Heritage label would be wise platform for party to adopt

In previous columns, I have suggested that prior to the next provincial election, our political parties should consider declaring agriculture a heritage Industry.

I regret to report that there has been no stampede by the political braintrust of any of the parties to take me up on that idea.

I am not dismayed — I know this suggestion will require patience, considering agriculture tends to be on the bottom of the list of political priorities for any political party.

Having been an observer and commentator of the agriculture industry in this province for many decades, I have watched elections come and go where the industry is barely mentioned.

Much of that has to do with the presumption of the ruling PC party dynasty that citizens in rural Alberta are their captive voters. That has turned out to be true, hence they saw no need to advance any vision of agriculture to attract voters.

The most the PC party agriculture platform comes up with is the usual platitudes and bromides about the strength of the family farm, production freedom, finding new markets, streamlining regulations and other feel-good planks.

It’s never specific, of course, which makes for easy recycling for the next election. Every once in a while, the premier of the day appoints some panel or task force to examine the future of agriculture, and to no one’s surprise, they conclude that the government is on the right track.

That agricultural policy approach has served the PC party well, if election results are any indication, but then they had no opposition.

The opposition Liberal party traditionally wrote off the countryside, simply because they had no hope of electing anyone. Hence, their ag platform was short and tended to reflect the opinion of the leader of the day.

Their most recent platform was on the green side, but that didn’t matter anyway.

My recollection of the NDP ag platform prior to the last election was that it did not even exist. I expect that approach will continue for the coming election.

The new kid on the block, the Wildrose Party, has great hopes in electing some MLAs from rural Alberta, so the expectation would be that they would have a robust ag platform to attract voters.

Unfortunately, outside of their property rights position, their ag platform is remarkably similar to the PC party ag platform. It doesn’t give rural voters a lot of incentive to change their traditional voting pattern.

I would suggest they might have to learn that reality the hard way.

Having said all that, I suggest that the time is ripe for one of the two main parties to adopt my idea of declaring agriculture a heritage industry. It would at least set one of them apart as having a more unique vision of the industry and give rural voters something to vote for.

One of the reasons for the heritage declaration is to set agriculture apart in the minds of our mostly urban society.

Most city folks have no clue what agriculture is or where their food comes from. By declaring it unique, it would lay the groundwork for city folks to take some ownership and pride in what is not just a critical industry, but a lifestyle.

I am aware that the energy industry pays the bills in Alberta, but you can’t eat oil, and the oil industry didn’t bring us the farming and ranching history and culture that we all still celebrate and enjoy — that’s what makes agriculture different and worthy of pride and preservation.

Heck, I would even suggest that our farming and ranching pioneers even brought us our unique political culture and perspectives.

I can just envision what a heritage designation could give agriculture and those involved with the industry.

We could begin to dispel the notion that farmers and ranchers are always begging for handouts. We could put into place land use regulations that give agricultural and grazing land preservation the highest priority.

We could institute policies that compensate landowners for maintaining the land for traditional and environmental purposes. We could implement policies that encourage the use of water for agricultural purposes. The list goes on and on.

The point is a unique designation could put all of the ag-related issues under a heritage umbrella that has a distinct priority.

Does it place agriculture in a privileged position in the economy — you bet it does — and I would suggest that most folks would actually be proud of that designation.

It would be a first in North America. Finally, just to remind us all — when all else fails, you have to eat, and guess what industry you really need to satisfy that necessary function?

Will Verboven is the editor of Alberta Farmer.