Ritz rejects call for a tobacco grower exit program

by BETTER FARMING STAFF

Following a meeting with tobacco growers, provincial officials and tobacco manufacturers on Monday, federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz stated that while his government would help tobacco growers to access programs, “no new exit programs will be available.”

“We are extremely angry and disgusted,” stated Tom McElhone, chairman of the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers Marketing Board in a news release issued Tuesday. The news release noted that both levels of government “clearly stated that they had no money or spending authority to put an exit program in place for tobacco farmers at this time.”

Ontario’s Minister of Agriculture Leona Dombrowsky attended the meeting. Kelly Synnott, Dombrowsky’s communications advisor, said the provincial minister urged the federal government to take leadership on the issue and advised that tobacco users and not Ontario taxpayers should fund an exit program.

“This is very similar to the proposal that the (Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers’ Marketing) Board put forward that called for a national tax on tobacco,” Synnott said, noting that such a tax would fall under federal rather than provincial jurisdiction.

When contacted on Wednesday, Ritz’s office was not able to confirm the reasons behind rejecting a national tax and noted that the statement was all the he was prepared to release at this point in time.

In his statement, Ritz noted that Joe Preston, MP for Elgin-Middlesex-London, would chair “a task force of municipal leaders to identify programs and work with communities to access assistance. BF