A number of Grey-Bruce residents recently had a Zoom meeting with their MPP Bill Walker, asking questions around their climate change concerns.  The question Vitold Kreutzer posed to Bill was: ' Do you and your government have a comprehensive, multifaceted strategy for the preservation of small scale farms and what are some of these concrete measures that you would be advocating during this session leading up to the next election? '

In following up, Mr. Kreutzer sent this hand-written letter to Mr. Walker.  We look forward to sharing Mr. Walker's response with our readers.

Dear Bill,

Thank you very much for meeting (on Zoom ) with constituents from your riding on July 27th. We represent a growing number, who are becoming more aware of a grave threat to the health and well-being of human life on this planet. The threat is far more alarming than anything COVID-19 can muster, due to the fact that as this crisis approaches, there will be no place of safety, nowhere to isolate oneself securely, and no bubbles free from the threat of danger and uncertainty. Our entire way of life may be turned upside down.

Current political, economic, social and survival models may become totally useless when Mother Nature shows us her true power. We have time, but not much, to waste with the same current modes of thinking that have brought us to the brink of upheaval, disease, and disaster. The anthropocentric impact cannot continue at its current pace. We live in an area (Grey Bruce) that can have a tremendous impact in bringing some balance into our natural systems. I hope that your presence at this meeting is a sign that you are open to the resilience required to be part of the solution and not be left behind as part of the problem.

It was my responsibility to speak to you about concerns facing those who wish to employ sustainable methods of producing local food using a small scale family farm model that promotes healthy, vibrant, and ecological community values which can feed our local community with nutrient rich food in an equitable financial arena.

Your primary focus at Queen's Park, as you stated, is not in this particular area of expertise, and as such, I will forward our concerns to those departments and ministers, who you stated, have the expertise and authority to keep rural areas like Grey Bruce full of vitality. My hope is that the cost of maintaining this vitality is not the degradation of the health of our greatest physical resource, the Grey Bruce natural landscape and habitat. But you do represent the people of this riding first and foremost. That is the number one priority of every elected official. Your report card, after each term in office, represents how the most vulnerable and least resilient have fared in life during your term in office. But now, human awareness has risen to appreciate that the health of the community is dependent on the health of the environment that encompasses the community.

You mentioned that the provincial Conservative government knows the value of agriculture, and would ensure the viability of the family farm, even though you admitted that family farm size, survival and the passing on of the farm to future generations is at risk due to the financial reality of farming in today's world. You put emphasis on innovation and technology, when common sense is needed. You called the survival of the family farm a complex issue, but by your own response to the original question posed, it appears that your government has, up to now, shown no defined strategy to promote the future security of the family farm model, nor even attempted to simplify the complexities. You offered us more questions than answers at the meeting. It is my understanding that your office had my question in its possession for four weeks, a significant period of time in which to formulate a response.

Yes, I agree, that COVID-19 has thrown a monkey wrench into your and everyone's schedule and workload. The pandemic, however, has illustrated your government's prevalent thought process towards safe and healthy food chains. The provincial government temporarily shut down local food outlets (eg farmers' markets, farm stores, CSA's , community gardens) while maintaining the conventional food chain model of trucking in foodstuffs from all over the globe through large distribution centres, into supermarkets ( that had trouble keeping up with demand). I assume this action was taken, in the belief that the current global food chain approach is a safer, healthier and more sustainable way of life. This type of thinking has left a scar on many farming families, and citizens seeking local healthy food and a vibrant local food chain. A few farms, however, were able to cope and close the distancing factor between themselves and local consumers with ingenuity and more sustainable practices. Maybe a conversation with such innovative local farming families would be constructive in developing a sustainable model for local, healthy,small scale resilient family farms supported by yourself and the provincial government.

I will not resubmit to you the unanswered question I put to you at the meeting. I had hoped to hear you mention any concrete measure that would promote a vibrant family farm community today and into the future, where health of the soil, health of the farmer and a sustainable farming community can be hoped for. My disappointment with your attempts at misdirection was, however, tempered by your words of commitment to and belief in, keeping the people in our community healthy, and by your awareness that food plays a critical role in our health. You stated that you know that our health costs will eventually sink us into financial ruin if we continue to employ the traditional practices of food quality, growth and distribution in today's global system. I hope that you recognize what so many in your riding hold as a truth: the health of the soil, the health of the farmer, the health of our water and our environment are all interconnected and result in the health of the community and its survival.

I look forward to hearing your full response to the issues raised by the original question and the thoughts that arose from our initial discussion, in the near future. More of us are recognizing that the old 'normal' is no longer sustainable and desirable for a healthy future for all residents in your riding. Please join this growing awareness.

Respectfully,

Vitold Kreutzer
Concerned and Hopeful Citizen

 photo: Green Being Farm, Neustadt