Pricey Promises
October 13, 2004

Question:

Minister - during the election you promised farmers you would develop a new generation of safety nets and companion programs to better address the needs of Ontario farmers.

We recently discovered that the Public Service has set the cost of these new programs at $186 million in the first year alone.

Yet in the 2004 Budget, you slashed the Ministry budget by 20% and took $50 million out of crop stabilization programs!

How, Minister, are you going to stand up for Ontario farmers when you and the Minister of Finance are ignoring the public service and making up your own numbers?

Tell us Minister - are you reneging on your promise to Ontario farmers or can we expect a $180 million announcement in the coming weeks?

Supplemental:
Minister, you said part of the 20% budget cut was safety net bridge funding that had come to an end

But farmers have yet to see a penny of that money.

$45 million should already have been paid out last year—never mind the $45 owed this year.

Industry leaders are saying your safety net distribution process is a mess and you are overwhelmed.

Then we see you have promised $186 million worth of safety net programs, and you can't even get $90 million of old money out to those who desperately need it.

Is this what the industry should expect from your tenure Minister? A messy, overwhelmed system with a government that can’t make sound fiscal decisions?

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