David Krayden: Federal Budget Continues to Impose Reckless Climate Ideology on Canadian Farmers
Commentary This week’s federal budget spells further disaster for Canadian farmers and the agriculture. While promising money for Ukrainian farmers, the Trudeau government is continuing to insist Canadian farmers reduce their use of fertilizers—only because it is fanatically committed to a climate change crisis scenario that fraudulently insists the nitrogen in fertilizer is hastening that crisis. But let the federal budget talk for itself. In a section, ludicrously entitled, “Supporting Farmers for Diversifying Away from Russian Fertilizers,” the government says, “Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has resulted in higher prices for nitrogen fertilizers, which has had a notable impact on Eastern Canadian farmers who rely heavily on imported fertilizer. Budget 2023 proposes to provide $34.1 million over three years, starting in 2023-24, to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s On-Farm Climate Action Fund to support adoption of nitrogen management practices by Eastern Canadian farmers, that will help optimize the use and reduce the need for fertilizer.” Later in the document, the finance ministry promises “$34.1 million over three years for a top-up to the On-Farm Climate Action Fund to support Eastern Canadian farmers adopt nitrogen management practices that reduce fertilizer use and ultimately result in cost savings for these farmers.” First the government seems believe—incomprehensibly—that the fertilizer issue only affects “Eastern” farmers when so much agriculture production resides in Western Canada. But the climate change crisis navel gazers not only blame nitrogen for promulgating greenhouse gasses but actually seem to believe that fertilizers is some sort of luxury in agriculture—when it is key to the efficacious growing of essential crops that feed not only Canadians but the world. When this kind of distorted thinking is applied to agriculture, the ramifications can be catastrophic because while political policies can be merely unpleasant, we all require food to live and breathe. Former Conservative Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has been sounding the alarm on the Liberal government’s menacing agriculture policies for over a year. The former agriculture minister told me in a recent interview that Trudeau won’t stop at effectively banning fertilizer but will continue with other vital materials farmers need to produce food. “Fertilizers will be the beginning on a landslide of chemicals that farmers use,” he said. “This will be the start of a war on pesticides.” He noted that farmers are barred from even using strychnine to control the gopher population on the Prairies. Ritz said the irony is that farmers are among the most “environmentally sound” contributors to the Canadian economy and are constantly testing soil to “make the most effective use of that ground.” But they get “no credit” for their environmental stewardship. Making war on agriculture is one hallmark of totalitarian regimes that either seek to limit food production or use it in the pursuit of an ideological goal. Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin created an artificial famine in Ukraine while attempting an overnight industrial revolution in Russian. Chinese tyrant Mao Zedong starved peasant farmers while he attempted to create a brave new world of Chinese industry in the Great Leap Forward. Both political experiments not only destroyed their nation’s agricultural output but exterminated millions of innocents. Even if the federal government is not intentionally planning for famine, its wrongheaded policies can nonetheless produce that unintended consequence. But the Liberal budget has help for Ukrainian farmers: “Canada will continue to provide further assistance to the people of Ukraine. Budget 2023 announces that $84.8 million in 2023-24 will be allocated by Global Affairs Canada to provide targeted support to Ukraine for humanitarian assistance, mental health support, demining, agriculture, and other priority areas. All funds would be sourced from existing departmental resources. To support Ukraine’s ultimate recovery and reconstruction, Canada will also work to assist Ukraine in ensuring its ability to access private capital in the years to come.” What Ukrainian farmers require most is peace. No one has suffered more from the ravages of war than they. But Canada continues to pour billions into the Ukrainian war with Russia, even though the conflict is bringing Canada and NATO to the brink of nuclear war. The countryside and the people of Ukraine have been ravaged not only by this war but by a government plagued by corruption that continues to receive international military and civil assistance with no strings attached. Britain’s decision to supply Ukrainian forces with armour-piercing depleted uranium shells will further contaminate the soil. Canada needs to support peace efforts in Ukraine and to stop imposing reckless climate change ideology on Canadian farmers who must continue to feed Canada and the global market.
Udumbara
Commentary
This week’s federal budget spells further disaster for Canadian farmers and the agriculture. While promising money for Ukrainian farmers, the Trudeau government is continuing to insist Canadian farmers reduce their use of fertilizers—only because it is fanatically committed to a climate change crisis scenario that fraudulently insists the nitrogen in fertilizer is hastening that crisis.
But let the federal budget talk for itself. In a section, ludicrously entitled, “Supporting Farmers for Diversifying Away from Russian Fertilizers,” the government says, “Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has resulted in higher prices for nitrogen fertilizers, which has had a notable impact on Eastern Canadian farmers who rely heavily on imported fertilizer. Budget 2023 proposes to provide $34.1 million over three years, starting in 2023-24, to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s On-Farm Climate Action Fund to support adoption of nitrogen management practices by Eastern Canadian farmers, that will help optimize the use and reduce the need for fertilizer.”
Later in the document, the finance ministry promises “$34.1 million over three years for a top-up to the On-Farm Climate Action Fund to support Eastern Canadian farmers adopt nitrogen management practices that reduce fertilizer use and ultimately result in cost savings for these farmers.”
First the government seems believe—incomprehensibly—that the fertilizer issue only affects “Eastern” farmers when so much agriculture production resides in Western Canada. But the climate change crisis navel gazers not only blame nitrogen for promulgating greenhouse gasses but actually seem to believe that fertilizers is some sort of luxury in agriculture—when it is key to the efficacious growing of essential crops that feed not only Canadians but the world.
When this kind of distorted thinking is applied to agriculture, the ramifications can be catastrophic because while political policies can be merely unpleasant, we all require food to live and breathe.
Former Conservative Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has been sounding the alarm on the Liberal government’s menacing agriculture policies for over a year.
The former agriculture minister told me in a recent interview that Trudeau won’t stop at effectively banning fertilizer but will continue with other vital materials farmers need to produce food.
“Fertilizers will be the beginning on a landslide of chemicals that farmers use,” he said. “This will be the start of a war on pesticides.”
He noted that farmers are barred from even using strychnine to control the gopher population on the Prairies.
Ritz said the irony is that farmers are among the most “environmentally sound” contributors to the Canadian economy and are constantly testing soil to “make the most effective use of that ground.”
But they get “no credit” for their environmental stewardship.
Making war on agriculture is one hallmark of totalitarian regimes that either seek to limit food production or use it in the pursuit of an ideological goal.
Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin created an artificial famine in Ukraine while attempting an overnight industrial revolution in Russian. Chinese tyrant Mao Zedong starved peasant farmers while he attempted to create a brave new world of Chinese industry in the Great Leap Forward. Both political experiments not only destroyed their nation’s agricultural output but exterminated millions of innocents.
Even if the federal government is not intentionally planning for famine, its wrongheaded policies can nonetheless produce that unintended consequence.
But the Liberal budget has help for Ukrainian farmers: “Canada will continue to provide further assistance to the people of Ukraine. Budget 2023 announces that $84.8 million in 2023-24 will be allocated by Global Affairs Canada to provide targeted support to Ukraine for humanitarian assistance, mental health support, demining, agriculture, and other priority areas. All funds would be sourced from existing departmental resources. To support Ukraine’s ultimate recovery and reconstruction, Canada will also work to assist Ukraine in ensuring its ability to access private capital in the years to come.”
What Ukrainian farmers require most is peace. No one has suffered more from the ravages of war than they.
But Canada continues to pour billions into the Ukrainian war with Russia, even though the conflict is bringing Canada and NATO to the brink of nuclear war. The countryside and the people of Ukraine have been ravaged not only by this war but by a government plagued by corruption that continues to receive international military and civil assistance with no strings attached.
Britain’s decision to supply Ukrainian forces with armour-piercing depleted uranium shells will further contaminate the soil.
Canada needs to support peace efforts in Ukraine and to stop imposing reckless climate change ideology on Canadian farmers who must continue to feed Canada and the global market.
Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
