It used to be the Prairie provinces at loggerheads with Ottawa over farm policy. But this time it’s Ontario, which argues that federal plans are heading in the wrong direction
by BARRY WILSON
For a veteran of more than three decades of reporting on federal-provincial agricultural negotiations, it is startling to see Ontario as the dissident at the table.
It’s true that, during the years of Progressive Conservative rule under Mike Harris and Ernie Eves, Ontario ministers like Helen Johns often clashed with federal Liberal ministers, particularly Ontario-based Lyle Vanclief.