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SENT BY E-MAIL. ORIGINAL TO FOLLOW IN MAIL
2005.09.15
Minister Thomas Mulcair
Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and Parks
Édifice Marie-Guyart
675, boul. René-Lévesque Est
30e étage
Québec (Québec)
G1R5V7
Dear Minister Mulcair,
I am writing on behalf of the 2100 English-speaking farmers in Quebec, eighty per cent of whom raise livestock and will be seriously impacted by the new Règlement sur les Exploitations agricoles.
Although we ca accept and adapt our farms to the majority of the proposed changes, there is one major restriction that is a major stumbling block for us, namely the limitation on stockpiling manure in our fields. To base the restrictions on this current practice on the size of the farming enterprise or their date of establishment, rather than the size of the pile or its composition appears to be discriminatory and biased, as well as scientifically unfounded.
We are in full agreement with the recommendation of the Federation des Producteurs de Bovin du Quebec with respect to stockpiling manure in fields.
We would appreciate an opportunity to discuss with you our concerns and fears for the future of farming in Quebec and the potential backlash that the new Règlement may create. Our belief is that the danger to the environment is reduced if the manure produced on our farms is kept in the solid state, is properly stored in our fields according to well researched and scientifically proven guidelines.
The QFA would like to work with you and your Ministry in a collaborative fashion, rather than a confrontational one. We are the ones who are directly affected by these regulations but are also the ones that are the most effected by any environmental degradations on our farms. We therefore, have a considerable stake in the Règlement sur les Exploitations Agricoles and its success.
Please allow the Quebec Farmers’ Association the chance to meet with you so we can become ardent supporters of environmental regulations that are coherent and science-based.
Yours truly,
Gib Drury
President