Pharaoh Kathleen Wynne: Let my people go!

Ontario's Premier and Agriculture Minister Kathleen Wynne has challenged Ontario's agriculture, food, and beverage sector to double its agri-foods exports by 2020.

Her government's press release notes that the agri-food sector has grown by a little more than 10% since 2002.  In 11 years, that's an average annual growth rate of 0.87% per year.

That's pretty weak performance, I'd say.  However, we have to admit that 6 of those years were through one of the biggest economic shocks since the Great Depression in the 1930's.

If we are going to double again between now and 2020, just 7 years from now, that would be an average growth rate of 10.41% per year.

Interesting!

China, the world's greatest exporter, and their historic
GDP quarterly growth, 2007 - 2013

The graph at the right from Trading Economics shows what China achieved in their GDP annualized quarterly growth rate.  As most people know, China has been one of the world's most powerful exporters in the last decade.

China's arithmetical average GDP growth over this period was 9.08%/yr, and the geometric average (probably a more useful statistic than the simple arithmetical average) was 8.96%/yr.

After recovering from the world-wide Great Recession in 2007, China had its very best GDP growth of 11.9% during Q2 of 2010.

Realize also that these results were produced only because China's government was laser beam focused on manufacturing and exporting, regardless of the environmental, health, safety, or social risks that this focus may have caused.

So our Premier wants us  to achieve growth in exports equal or better than the world records set by China when the world economy was booming.  Very interesting!

Growth is always a risky period for a business, as you have significantly higher costs for months or years, and you have to hope and pray that that huge investment in money and people can be recouped before something changes.

What happens if an ag-food business decides to take on this challenge for the good of Ontario, and the government changes its mind half way towards the goal, or a new government is elected and the policy changes?  You would be left high and dry, and nobody would come to rescue you.

Under the Green Energy Act, people got a guaranteed, no cut contract for 20 years, and about a 12% return on their investment.  What is the ag-food sector being offered?

Ontario's Premier has proposed this challenge to the ag-food industry, but it seems she neither offered nor provided any resources or plan with which to accomplish this challenging goal.

Just how dumb does she think farmers are?

However, for the sake of politeness, we will set aside for the moment any concerns about the advisability of this goal, or the potential of creating a severe overbuild of ag-food capacity (just like the Ontario government created in their electrical energy production system via the rapid priority shift via the Green Energy Act), or the social costs, or the inefficiencies created by last minute 90 degree turns in government policy.

In the interest of helping and supporting the Premier's goal, Small Flockers would like to offer a suggestion to the Premier of Ontario:

Pharaoh Kathleen Wynne,
Premier for the Province of Ontario, Canada

Pharaoh Wynne:   Let my people go!



I don't want the job of Moses leading his people out of Egypt from the oppression of the cruel Pharaoh, but neither did Moses when God called him to the task. Unlike Moses, I didn't even get the call.

However in Jan. 2012, I became concerned about some of the government policies and actions affecting small flock farmers, so I spoke up and asked for changes. Since then, I've learned that it's far worse than the relatively small issues that got me started on this quest. Now, as I learn more and more, I'm becoming more and more pissed off at all the craziness that has been going on for decades.

In a previous Blog posting, I suggested that the current Supply Management system be re-directed to focus on exports, and small flockers need to be freed up to supply the local domestic market in Ontario.

Today, Ontario has a debt of $252 Billion.  We pay $10.6 Billion per year in interest on that debt, rising at 5.5% per year.  Debt interest is now the 3rd. largest item on the provincial budget.

Enabling Ontario's small flockers can provide a significant part of the necessary hope and plan for getting Ontario the extra jobs it needs, the economic stability to get the huge provincial debt paid down, and eliminate Ontario's $9.2 Billion/yr deficit.

Small flockers have been badly wounded by severe wing clipping done to us by the Government and the Chicken Mafia over the past 3 decades. I believe there is still a spark within Ontario's small flockers that can be fanned and nurtured back into a vibrant roaring fire to warm Ontario's economy.

Let my people go, Pharaoh Wynne! Let us help you to help all of Ontario. Let small flockers supply safe, nutritious, affordable, locally grown poultry meats and eggs for our family, friends, and neighbours.

Small Flockers have suffered decades
of abuse at the hands of these two
co-conspirators

As an example, let's look at what Ontario has already done to create province-wide freedom.  In April 2008, Ontario used the Green Energy Act to pass Regulation 97/08 which now prohibits the banning of clotheslines for the drying of laundry by most building owners, condominiums, subdivision land covenants, or municipal bylaw. That broke 50 years of wrong-headed precedence to look "pretty" in spite of the cost and rights violations that had slowly creped into our society.

Ontario should now do a similar regulatory rationalization and standardization across Ontario for backyard poultry, in both municipal and rural areas.

Small Flockers suggest that if  municipalities insist on continuing restrictions for backyard poultry, then the municipality must show cause for any restrictions it imposes (ie. the burden of proof that the restrictions are necessary rests on the municipality), and those restrictions would have to be renewed every 5 years or they would automatically terminate.

For farmers, the Chicken Mafia and the Government need to release their death grip on the throats of small flock poultry farmers.

Small Flockers are currently prohibited from raising more than 300 birds per year.  That limit needs to be immediately raised to 2,000 chickens per year without quota.

The government must also relax the Meat Regulations so that on-farm poultry processing can occur in a safe manner; especially in remote and under serviced areas where there is no local government-approved abattoir that does custom processing.

Premier, let my people go, and you might be surprised at how close you come to your ag. doubling goal by 2020.

Paul Robeson (1898 - 1976), African-American
  Lawyer, Actor, All-American Football Player,Social Activist, and Singer.

Oh! Let My People Go

The Lord, by Moses, to Pharaoh said:
Oh! let my people go.

If not, I'll smite your first-born dead—
Oh! let my people go.

Oh! go down, Moses,

Away down to Egypt's land,

And tell King Pharaoh

To let my people go.