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Serving Agriculture:
Canada's Ministers of Agriculture

Ralph Goodale

Birthplace

Federal Constituency

Education

Professional Background

Political Affiliation

"We were aiming for a partnership with farmers and the provinces . . . trying to grow the pie rather than haggling over the size of the piece."
-- Don Mazankowski, 1997

Political Career

Goodale was elected to the House of Commons in 1974 for the large rural constituency of Assiniboia. Over the next five years, he occupied a variety of positions, including parliamentary secretary to several ministers, among others minister of transport, minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board, president of the Privy Council and deputy prime minister.

As parliamentary secretary to the minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board, Goodale piloted the Western Grain Stabilization Program through Parliament in 1976. Between 1974 and 1979, he was also vice-chairman of the House of Commons standing committee on agriculture, vice-chairman of the special joint committee on the northern gas pipeline, deputy government whip and chairman of the government's prairie caucus.

In 1981, Goodale was chosen leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal Party. He was elected MLA for Assiniboia-Gravelbourg in the 1986 Saskatchewan election. He resigned from provincial politics to run as the Liberal candidate for Regina-Wascana in the 1988 federal election but was defeated.

For the next five years, Goodale took a break from politics and worked as director of regulatory affairs and corporate secretary of Pioneer Life Assurance Company and Pioneer Lifeco Inc., both Regina-based financial institutions, and as corporate secretary of Sovereign Life Insurance Co.

When he was re-elected as MP for Regina-Wascana in October 1993, he was appointed minister of agriculture and agri-food. After the January 1996 cabinet shuffle, he also was appointed chairman of the cabinet committee on economic development policy.

Goodale was re-elected in 1997 and transferred to the natural resources portfolio. He is still the minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board.

Industry Issues

Goodale's term as minister coincided with government budget cuts to programs and services, as well as a rapid expansion of export markets and information technology for the agriculture sector. The Liberal government's focus on restraining spending and cutting the deficit reduced the level of financial and administrative support the department could offer producers and processors. Fortunately, strong world grain prices reduced the need for government support.

"Team Canada" trade missions and enhanced market information available through new online support services helped create new opportunities for innovative production and marketing. The Uruguay round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade was completed in December 1993 and implemented in August 1996. The creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) helped Canadian producers and agri-businesses secure access to world markets.

Departmental Developments

The 1995 Budget announced that federal government food inspection services would be consolidated into a new agency called the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). The department rose to the challenge of transforming its current inspection services, administered by the Food Production and Inspection Branch, into a consolidated agency that would also include inspection responsibilities and personnel formerly under the jurisdiction of Health Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

In 1995, in co-operation with Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, the department created the Agri-Food Trade Service (ATS) to give exporters easy access to government programs, market information, trade regulations and other types of support. The industry set a goal of $20 billion in annual agricultural exports by the year 2000. In 1996 the sector exported $19.95 billion worth of agri-food products.

The Rural Secretariat was established to co-ordinate the work of federal departments and agencies focused on the economic renewal of rural communities.

Accomplishments as Minister

• The Agricultural Marketing Programs Act (effective 1997) replaced four previous programs. It provides more efficient administration of interest-free cash advances to help producers market their products.
• The end of both the "Crow Rate" subsidies for prairie grain transport (the Western Grain Transportation Act) and the feed freight assistance subsidy to livestock producers outside the Prairies (1995) encouraged efficiency and self-sufficiency in the grain and livestock sectors. A one-time payment of $1.6 billion, with an additional $300 million in adjustment funds over the next three years, helped former beneficiaries adapt and invest in new opportunities.
• The Western Grain Marketing Panel consulted industry and offered suggestions to modernize the governance of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), provide greater flexibility in CWB operations and services, and offer farmers a wider range of grain marketing options. As the minister responsible for the CWB, Goodale continues to work on amendments to the Canadian Wheat Board Act based on the panel's July 1996 recommendations.
• Goodale provided leadership during the Canadian government's successful defence of supply management principles against an American challenge through a North American Free Trade Agreement dispute panel. The panel upheld Canada's right to apply tariffs to certain U.S. imports.
• The Canadian Adaptation and Rural Development Fund (1996) provides $60 million annually for national and local rural development and community diversification programs.
• The Matching Investment Initiative (1995) allows the department to match, one for one, industry contributions to collaborative scientific research projects. By mid-1997, more than 1,000 agreements on projects totalling more than $42 million in research and development had been established.