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| Farmers protest 'attack of bureaucrats' - Friday, March 26, 2004 at 10:41 |
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PUBLICATION: The Ottawa Citizen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Farmers protest 'attack of bureaucrats': 'Rural revolution' to be taken to Parliament Hill -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hundreds of tractor-trailers, flatbeds and pickup trucks lined Highway 29 yesterday between Arnprior and Pakenham, as almost 500 farmers and their families protested "the harassment" they feel from all levels of government. In what they are calling a "rural revolution," the farmers say they're fed up with government bureaucrats closing rural sawmills, raising property taxes through reassessments on wood lots and maple syrup producers, what they call "mismanagement of wildlife" and general "government interference." Randy Hillier one of the organizers and president of the Lanark Landowners Association, brought various rural organizations together yesterday. He said the aim was to let urban Canada know of the concerns rural residents have about "the attack that we are facing by urban bureaucrats and urban politicians." He said the crux of the problem has to do with property rights and land ownership, and the only way to deal with it is to get property rights enshrined in Canada's Constitution. Many protesters held signs that read "This land is our land. Back off governments," and "Did you eat today? Thank a farmer." Cars and trucks slowed and honked as they passed the demonstrators. Participants said they will take their message, and their tractors, to Parliament Hill in April. Lanark farmer John Vanderstank explained one example of the impact of urban political "interference." He said he lost almost $40,000 in soybeans to wildlife last year because of the growing deer population they are limited in their right to control. |