Okay, now I am angry. Angry and disappointed. Stand back.
I am a rural Albertan. I was raised on a farm, and then gave 35 years of my adulthood to helping to manage our family farm. I have never lived in a town, unless you count the time I spent in university. And I suppose that time counts for something; if nothing else, for helping me understand and articulate my anger and disappointment.
In May, although I did not support the NDP, (indeed, I campaigned for a more moderate alternative) I celebrated their win with joy at seeing a tired, corrupt regime removed from office. I had hoped for new ways of doing things.
Let me explain, from my rural vantage point. Where we live, outside of cities, most of the primary resource production in our province has a direct impact on us. We live in it every day. It is a tough price to pay for living in the revenue-producing part of the province. Pipelines? Right through our fields. Sorry about your crops. Wells? Oh, sorry. Was that your grain? Sorry, we had nothing to do with your dried-up water well. Cattle out on the road, or worse, killed by an unfortunate leak around a well head? No, it must have been something else. Our guys close gates, and we don't leak. Power line? No, sorry. You will have to relocate. And it never ends. It never ends, and we can't say no.
Can you understand, then, why farmers have come to think that politics is something done TO us, rather than WITH us! Why we react with anger?
A few months ago I drove two hours into Edmonton to share my feedback at one of the seminars hosted by our new government, and their climate policy committee. It was thrilling, and a great relief to be in a conversation with knowledgeable, respectful people. Yes, I thought! This is the way forward.
However, for the past week or more, I have been jostled by the increasingly rough rural response to a new Agriculture Bill. Bill 6. And I am angry and disappointed.
I am angry and disappointed that our rural families were not given the opportunity for round table, fact-gathering sessions by a government that can hardly claim solid understanding of the realities of farm life. I can understand that there is a knowledge gap, but I think it is unacceptable that there is no effort to bridge that gap. Case in point, the poor soul who suggested to a room full of farmers that they might try just turning their bulls out with the cows during the daylight hours, to avoid night time calving. Please! A calving season on a farm ought to be your penalty.
I am angry and disappointed that when bureaucrats are sent out to meet with farmers, the format is not set up to be a respectful dialogue, and that people with a real working knowledge of family farms are not on the panel. There was a time for respectful dialogue, and that time was before Bill 6 was tabled in the legislature, not after. Please, come with questions. Farmers love to talk about what we do.
I am disgusted that a bureaucrat would say, in public, that farmers are whiners and complainers. Sir, you haven't been a mile in our shoes. We are angry and disappointed, but we are not whiners and complainers. Try to get your definitions straight.
I am angry and disappointed that, once again, it seems as though politics is being done TO us, and that this government is losing a very real opportunity to build confidence and support in rural Alberta. Because I really wanted this government to show rural Albertan families that they have a place at the table, so that they will stop trying to rely on other, less worthy politicians (and I think you know who I mean.)
But I am not reserving my anger and disappointment for just our government. I'm an equal opportunity crank, and my anger and disappointment (gosh, is there another term I could be using?) at my farm community is an even more bitter pill for me. So forgive me, Mr. and Mrs. Rural Alberta, but I think you need to smarten up a bit. I think you need to approach this with the respect you have not been shown, and bring this government into a conversation. You might begin by helping Ms. Notley and her people understand that there is a difference between corporate farms and family farms, and that a one-size-fits-all plan is not a solution to anything rural-related. But beyond that, you need to stop griping about a plan for safety regulations and working conditions.
I am angry and disappointed that any farmer would expect anyone to accept that accidents and loss of life are inevitable on the farm. An absence of safety regulations has not made Albertan farm families better off than farm families in other provinces. Please try to imagine what regulations you can see working in your situation. And be ready to communicate that with the Minister of Agriculture.
I am angry and disappointed that any farmer would not want the same kind of work security for the kids on his or her farm that he might expect for them in a working situation in any other industry. That is not common sense.
But mostly, my farm people, I am angry and disappointed that your own anger and disappointment are manifesting themselves as rudeness and shouting, when what is most needed is respect and dialogue.
It is obvious to me that this Bill should go back to the drawing board for more input.
I hope our premier will make a second attempt to get it right with the rural community. And if she does, I hope that rural Albertans will draw a collective breath and concentrate on how to bring safety regulations into our farm lives. There is a lot to be gained...in our lifestyle, and in our politics. How about it, Premier Notley? Join us and we all win.
Disclosure: I am writing as one who is heartily sickened by bureaucratic misunderstanding of the farm family life. But more, I am writing as one who has lost a treasured family member in a farm accident. This topic is vital to me.
I am a rural Albertan. I was raised on a farm, and then gave 35 years of my adulthood to helping to manage our family farm. I have never lived in a town, unless you count the time I spent in university. And I suppose that time counts for something; if nothing else, for helping me understand and articulate my anger and disappointment.
In May, although I did not support the NDP, (indeed, I campaigned for a more moderate alternative) I celebrated their win with joy at seeing a tired, corrupt regime removed from office. I had hoped for new ways of doing things.
Let me explain, from my rural vantage point. Where we live, outside of cities, most of the primary resource production in our province has a direct impact on us. We live in it every day. It is a tough price to pay for living in the revenue-producing part of the province. Pipelines? Right through our fields. Sorry about your crops. Wells? Oh, sorry. Was that your grain? Sorry, we had nothing to do with your dried-up water well. Cattle out on the road, or worse, killed by an unfortunate leak around a well head? No, it must have been something else. Our guys close gates, and we don't leak. Power line? No, sorry. You will have to relocate. And it never ends. It never ends, and we can't say no.
Can you understand, then, why farmers have come to think that politics is something done TO us, rather than WITH us! Why we react with anger?
A few months ago I drove two hours into Edmonton to share my feedback at one of the seminars hosted by our new government, and their climate policy committee. It was thrilling, and a great relief to be in a conversation with knowledgeable, respectful people. Yes, I thought! This is the way forward.
However, for the past week or more, I have been jostled by the increasingly rough rural response to a new Agriculture Bill. Bill 6. And I am angry and disappointed.
I am angry and disappointed that our rural families were not given the opportunity for round table, fact-gathering sessions by a government that can hardly claim solid understanding of the realities of farm life. I can understand that there is a knowledge gap, but I think it is unacceptable that there is no effort to bridge that gap. Case in point, the poor soul who suggested to a room full of farmers that they might try just turning their bulls out with the cows during the daylight hours, to avoid night time calving. Please! A calving season on a farm ought to be your penalty.
I am angry and disappointed that when bureaucrats are sent out to meet with farmers, the format is not set up to be a respectful dialogue, and that people with a real working knowledge of family farms are not on the panel. There was a time for respectful dialogue, and that time was before Bill 6 was tabled in the legislature, not after. Please, come with questions. Farmers love to talk about what we do.
I am disgusted that a bureaucrat would say, in public, that farmers are whiners and complainers. Sir, you haven't been a mile in our shoes. We are angry and disappointed, but we are not whiners and complainers. Try to get your definitions straight.
I am angry and disappointed that, once again, it seems as though politics is being done TO us, and that this government is losing a very real opportunity to build confidence and support in rural Alberta. Because I really wanted this government to show rural Albertan families that they have a place at the table, so that they will stop trying to rely on other, less worthy politicians (and I think you know who I mean.)
But I am not reserving my anger and disappointment for just our government. I'm an equal opportunity crank, and my anger and disappointment (gosh, is there another term I could be using?) at my farm community is an even more bitter pill for me. So forgive me, Mr. and Mrs. Rural Alberta, but I think you need to smarten up a bit. I think you need to approach this with the respect you have not been shown, and bring this government into a conversation. You might begin by helping Ms. Notley and her people understand that there is a difference between corporate farms and family farms, and that a one-size-fits-all plan is not a solution to anything rural-related. But beyond that, you need to stop griping about a plan for safety regulations and working conditions.
I am angry and disappointed that any farmer would expect anyone to accept that accidents and loss of life are inevitable on the farm. An absence of safety regulations has not made Albertan farm families better off than farm families in other provinces. Please try to imagine what regulations you can see working in your situation. And be ready to communicate that with the Minister of Agriculture.
I am angry and disappointed that any farmer would not want the same kind of work security for the kids on his or her farm that he might expect for them in a working situation in any other industry. That is not common sense.
But mostly, my farm people, I am angry and disappointed that your own anger and disappointment are manifesting themselves as rudeness and shouting, when what is most needed is respect and dialogue.
It is obvious to me that this Bill should go back to the drawing board for more input.
I hope our premier will make a second attempt to get it right with the rural community. And if she does, I hope that rural Albertans will draw a collective breath and concentrate on how to bring safety regulations into our farm lives. There is a lot to be gained...in our lifestyle, and in our politics. How about it, Premier Notley? Join us and we all win.
Disclosure: I am writing as one who is heartily sickened by bureaucratic misunderstanding of the farm family life. But more, I am writing as one who has lost a treasured family member in a farm accident. This topic is vital to me.
Well said. . .I agree and support.
ReplyDeleteI support these comments only there are issues not mentioned. This program is flawed for I believe all industries. This program has been shoved down the throats of all industries. This program has offensive compensation for their executives off the backs of Alberta employers. Over 3/4 of a million dollars for the CEO of workers comp. it's online under alberta WC ab in their 2014 annual report and 1/2 a million each +\- to a min of 6 Vp's. It's disgraceful abuse
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comment. My point has been that we ought to have had the opportunity to talk with lawmakers, to help them understand the realities of family farm life, and to be part of the process in addressing safety and workplace issues. The details get hammered out in the discussion phase. This has been a most unfortunate and flawed approach, and I, for one, am sorry that this government is so intent on closing doors with the rural part of the province. I cannot stand the possibility of the eminently ignorant WRP leading any charge. It is not a party to govern. They can't even be a decent opposition. So I am hopeful the premier will have her people step back and do some serious bridge building before this goes any further. The situation, as it is now, reminds me too much of what the Stelmach government did to us with the land grab legislation.
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