Plight of Tobacco Farmers Ignored

Source from:  tobaccoreporter.com Canada, Tuesday, January 30, 2007 02/01/2007

Ontario tobacco farmers and their families have become the forgotten, or rather the ignored victims of Canada's war on smoking and smokers. According to Geri Kamenz, president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, these families have been forced to their knees by declining markets, illegal competition, and buyers moving to offshore operations. They were growing increasingly desperate for assistance to help them move to other products. Both federal and provincial governments had hinted at exit strategies, even included them in election promises, but the farmers were still waiting. 'For more than two years, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture has been working with tobacco growers to encourage the politicians to understand the urgency for an adequate exit strategy,' wrote Kamenz recently. 'The growers have developed plans for such a strategy, but bringing the governments to serious consideration of the issue continues to be difficult. 'In a recent letter to Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister, Chuck Strahl, OFA said: "Ontario's tobacco farmers are no longer able to cope... The industry is facing a sharp and non-reversible decline that is seriously impacting growers, their families and the communities they support." 'Both tobacco growers and the OFA recognize the urgent need to help growers transition out of producing a product that has benefited governments through billions of dollars in taxes. Increased taxes have been a tool the governments have employed to discourage people from buying tobacco products.' Enditem