As I write this column, it is uncertain whether or not the U.S. border will open to live cattle exports on March 7th. The injunction placed by a Montana judge may stand, or by the time you read this another judge may have overturned the injunction. Either way, I think it is important for Canadians in general (and elected representatives in particular) to look at the policies and decisions that got the cattle industry in this mess in the first place–so that we never put agriculture in this crisis again.

The problem of BSE was well known to the federal government well before the first case hit Canada. We had all seen the problem that Europe had with BSE–millions of cattle were destroyed. The number of cattle that had BSE in the United Kingdom was infinitely greater than the handful of cases in Canada. With this in mind, I have to ask: Why didn’t the Canadian government work out trade agreements with the U.S. to cover BSE?

Canada and the U.S. knew that it was likely that a case of BSE would arise in North America. We didn’t know which country would be hit first, but we should have worked out a deal where both countries would set out explicit terms for trade if BSE hit North America. Such an agreement could have avoided all the politics of protectionism. It would have been based on science and not politics. This could have served as a basis for deals with other countries like Japan and South Korea. If Ottawa had been forward-looking, we would have avoided most of the grief over the border closure.

Why wasn’t this done? Canadians will never know for sure, but I suspect it has to do with rural Canada not being a priority. The Liberals are a “big city” political party. They don’t know and don’t care where their food comes from. Let me give an example.

The federal government moved very quickly to protect and subsidize Bombardier, the Montreal aircraft company, against Brazilian competitors. Brazil’s beef industry was also attacked over the issue of BSE. Did they care that what we did to Brazil would later be used against Canada’s cattle industry? Did the government think that Canada’s actions would be cited as precedent to shut down our cattle exports? The answer is a clear no. They were only interested in aerospace jobs in Montreal.

We need a change in our government, and not just at the elected level. We need to have people in government and–especially the bureaucracy at Agriculture Canada–who come from the farm and understand the challenges of rural life. Only then will we be properly represented.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament. I welcome your feedback. Write or call my offices.