Smoking Out Tobacco Farmers - Editorial (Add Your Comment)

Source from:  thesudburystar.com 01/22/2008

Tobacco farming in Ontario is a dying industry. Just look at the numbers: production that topped 285 million pounds in Ontario's Tobacco Belt in 1983 will fall to 29 million this year. And of the 1,559 farmers who have tobacco quotas, only 600 are active, which is half the total of 1991. The decline in tobacco farming has not only devastated farmers, but communities as well; for example, since 2003, Norfolk has lost at least 1,000 jobs. Recent casualties include Simcoe Leaf, Canvil, Pharmagraphics and the Delhi tobacco auction exchange. The Imperial Tobacco plant in Aylmer used to employ 800 and was one of five processing plants in that area. Now there is only one plant left in Ontario, with much of the production shifting to Mexico. Farmers blame government policies for the decline in tobacco production and well they should. But those policies - designed to discourage smoking and tobacco production - are responsible ones. Few today would argue that smoking is anything but a health hazard. It kills tens of thousands around the world each year and costs health-care system billions to look after those made sick because they smoked. The campaign to get Ontarians to stop smoking has been around now for at least 15 years, so tobacco farmers have known they were in a sunset industry for some time. Many, in fact, got out, turning to alternative crops, in many cases with government support programs. But the 600 tobacco farmers who are left in Ontario now want what they call a "total exit package" worth $1 billion to get out of the industry and find something else to grow. That's right - $1 billion - to help 600 farmers find something else to do. In contrast, the province put up $50 million to get 250 farmers to change over. That was just five years ago. So, tobacco farmers have had the chance to get out, with help from the province. Those 600 left in the business should not expect such a handsome buyout, courtesy of taxpayers. As we all know too well in Northern Ontario, when mines and forestry operations collapse, the government doesn't buy them. If the industry is viable, government programs help it survive. But if it collapses, tax money isn't used to buy the industry out. Governments may offer retraining for workers and incentives for affected communities, but the money stops there. Of course, squeezing out legal tobacco growers is only part of the equation here. The provincial and federal governments need to crack down on an underground tobacco industry. The Toronto Star recently reported that industry is worth $1 billion a year and centred on the Six Nations reserve near Brantford. About 200 shops there sell tax-free cigarettes and 200 people make more to supply reserves across Canada. Enditem