamental, and that in fact the entire industry is endangered by the unprofitability of raising cattle. Some also criticize the federal government’s tur- nabout on a promise to allow no more than 2.7 million kilograms of European beef imports into Canada, a limit recently raised to 10.5 million kilos. Similarly, stocks of wheat and other grains have drop- ped to the lowest point in over 20 years after last fall’s poor harvest. Levels stand at only 7 million tonnes, half that of 1983, as farmers have cleaned out their bins. Declines Everywhere . Altogether, Saskatchewan farmers’ inventory of grain and cattle was reduced by $757 million last year, to raise cash in the short term, leaving thousands of farm opera- tions more vulnerable than before. Net farm income for 1984 was calculated at $274 million by Statistics Canada, the lowest figure since the war years, if inflation is taken into account. The number of farms dropped from about 66,700 to 66,000. Bankruptcies continue running high here, as in other provinces, but most of the 700 lost farms are the result of decisions to sell out before being forced off the land. As more farmers turn to that option across North America, land values keep falling, adding to debt problems. The value of farm land and buildings dropped by 4.2 per cent in Canada last year, and 4 per cent in Saskatchewan. (U.S. farm land values plummetted by 12 per cent in 1984, the fourth consecutive decline and the largest since the Depression.) Increasingly, only those producers with no debts are able to keep afloat. Those with the worst problems are often, ironically, the most productive — younger farm- ers who have borrowed heavily to invest in land and machinery, only to become victims of insects, the cli- mate, and government policies aimed at reducing the number of farms in the name of ‘‘efficiency”’. Budget Does Nothing Finance Minister Michael Wilson’s budget has come under fire in the farm community for its failure to address the crisis. The budget is virtually silent about agriculture issues. National Farmers Union president Wayne Easter attacked Wilson’s cuts in agriculture department spend- ing, adding up to $750 million by 1990, drastically affect- ing important programs. Easter and other farm leaders have been sharply critical of the budget provision allow- ing capital gains tax exemption of up to $500,000 on the sale of farm property, as a measure which will only benefit those with sufficient equity who are selling out. The measure is considered likely to accelerate the de- cline in land values. Last year the Devine government created the Farm Land Security Board, saying it would effectively prevent foreclosures. But early warnings from farm leaders that the legislation was full of holes have proven true. Recent figures issued by the board show that the banks have ~ won two-thirds of the cases it has dealt with. Against this background, calls for action have become increasingly desperate. SARM warned in mid-July that ‘farmers have depleted their grain and cash reserves and will not be able to pay their bills . . . businesses will fold, rural communities will decay, unemployment will swell, services such as schools, hospitals, ambulances, lib- raries, and recreation facilities will be jeopardized. ...”” The organization called for a $75 per head payment for cattle not sold off, and for early crop insurance pay- ments, a grace period on Farm Credit Corporation loans, an immediate attack on the expected 1986 grasshopper problem, and the waiving of penalties for local tax arrears. : : The NDP and Liberal opposition parties demanded that the south of the province be declared a disaster area to receive higher amounts of aid.“ NFU Saskatchewan co-ordinator Norm McFarlane called on the province to either re-open applications for crop insurance to allow farmers not covered to join, or to allow them to increase their coverage, and to compensate farmers and R.M-s for money spent on grasshopper control. He also called on the prairie governments to establish a $10 million Tory farm aid totally inadequate research. fund to develop a safe, biological method of controlling the insect. Program Inadequate When it came, the province’s program did not meet the hopes of many. Saskatchewan Crop Insurance poli- cies are to be changed to allow farmers to convert poor crops to feed, and ranchers will receive $60 per head of cattle not sold. Insurance payout ceilings for farmers facing consecutive drop losses are to be raised. There will be a $125 per head cash advance on livestock. The provincial and federal governments also announced a ‘‘commitment’’ to work out a long-term disaster relief program for agricultural areas. Clearly, however, the dollar value of the program will not come close to compensating farmers for the losses they face this year. Nor does it deal with basic long range issues, such as the need for soil reclamation, relief from crushing local taxes and high interest rates, depressed prices, rising input costs, the destruction of the branch- line system and removal of the Crow freight rate, and other problems. : Until such fundamental problems are addressed, Sas- katchewan will continue to see the concentration of farming into fewer hands, the growth of ‘agribusiness’, to the detriment of rural and urban working people. Relief programs such as that proposed by the Devine government may stave off the inevitable for. some farm- ers, as the Tories scramble to increase their sagging electoral support, but they are no solution for most. Communist proposals show way to change There is nothing to suggest that the agonizing farm situation is fatal. Things can be changed. A new deal for the working farmer and new: policies that will restore health to the agricultural commu- nity can be won, in order to save the family farm, provide jobs, and raise living standards. Last November, a Farm Conference of members of the Communist Party of Canada issued an ap-— peal to working farmers confronting these issues head on. It called for farmers and workers to unite ina country-wide campaign on the following points asa first step towards agricultural recovery to win: e A return to ihe statutory Crow rate e A moratorium on farm debts and an end to foreclosures e Interest-free government loans to protect the working farmer ‘ e Anend to the usurious interest rates charged by the banks and financial institutions e A policy of 100 per cent price parity e Free crop insurance e Expanded ties with the socialist countries e Trade with developing countries based on fong-term credits. : Kashtan: Canadian sovereignty at stake The journey of the U.S. nuclear icebreaker Polar Sea through the Northwest Passage is the latest and perhaps the most direct chal- lenge yet to Canadian sovereignty by the Uni- ted States. ; The Tribune asked William Kashtan, leader of the Communist Party of Canada, for his comments and the reaction of the party to the incident. _ Tribune: How do you assess Canadian pub- lic reaction to the Polar Sea voyage? Kashtan: Patriotic Canadians are cor- Tectly concerned with the abject way in which the Mulroney government has Tesponded to the unilateral decision of the J.S. government to ignore Canada’s sover- eignty over the Northwest Passage and, without permission, enter Canadian waters. This abdication of Canadian sovereignty by the Mulroney government flows from its per cent support of U.S. economic and foreign Policies. Economic and military Integration has its own logic. Its results are to P seen in the entry of the U.S. icebreaker olar Sea, through the passage. _ The U.S. has covered up this breach of international law by stating the the NW pas- sage is an international waterway. This is so much nonsense. According to international law, the waters around islands belonging to a country are the internal waters of that ‘country. U.S. imperialism denies that. It wants to turn the passage into an American waterway as part of its overall nuclear mil- itary strategy. Tribune: Although most Canadians appear to oppose the U.S. claims, some have tried to play the “Soviet card” to bolster claims to Canadian sovereignty of the waters. How do you see this? Kashtan: Instead of defending Canada’s basic right to sovereignty and independence of the NW passage on its own terms, Jean Chretien and Mel Hurtig are trying to win over U.S. imperialism to this position by saying that if the NW passage becomes an international waterway, the Soviet Union will demand right of entry. But the Soviet Union has scotched that “argument” by publicly supporting Canada’s sovereignty over the NW passage. Canadians cannot but note that the so- called “military threat” to Canada, the USSR, supports Canadian sovereignty over the NW passage, while the U.S., Canada’s ally, its “umbrella of protection,” refuses to respect Canada’s sovereignty. It’s time they drew correct conclusions from this reality. Tribune: The Tories are obviously on the spot over this issue. What have they done to allay Canadians’ fears that the government has totally abdicated its responsiblity? Kashtan: In face of widespread concern and opposition to this attack on the territor- ial integrity and sovereignty of Canada, the Mulroney government has been compelled to say something. What it has said through Mr. Clark is that the government is review- ing the question of Canada’s sovereignty in the Arctic. But what is there to review? To fail to uphold the sovereignty of a country — which is the essence of its statehood — is to deny its independence. What is demanded is not a review of Can- ada’s sovereignty, but rather a clear-cut dec- laration by the government that the NW passage is part of Canadian territory and that Canada intends to defend it. To make this clear to the U.S. administration, all the political parties in Canada, from Conserva- tive to Communist, should issue a joint dec- laration upholding Canada’s sovereignty over the NW passage. Tribune: Many Canadians have strongly condemned this breach of Canadian sover- eignty and the Tories’ do-nothing approach. But outside of protest and symbolic acts, is there more that is needed? Kashtan: The Council of Canadians is to - be commended for coming out in a dramatic way in defence of Canada’s sovereignty in the NW passage. But it’s time the NDP and the trade union movement entered into this political struggle also. Patriotic Canadians must tell the Mulro- ney government in no uncertain terms that it must stop sacrificing the true national inter- ests of Canada, and stop retreating before the pressure of U.S. imperialism. Instead of pursuing policies which lead to the economic and military integration of Canada into the U.S. military machine, policies are called for which strengthen Canada’s independence on all fronts — economic, cultural, foreign and military policy. A people’s majority is what is needed to achieve these objectives. PACIFIC TRIBUNE, AUGUST 14, 1985 e 5