Saturday's Intelligencer
Mr. Vanclief goes to Washington
Prince Edward-Hastings MP fights U.S. farm subsidies
By Derek BaldwinThe Intelligencer
Belleville Intelligencer
Editor's Note Intelligencer reporter Derek Baldwin accompanied federal Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief and a Canadian delegation on a two-day emergency policy mission to Washington, D.C., earlier this week. Following is a diary of Vanclief's whirlwind tour of the U.S. capital.
WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief has just squeezed his willowy frame into a tiny seat aboard a small Air Canada commuter jet.
Within minutes, the plane is airborne and climbing steeply out of the cold camp drizzle hanging over Ottawa International Airport before it breaks through a low ceiling of cloud into the warm sunshine above.
Vanclief, Prince Edward-Hastings MP, clicks on the overhead reading lamp and settles into his customary pose eyeglasses perched half way down his nose as he pores over government briefing material on his lap.
Of all the globe-trotting Vanclief has stamped in his Canadian passport, this short 75-minute air hop to the capital of the world's most powerful country is one of the most important. He must try his best to change a few minds in Washington before pending U.S. farm legislation becomes law.
Washington House Representatives and Senators are on the verge of enacting a new farm bill that will put $73.9 billion in new funding over 10 years into American farmers hands new money over and above this year's existing United States Department of Agriculture budget of $108 billion.
American farmers will be given even more support, Vanclief reads in briefing notes, distorting crop and livestock trade prices that have the potential to hurt struggling farmers in Canada who cannot possibly enjoy similar government assistance.
Vanclief focuses on a finely-tuned three-page itinerary before him that will dictate every step the minister takes within the next 26 hours while on this most urgent policy mission to Washington.
His message ? The new U.S. farm bill is deeply flawed.
Tuesday, 8:15 p.m. Vanclief and party touch down, disembark, collect luggage and step out into a chilly spring rain at Dulles International Airport where they are greeted by Canadian Embassy first secretary John Masswohl. The party is ushered into two vans bearing diplomatic plates. Vans referred to as V1 and V2.
8:58 p.m. After travelling northwest across the Potomac River, past the Lincoln Monument and the White House, Vanclief arrives at Washington Marriott hotel in the Georgetown district of the city. Has only a few minutes to freshen up before a formal meeting of the delegation to brief for the long day ahead. After an hour, Vanclief ends the meeting and retires to his ninth-floor suite for the night.
Wednesday, 7:30 a.m. Delegation gathers in the well-appointed lobby of the Marriott and make their way to V1 and V2 for the short trip up Constitution Avenue to the commanding Canadian Embassy. Vans enter through beeping strainless steel gates of embassy and delegation clears high security for formal power meeting with Canadian officials on sixth floor.
8:06 a.m. Vanclief poses for pictures with delegates on the embassy terrace overlooking Capital Hill before the team is joined by acting ambassador Peter Boehm and Bill Crosbie, embassy minister-counsellor of economic and trade policy. Talk quickly turns to farm bill and the four proposed provisions of concern for Canada; $73.9 million over 10 years in new funding, new subsidies for pulse crops such as lentils and peas, mandatory meat labelling to determine country of origin and the possibility imported meat may not receive a USDA seal of approval in America.
8:59 a.m. Minister leaves for a confidential meeting somewhere within the embassy's vast stone corridors.
9:21 a.m. Down on the third floor, Vanclief appears in another conference room to meet with American reporters and explain why Canada is firmly against some provisions of the new farm bill. Vanclief fields various questions on everything from wheat to the current softwood lumber dispute. He is asked by Mikkel Pates, a North Dakota-based reporter for AgWeek, why he is visiting Washington at a time that could be seen as interfering with internal American politics. The reporter reminds Vanclief there have been rumblings by some American politicians that Canadian views are not welcome on the farm bill. Pates asks Vanclief if he was invited to Washington by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman. Vanclief replies he was "not invited" but came to express Canada's displeasure with bill. After press conference, Pates said one of two North Dakota senators, Sen. Kent Conrad, recently accused Canadians of meddling in affairs that are not of their concern. Vanclief sticks to his message that the new farm bill would encourage U.S. farmers to "farm the mailbox and not the land. America is not walking the talk of the Doha Trade Agreement reached last year to eliminate or reduce export subsidies," says Vanclief. He later dismisses Sen. Conrad as a man obsessed with fighting all and any Canadian farm export gains in the United States.
10:03 a.m. Vanclief leaves delegation behind at embassy in V2, bound for private meeting with U.S. Deputy Health Secretary Claude Allen to register official notice that Canadian federal officials are unhappy with a proposed U.S. waiting period of up to 24 hours for meats entering the United States. The measure, designed to prevent agri-terrorism in wake of 9/11, could be mirrored by Canadian authorities in response holding up $19 billion of agriculture trade between the two countries that has increased 200 per cent since 1991. Vanclief afterward, says the session was "very successful" and believes Allen was receptive to Canadian concerns.
10:10 a.m. Across town at the posh 600 Maryland Ave. offices of the American Farm Bureau Federation, the delegation files into a luxurious board room with Richard W. Newpher, executive director of the powerful national farm organization. Subsidies of peas and lentils (called pulse crops) dominate the meeting. Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Bob Friesen does not mince words, and tells Newpher his members are worried "what the $73.9 billion top-up will do to Canadian agriculture." His comments are echoed by fellow delegate Germain Dauk, chairman of the board for Manitoba-based Pulse Canada, an organization that oversees a growing pulse crop industry in Canada. "It's all economics 101; price determines demand. If you don't have price doing that, I think its going to hurt farmers. American bean farmers do not want beans under the program because they understand that." Newpher empathizes with his visitors and after the meeting, tells The Intelligencer that he believes escalation of billions of dollars in subsidies by the European Union (EU) has driven most American farmers to the point that they will not let go of billions in similar American subsidies. "I think American producers, over the years, have come to the realization that they cannot unilaterally change their particular farm programs in this country, if all countries do not do likewise. Particularly the EU. When we set aside acreage or commit to storage programs or reduce our payment system, we find that market quickly fills up with the European members and we can't continue to do that. That's a dramatic change in the basic attitude of farm bureau members over the years."
11:13 a.m. Vanclief rejoins delegation at an office tower on 400 North Capitol St., home to Washington bureaus of Fox News and NBC News. The delegation continues on to Suite 790 for a meeting with Tom Buis, vice-president of the U.S. National Farmers Union (NFU). The union's chief economist Jim Miller also attends but the reception to Canadian concerns is lukewarm and no commitments are given.
11:45 a.m. Vanclief and delegation proceed in V1 and V2 to top Italian eatery, Galileo de Roberto Donna, to meet three top lobbyists in Washington for another view on how provisions of concern for Canada in the new farm bill could play themselves out in weeks to come. Vanclief is told the country-of-origin labelling may not survive in the conference discussions between the House and senators and that the provision originally grew legs from concerns of Florida tomato growers concerned about imported Mexican vegetables. All laugh arises at comments around the table that the 1996 amended U.S. Farm Bill was supposed to be be-all legislation to end farm industry problems. Lunch is served for hungry delegates, who started the day sans breakfast. Delegate Liam McCreery, president of Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, notes the irony regarding the first course of Zuppa Di Lentiche ? translation to English, lentil soup. After more talk about aggressive senators from South and North Dakota states, delegates descend upon roasted fillet of angus beef served with potato, wild mushrooms d****d in a red-wine sauce. Few order the Tiramisu dessert.
1:35 p.m. Vanclief and delegates walk off the meal past several blocks of old stone skysc****rs back to Marriott hotel where Vanclief meets reporters from two Toronto newspapers. Interviews conducted in Vanclief suite with communications advisers Vern Greenshields and Ron Milito close by. Interviews seen as important, given national exposure.
3:00 p.m. It's down to the second floor of the Marriott where Vanclief is welcomed by 100 farm leaders from across the United States attending the 10th annual Sparks Companies agricultural conference. Vanclief delivers a 29-minute address and continues to get his message out. He tells the group that $73.9 million in new funding will only hurt world agricultural markets by creating an artificial marketplace. "Ladies and Gentleman, we must get away from farm policies that merely prop up the past. We must adopt policies that work towards building the future. I certainly hope that the final version of the farm bill will steer away from trade-distorting programs and aim funding at programs which conform fully to the green box criteria." Vanclief fields half-a-dozen queries from the audience, including one from a man associated with a Chicago-based farm equipment association. He lauds Vanclief for Canada's new proposed farm reforms dubbed the Agricultural Policy Framework?
3:36 p.m. In a press conference, Vanclief avoids a podium and seats himself eye level with seven reporters from Canada and United States. Sharon McKinnon, a reporter with Pro-Farm Magazine of Canada, asks Vanclief what's next for farmers in the Agricultural Policy Framework. Vanclief replies he can't say because there are no definite regulations in place yet, until a nationwide consultation process now underway is completed. Reuters Washington reporter Richard Cowan asks Vanclief if the minister can see the ill feelings of the current softwood lumber dispute spilling into agricultural affairs between both countries. Vanclief responds the United States have "not been able to prove" Canadian softwood is being subsidized.
4:15 p.m. Vanclief hosts conference call with Canadian media back home and gets a rough ride from western reporters who question whether his Washington trip is worthwhile. One reporter from Manitoba said Vanclief was "flogging a dead horse to the point we will have to bury it. It won't change American's minds." Vanclief responds the United States has taken nine trade runs at the Canadian Wheat Board, accusing it to be a subsidy body. Canada has won every trade dispute on the wheat board claims, says Vanclief.
4:55 p.m. Vanclief gets word that his 6 p.m. meeting with Senator Baucus has been cancelled, but is buoyed by confirmation that Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is still on for a 5:15 p.m. meeting on Capital Hill. A tired looking Vanclief heads downstairs and departs on V1. Grassley has been in Washington since first being elected in 1958 and recently co-sponsored an amendment to cap farm spending payments.
5:13 p.m. Communications assistant to the minister, Vern Greenshields walks out of embassy with colleague Milito and parks his tired legs on a bench warmed by the afternoon sun. After making a call on the cell phone, he takes in the green grass and purple and pink cherry blossoms of nearby trees and breathes a sigh of relief the day is almost over. He rolls up the sleeves of his dress shirt, exposing the pale white skin of a Canadian glad spring is just around the corner. "I think the minister got his messages out. From my perspective, that was the prime goal of the trip. We managed to talk to a couple of politicians and we talked to people involved in farm policy. I think they have a better perspective. We had 15 media hits, the speech at the farm conference, and we should be on the plane home at 7:30. That's not bad."
6:05 p.m. Delegates are milling about outside the Canadian Embassy waiting for Vanclief to return from his meeting with Grassley. Delegate Rory McAlpine, Canadian director general of international trade policy directorate, is equally optimistic Canada's message did get out. "These issues are far from being resolved. But, I think, they've heard us and they have some different ideas as a result of our work here today. Besides, we are in constant communication through the embassy with relevant congressmen. As other ideas come up, we will continue to make our concerns known. This is not a one-day deal."
6:19 p.m. Vanclief has still yet to return and Canadian Federation President Friesen is reflecting on the last 24 hours in Washington. Only hours before launching a campaign on Parliament Hill for as much as $1.3 billion in federal Canadian government relief for grain and oilseed farmers in Canada, Friesen said there are only two ways Canada farmers can be helped. "If we want to remain competitive, we are going to have to get countries to reduce their farm spending or we're going to have to increase our spending." He said he lauded Vanclief for his attempts to write a new farm policy in Canada, but said farmers need help now if they are to survive. "CFA members have told me that they are questioning the benefit of a long-term plan if we can't get farmers there. We are getting together with the Grain Growers of Canada to tell the government they need to spend that money (the $1.3 billion)."
6:32 p.m. The minister arrives, both vans are packed and the delegation gets confirmation that one of five Canadian-government owned Challenger jets is waiting to take them home at Signature Flight Support, a private departure terminal for government and private airplane owners.
6:54 p.m. The delegation arrives at Signature, unloads their baggage from the vans and enters the building to walk on the flight line to the waiting Challenger.
7:05 p.m. The delegation boards and waits for take-off.
7:20 p.m. American Immigration authorities inform Challenger's crew Department of National Defence pilots, a navigator and flight attendants that all guests will have to disembark from the Challenger.
7:27 p.m. Once cleared, the delegation heads back to the plane, buckles up and talk quickly turns to the spacious comfort not evident in the extremely crammed confines of their public Air Canada commuter jet flight the evening before from Ottawa.
7:37 p.m. Challenger takes to the skies and Vanclief begins to wind down. The crew, addressing him as Mr. Minister, serve him before all passengers. Vanclief and passengers enjoy helping of fine cheeses, a chicken-filled burrito and a freshly-made sandwich.
7:50 p.m. Asked whether the punishing schedule of a whistle-stop tour was worth a darker shade of circles under his eyes, Vanclief brushes off any chance to complain about the gruelling pace. "I think we clearly made our points. There was a clear understanding of our concern. People, to a large degree, agreed with our concerns. What we have here is an administration that has a view, and you have a Congress with a political situation. This law will be developed in the Congress. Politics is going to be a big part of the decision."
8:50 p.m. After landing in Ottawa, Vanclief exits the plane, thanks his delegation and packs his luggage into a waiting government car.
He asks the driver to take him to his Ottawa apartment for a good night's sleep.
Mr. Vanclief goes to Washington
Prince Edward-Hastings MP fights U.S. farm subsidies
By Derek BaldwinThe Intelligencer
Belleville Intelligencer
Editor's Note Intelligencer reporter Derek Baldwin accompanied federal Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief and a Canadian delegation on a two-day emergency policy mission to Washington, D.C., earlier this week. Following is a diary of Vanclief's whirlwind tour of the U.S. capital.
WASHINGTON, D.C. Federal Agriculture Minister Lyle Vanclief has just squeezed his willowy frame into a tiny seat aboard a small Air Canada commuter jet.
Within minutes, the plane is airborne and climbing steeply out of the cold camp drizzle hanging over Ottawa International Airport before it breaks through a low ceiling of cloud into the warm sunshine above.
Vanclief, Prince Edward-Hastings MP, clicks on the overhead reading lamp and settles into his customary pose eyeglasses perched half way down his nose as he pores over government briefing material on his lap.
Of all the globe-trotting Vanclief has stamped in his Canadian passport, this short 75-minute air hop to the capital of the world's most powerful country is one of the most important. He must try his best to change a few minds in Washington before pending U.S. farm legislation becomes law.
Washington House Representatives and Senators are on the verge of enacting a new farm bill that will put $73.9 billion in new funding over 10 years into American farmers hands new money over and above this year's existing United States Department of Agriculture budget of $108 billion.
American farmers will be given even more support, Vanclief reads in briefing notes, distorting crop and livestock trade prices that have the potential to hurt struggling farmers in Canada who cannot possibly enjoy similar government assistance.
Vanclief focuses on a finely-tuned three-page itinerary before him that will dictate every step the minister takes within the next 26 hours while on this most urgent policy mission to Washington.
His message ? The new U.S. farm bill is deeply flawed.
Tuesday, 8:15 p.m. Vanclief and party touch down, disembark, collect luggage and step out into a chilly spring rain at Dulles International Airport where they are greeted by Canadian Embassy first secretary John Masswohl. The party is ushered into two vans bearing diplomatic plates. Vans referred to as V1 and V2.
8:58 p.m. After travelling northwest across the Potomac River, past the Lincoln Monument and the White House, Vanclief arrives at Washington Marriott hotel in the Georgetown district of the city. Has only a few minutes to freshen up before a formal meeting of the delegation to brief for the long day ahead. After an hour, Vanclief ends the meeting and retires to his ninth-floor suite for the night.
Wednesday, 7:30 a.m. Delegation gathers in the well-appointed lobby of the Marriott and make their way to V1 and V2 for the short trip up Constitution Avenue to the commanding Canadian Embassy. Vans enter through beeping strainless steel gates of embassy and delegation clears high security for formal power meeting with Canadian officials on sixth floor.
8:06 a.m. Vanclief poses for pictures with delegates on the embassy terrace overlooking Capital Hill before the team is joined by acting ambassador Peter Boehm and Bill Crosbie, embassy minister-counsellor of economic and trade policy. Talk quickly turns to farm bill and the four proposed provisions of concern for Canada; $73.9 million over 10 years in new funding, new subsidies for pulse crops such as lentils and peas, mandatory meat labelling to determine country of origin and the possibility imported meat may not receive a USDA seal of approval in America.
8:59 a.m. Minister leaves for a confidential meeting somewhere within the embassy's vast stone corridors.
9:21 a.m. Down on the third floor, Vanclief appears in another conference room to meet with American reporters and explain why Canada is firmly against some provisions of the new farm bill. Vanclief fields various questions on everything from wheat to the current softwood lumber dispute. He is asked by Mikkel Pates, a North Dakota-based reporter for AgWeek, why he is visiting Washington at a time that could be seen as interfering with internal American politics. The reporter reminds Vanclief there have been rumblings by some American politicians that Canadian views are not welcome on the farm bill. Pates asks Vanclief if he was invited to Washington by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman. Vanclief replies he was "not invited" but came to express Canada's displeasure with bill. After press conference, Pates said one of two North Dakota senators, Sen. Kent Conrad, recently accused Canadians of meddling in affairs that are not of their concern. Vanclief sticks to his message that the new farm bill would encourage U.S. farmers to "farm the mailbox and not the land. America is not walking the talk of the Doha Trade Agreement reached last year to eliminate or reduce export subsidies," says Vanclief. He later dismisses Sen. Conrad as a man obsessed with fighting all and any Canadian farm export gains in the United States.
10:03 a.m. Vanclief leaves delegation behind at embassy in V2, bound for private meeting with U.S. Deputy Health Secretary Claude Allen to register official notice that Canadian federal officials are unhappy with a proposed U.S. waiting period of up to 24 hours for meats entering the United States. The measure, designed to prevent agri-terrorism in wake of 9/11, could be mirrored by Canadian authorities in response holding up $19 billion of agriculture trade between the two countries that has increased 200 per cent since 1991. Vanclief afterward, says the session was "very successful" and believes Allen was receptive to Canadian concerns.
10:10 a.m. Across town at the posh 600 Maryland Ave. offices of the American Farm Bureau Federation, the delegation files into a luxurious board room with Richard W. Newpher, executive director of the powerful national farm organization. Subsidies of peas and lentils (called pulse crops) dominate the meeting. Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Bob Friesen does not mince words, and tells Newpher his members are worried "what the $73.9 billion top-up will do to Canadian agriculture." His comments are echoed by fellow delegate Germain Dauk, chairman of the board for Manitoba-based Pulse Canada, an organization that oversees a growing pulse crop industry in Canada. "It's all economics 101; price determines demand. If you don't have price doing that, I think its going to hurt farmers. American bean farmers do not want beans under the program because they understand that." Newpher empathizes with his visitors and after the meeting, tells The Intelligencer that he believes escalation of billions of dollars in subsidies by the European Union (EU) has driven most American farmers to the point that they will not let go of billions in similar American subsidies. "I think American producers, over the years, have come to the realization that they cannot unilaterally change their particular farm programs in this country, if all countries do not do likewise. Particularly the EU. When we set aside acreage or commit to storage programs or reduce our payment system, we find that market quickly fills up with the European members and we can't continue to do that. That's a dramatic change in the basic attitude of farm bureau members over the years."
11:13 a.m. Vanclief rejoins delegation at an office tower on 400 North Capitol St., home to Washington bureaus of Fox News and NBC News. The delegation continues on to Suite 790 for a meeting with Tom Buis, vice-president of the U.S. National Farmers Union (NFU). The union's chief economist Jim Miller also attends but the reception to Canadian concerns is lukewarm and no commitments are given.
11:45 a.m. Vanclief and delegation proceed in V1 and V2 to top Italian eatery, Galileo de Roberto Donna, to meet three top lobbyists in Washington for another view on how provisions of concern for Canada in the new farm bill could play themselves out in weeks to come. Vanclief is told the country-of-origin labelling may not survive in the conference discussions between the House and senators and that the provision originally grew legs from concerns of Florida tomato growers concerned about imported Mexican vegetables. All laugh arises at comments around the table that the 1996 amended U.S. Farm Bill was supposed to be be-all legislation to end farm industry problems. Lunch is served for hungry delegates, who started the day sans breakfast. Delegate Liam McCreery, president of Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance, notes the irony regarding the first course of Zuppa Di Lentiche ? translation to English, lentil soup. After more talk about aggressive senators from South and North Dakota states, delegates descend upon roasted fillet of angus beef served with potato, wild mushrooms d****d in a red-wine sauce. Few order the Tiramisu dessert.
1:35 p.m. Vanclief and delegates walk off the meal past several blocks of old stone skysc****rs back to Marriott hotel where Vanclief meets reporters from two Toronto newspapers. Interviews conducted in Vanclief suite with communications advisers Vern Greenshields and Ron Milito close by. Interviews seen as important, given national exposure.
3:00 p.m. It's down to the second floor of the Marriott where Vanclief is welcomed by 100 farm leaders from across the United States attending the 10th annual Sparks Companies agricultural conference. Vanclief delivers a 29-minute address and continues to get his message out. He tells the group that $73.9 million in new funding will only hurt world agricultural markets by creating an artificial marketplace. "Ladies and Gentleman, we must get away from farm policies that merely prop up the past. We must adopt policies that work towards building the future. I certainly hope that the final version of the farm bill will steer away from trade-distorting programs and aim funding at programs which conform fully to the green box criteria." Vanclief fields half-a-dozen queries from the audience, including one from a man associated with a Chicago-based farm equipment association. He lauds Vanclief for Canada's new proposed farm reforms dubbed the Agricultural Policy Framework?
3:36 p.m. In a press conference, Vanclief avoids a podium and seats himself eye level with seven reporters from Canada and United States. Sharon McKinnon, a reporter with Pro-Farm Magazine of Canada, asks Vanclief what's next for farmers in the Agricultural Policy Framework. Vanclief replies he can't say because there are no definite regulations in place yet, until a nationwide consultation process now underway is completed. Reuters Washington reporter Richard Cowan asks Vanclief if the minister can see the ill feelings of the current softwood lumber dispute spilling into agricultural affairs between both countries. Vanclief responds the United States have "not been able to prove" Canadian softwood is being subsidized.
4:15 p.m. Vanclief hosts conference call with Canadian media back home and gets a rough ride from western reporters who question whether his Washington trip is worthwhile. One reporter from Manitoba said Vanclief was "flogging a dead horse to the point we will have to bury it. It won't change American's minds." Vanclief responds the United States has taken nine trade runs at the Canadian Wheat Board, accusing it to be a subsidy body. Canada has won every trade dispute on the wheat board claims, says Vanclief.
4:55 p.m. Vanclief gets word that his 6 p.m. meeting with Senator Baucus has been cancelled, but is buoyed by confirmation that Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is still on for a 5:15 p.m. meeting on Capital Hill. A tired looking Vanclief heads downstairs and departs on V1. Grassley has been in Washington since first being elected in 1958 and recently co-sponsored an amendment to cap farm spending payments.
5:13 p.m. Communications assistant to the minister, Vern Greenshields walks out of embassy with colleague Milito and parks his tired legs on a bench warmed by the afternoon sun. After making a call on the cell phone, he takes in the green grass and purple and pink cherry blossoms of nearby trees and breathes a sigh of relief the day is almost over. He rolls up the sleeves of his dress shirt, exposing the pale white skin of a Canadian glad spring is just around the corner. "I think the minister got his messages out. From my perspective, that was the prime goal of the trip. We managed to talk to a couple of politicians and we talked to people involved in farm policy. I think they have a better perspective. We had 15 media hits, the speech at the farm conference, and we should be on the plane home at 7:30. That's not bad."
6:05 p.m. Delegates are milling about outside the Canadian Embassy waiting for Vanclief to return from his meeting with Grassley. Delegate Rory McAlpine, Canadian director general of international trade policy directorate, is equally optimistic Canada's message did get out. "These issues are far from being resolved. But, I think, they've heard us and they have some different ideas as a result of our work here today. Besides, we are in constant communication through the embassy with relevant congressmen. As other ideas come up, we will continue to make our concerns known. This is not a one-day deal."
6:19 p.m. Vanclief has still yet to return and Canadian Federation President Friesen is reflecting on the last 24 hours in Washington. Only hours before launching a campaign on Parliament Hill for as much as $1.3 billion in federal Canadian government relief for grain and oilseed farmers in Canada, Friesen said there are only two ways Canada farmers can be helped. "If we want to remain competitive, we are going to have to get countries to reduce their farm spending or we're going to have to increase our spending." He said he lauded Vanclief for his attempts to write a new farm policy in Canada, but said farmers need help now if they are to survive. "CFA members have told me that they are questioning the benefit of a long-term plan if we can't get farmers there. We are getting together with the Grain Growers of Canada to tell the government they need to spend that money (the $1.3 billion)."
6:32 p.m. The minister arrives, both vans are packed and the delegation gets confirmation that one of five Canadian-government owned Challenger jets is waiting to take them home at Signature Flight Support, a private departure terminal for government and private airplane owners.
6:54 p.m. The delegation arrives at Signature, unloads their baggage from the vans and enters the building to walk on the flight line to the waiting Challenger.
7:05 p.m. The delegation boards and waits for take-off.
7:20 p.m. American Immigration authorities inform Challenger's crew Department of National Defence pilots, a navigator and flight attendants that all guests will have to disembark from the Challenger.
7:27 p.m. Once cleared, the delegation heads back to the plane, buckles up and talk quickly turns to the spacious comfort not evident in the extremely crammed confines of their public Air Canada commuter jet flight the evening before from Ottawa.
7:37 p.m. Challenger takes to the skies and Vanclief begins to wind down. The crew, addressing him as Mr. Minister, serve him before all passengers. Vanclief and passengers enjoy helping of fine cheeses, a chicken-filled burrito and a freshly-made sandwich.
7:50 p.m. Asked whether the punishing schedule of a whistle-stop tour was worth a darker shade of circles under his eyes, Vanclief brushes off any chance to complain about the gruelling pace. "I think we clearly made our points. There was a clear understanding of our concern. People, to a large degree, agreed with our concerns. What we have here is an administration that has a view, and you have a Congress with a political situation. This law will be developed in the Congress. Politics is going to be a big part of the decision."
8:50 p.m. After landing in Ottawa, Vanclief exits the plane, thanks his delegation and packs his luggage into a waiting government car.
He asks the driver to take him to his Ottawa apartment for a good night's sleep.
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