Tobacco Board Chair Confident Action is Coming

Source from:  Kate Schwass SIMCOE REFORMER Friday December 07, 2007 12/10/2007

Meetings with ag ministers go well The talking is done - now it's time for action. Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz "has an appetite to resolve" the crisis facing tobacco farmers, Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Board chair Tom McElhone said last night. "Our message with him was clear, that our farmers are in deep trouble and we need help," McElhone told the Reformer. "He told us he's working on it. He has an appetite to resolve this." McElhone met with Ritz in Ottawa on Tuesday and met with Ontario agriculture minister Leona Dombrowsky yesterday in Toronto. He said meetings with both ministers went well and he thinks they know the issue and want to help. Now it's time to turn that positive momentum into action. He said Dombrowsky has always supported the idea of putting a levy on users of tobacco products to help support the farmers and that was a position she reiterated yesterday to McElhone. As well, he said Dombrowsky has agreed to be an advocate for tobacco farmers at the federal table. He said he felt encouraged by discussions at both the provincial and federal levels. "We're hoping we're going to work together on this," he said, adding now it's time to take the issue beyond talks. "It's one step at a time. We feel discussions are not the end goal." McElhone said tobacco board members will meet with federal officials to discuss a plan of action in the near future, although he said he couldn't say when the meeting would take place. Todd MacKay, a spokesperson from Ritz's office, said the consultations will be ongoing. "They had a good meeting and it was good to sit down face to face," MacKay said. "We're going to continue to look at the issue." McElhone agreed tobacco farmers have heard the refrain "we're working on it" before, but he thinks the talks are ready to take that next step now and tobacco farmers will hopefully see some action. Judging from talks of a possible rally at the tobacco auction exchange in Delhi on Monday, word that the federal government is getting ready to sit down and work on a plan of action might quell some frustration being felt by farmers. Oxford-Norfolk-Elgin Landowners Association president John Van Daele of Courtland told the Reformer earlier this week that some kind of media event will be held at the auction exchange on Monday. He added the event would not affect the operations of the marketing of tobacco. The association is holding a meeting tonight at 7:30 p.m. and they're hoping to fill the Langton Community Centre with frustrated farmers who are ready to send a message to Ottawa about their circumstances. "I need the place jam-packed," Van Daele told the Reformer. "We're beyond talks . . . Show us the money." Enditem