rLake Country Calendar Wednesday, February 19, 2014
www.lakecountrycalendar.com A3
news
BCFGA presidency goes to Steele after a few contentious years for the organization The man who assumed control of the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association after Kelowna’s Kirpal Boparai resigned the presidency amid unprecedented controversy, lost his own seat to Glenmore apple grower Fred Steele this weekend. Vernon cherry orchardist Jeet Dukhia stepped in as interim president when Boparai broke with the Okanagan Tree Fruit Co-operative. Dukhia was subsequently elected in February 2013, and presented himself as a leader who has worked cooperatively with government throughout his year as president, but a coalition of farmers took umbrage with his approach. “People wanted to have more rejuvenation in the association,” said Steele, who won the pos-
ition Saturday. Steele said he agrees with Dukhia on the substantive issues, but put his name forward in order to polish the industry’s image and put the focus back on promoting B.C. fruit. Public perception of orchardists as an embattled group has cost growers access to government help and consumers’ trust, in his view. As he spent three decades in radio broadcasting, and has a solid understanding of public relations, he is hoping he can restore the kind of calm, persistent voice the industry had with leaders like Joe Sardinha, who passed away unexpectedly this year. “I think we have to have an articulate approach. We have to be clear and concise about what our goals are, written down, and what our priorities are, and those
priorities should be determined by the membership,” said Steele, noting he plans to write a strategic plan immediately. While Boparai made headlines, evidence he was not the lone dissident rejecting the packinghouse surfaced when several orchardists failed to return to the Okanagan Tree Fruits Cooperative at the beginning of 2013 and a regular rotation of radio advertisements began enticing growers to sell south of the border. A restructuring has since occurred at the coop. The Kelowna packing facility closed in 2013, workers were laid off and Okanagan Tree Fruits Cooperative rebranded as BC Tree Fruits Cooperative. Unfortunately, the packinghouse turmoil was only a fraction of the industry’s
woes for the year. Extreme weather, including hail storms in the Central and North Okanagan and severe frost in the South, resulted in $15- to $18 million in losses for growers. The BCFGA’s attempt to access the federal disaster relief failed. Crop insurance was thus a major issue throughout the two-day annual general meeting. Another blow to Dukhia’s leadership was the replant program. While he reported securing a verbal commitment from Premier Christy Clark to get the subsidy back on the books, a funding announcement has yet to materialize. Orchardists estimate five to 10 per cent of their property must be replanted each year to replace trees with a production shelf life, deal with rot and to keep pace
with market demand for new varietals. The subsidy only covers a small portion of farmer’s total cost, but was valued. “I really do hope the government is going to come through with this. It’s extremely important for the health of the industry,” said Penny Gambell, a Lake Country orchardist and onetime BCFGA president. The government provided $2 million in 2011 for replant, but it was fully subscribed almost immediately. The program was consistently funded for several decades and was considered a key component of succession planning for many orchardists. “It was one of the best programs the government has ever come up with and it is a trade-acceptable program, so that’s very important,” Gambell noted. The
types of subsidy government can provide are regulated under the various trade agreements to prevent unfair advantage. The AGM was also used to promote the final days of a three-month long vote to poll support for an Apple Research and Promotion Agency in B.C. It would be part of a national effort to establish grower-funded research and marketing agencies which could organize to secure access to tariffs applied to fruit at the border—a move recently accomplished by the cattle industry for levies to beef imports. ARPA would require an eight-cent per box levy from B.C. orchardists, however, and this didn’t sit well with some at the meeting who questioned whether another marketing body was worth it. “I’m not so sure gener-
al promotion is going to get you the best bang for your buck,” said Sam Dimaria, a Kelowna apple orchardist. “There are dynamics that are happening across the country that, to my mind, make some of this redundant. This buy local trend is very real.” Steel said he sees it as very short-sighted to view the agency simply as a cost, noting he heartily supports the work Dukhia has done to get the ball rolling. During his final speech before the election, Dukhia opted to do half of his presentation in Punjabi and was heckled by a member at the back of the room who shouted: “Speak English.” The moment drew a gasp from those gathered and BCFGA general manager Glen Lucas immediately admonished the member.
Cannan gives Canadian government’s take on federal budget “Consider well every shilling we spend” was the first sentence of the federal government’s Economic Action Plan 2014 delivered Feb. 11 in the House of Commons. “It set the tone for what is a prudent, fiscally sensible budget,” said the Honourable Ron Cannan, Member of Parliament for Kelowna-Lake Country. “Protecting our solid fiscal position is paramount and Economic
Action Plan reiterated the importance of paying down the debt, keeping taxes low for families and business and staying on track to not only balance the budget by 2015, but to post a surplus,” he said. In order to maintain Canada’s strong economic position, still the strongest in the G7, Finance Minister Flaherty targeted federal support on the drivers of growth and job creation particularly on job training
and research and innovation, key ingredients to not only creating jobs but closing the skills gap so young Canadians can find employment. “In terms of business, our local academic institutions in partnership with our technology and manufacturing sectors have been working diligently to close the gaps in skills training and employment and Budget 2014 provided solid incentives on this front,” said Mr. Cannan.
“In terms of families and communities my constituents will be relieved to know that the government rejected any notions of raising taxes and reiterated its commitment to maintaining existing programs while ensuring funding for our health and social transfers to the provinces continues to receive increased funding,” said Mr. Cannan. “This is a budget that focuses on the fundamentals. Balanced budgets
and lower debt is a sign of stability that not only makes Canada an attractive place to invest but doesn’t saddle our children with debt. “Instead, we’re making government programs more efficient—cutting waste and ensuring every taxpayer dollar spent is well spent, “ he concluded. From the Ottawa office of Ron Cannan, Member of Parliament for Kelowna-Lake Country.
Burton Marine to complete second phase of safe harbour by late April BREAKWATER FROM A1 “However, there are boaters that still do use the launch and may find some temporary, intermittent closures during construction while equipment is being repositioned or adjusted and while construction materials are being delivered or off-load-
ed. We expect any closures will be minimal and we ask for the patience and cooperation of park users, boaters and other visitors to ensure their safety and that of construction workers. Boaters should also be aware there may be floating materials stored temporarily inside the harbour area during construc-
tion.” The new breakwater will be built from steel pile supported concrete waffle panel and will replace about 40 meters, or 70 per cent, of the ag-
ing 56-meter un-treated wood pile structure that has been in place since it was replaced in the mid1990s by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
That was prior to the federal government transferring control of the breakwater to the regional district. The RDCO board will be asked to consid-
er approving funds to complete the remaining 16-meters of the breakwater in this year’s financial plan. It’s the second phase of work at the break-
water. Summer of 2012 Burton Marine successfully replaced the south breakwater with steel pilings and concrete waffle panels.
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