In response to rising talk of western separatism, the National Farmers Union (NFU) says that the majority of westerners are deeply committed to Canada, but the organization also insists that it is crucial to focus on Indigenous rights, electoral reform and rural renewal. “We recognize that we are also Treaty people,” said the NFU in a June 5 press release, “and are committed to upholding the Treaty rights of the Indigenous peoples whose traditional territories encompass the provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta.”
NFU Youth President and Alberta farmer Adama Bundu [photo] called for farmers and farm workers to face common problems by working together with other groups, including Indigenous people. “We stand in solidarity with the First Nations of Treaties 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 in their opposition to separation. We urge people to move our attention away from irresponsible separatist talk and instead work to ensure people with a wider range of views are meaningfully included in solving problems that affect our communities, lands and livelihoods.”
The organization acknowledges that there are feelings of regional powerlessness in Saskatchewan and Alberta, this cannot be resolved through separation as a small minority are promoting.
“The loudest separatist voices seem to want to be freed from obeying Canadian laws and regulations and paying taxes but still keep all the benefits of Canadian citizenship. Provincial leaders who should be addressing the real problems faced by residents in their own jurisdictions are instead choosing to scapegoat the federal government and amplify threats of separation.”
Glenn Norman, an Alberta cattle farmer and NFU board member, notes that Saskatchewan and Alberta together contain the majority of Canada’s farmland “yet Alberta has defunded nearly all provincial agricultural programs and services, while Saskatchewan has allocated billions to an irrigation project that will only benefit a handful of farms near Lake Diefenbaker.” He argues that talk of separatism is “a diversion from the fact that neither province is taking action on real problems, including climate change impacts on farms, land speculation that shuts out the younger generation, or rural community decline that weakens the social fabric.”
The NFU is also calling on Ottawa to tackle electoral reform to reduce western and rural alienation.
“All across the political spectrum, the first-past-the-post electoral system weakens our democracy. It excludes many voices, often including whole regions, leading to a sense of regional powerlessness. Minority party voters in all parts of Canada do not have their views represented in Parliament.
“Parties focus their campaigns on swing ridings, weakening their connections with voters in areas they believe wins or losses are a foregone conclusion. Voters in ‘safe seats’ may never meet their candidates or have any opportunity to discuss their concerns or challenge the politicians that will represent them. The winner-take-all stakes promote polarization and extreme views to lock in electoral support even though hyper-partisanship makes it more difficult to manage the complexities of governing once the election is decided.
“An electoral map with its simple colour scheme of red and blue with a few patches of light blue, orange and green does a disservice to the range of voters’ political views, and it sidelines many real problems that need to be addressed by our government. It is no wonder people feel excluded.”
Will Robbins, board member from Saskatchewan, noted that the NFU has officially supported proportional representation since 1997 as a way to ensure governments better reflect the political views of all voters. “It would motivate parties to listen to voters in all constituencies, and give people the opportunity to vote for what they want instead of against what they fear or oppose.”
[Photo: NFU.ca]
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