Bill Campbell wants to discuss how the federal government can work with Canadian farmers
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A farmer from Minto, Man. wants the prime minister to pay a visit to his farm.
Bill Campbell, the president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, extended the invitation to Prime Minister Trudeau through a letter posted on the organization’s website Tuesday.
Campbell, who is a cash crop and beef producer, thought of inviting the prime minister and his minister of agriculture after noticing the discussions taking place during the federal election cycle.
Marie-Claude Bibeau is the current ag minister, but Trudeau is expected to name his cabinet later this month.
“I had been following the pre- and post-election comments and conversations that had been elevated through the election results with the map that shows (Conservative) blue across Western Canada,” he told Farms.com.
Albertans and Saskatchewanians voted entirely Conservative in the Oct. 21 election and now have no federal representative in Trudeau’s government. A large portion of southern Manitoba voted Conservative too.
“I hear a lot of resentment, but I thought the first step would be to offer an invitation to the prime minister and minister of agriculture to come see and understand what people are all about,” Campbell said.
The conversations taking part in communities across Western Canada include supporting the agriculture, oil and gas, forestry and mining sectors, Campbell said.
“We rely heavily on those resources for the benefit of this country,” he said.
Some people have also organized groups in favour of “Wexit”, which stands for Western (Canada) Exit.
But what the country needs now is unity, not division, Campbell said.
“We need to communicate and talk about things and fix the situation,” he said. “The longer (Trudeau), as the leader of this country, waits to deal with these issues, the more difficult it’s going to be to find a solution.”
The prime minister’s office has yet to acknowledge receipt of the letter, Campbell said.