The gathering, spearheaded by Liberal agriculture critic Wayne Easter and Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale Liberal candidate Arlene MacFarlane-VanderBeek, focused on the party’s agriculture platform.

Only briefly touching on a few key agricultural issues, Easter noted that the Liberals’ Green Shift programs would be of value to local farmers.

“Those programs are there to assure that the farm community actually benefits positively from the Green Shift program so that they can bring in innovation and be paid for it,” he said.

Ward 14 Councilor Robert Pasuta, who hosted the gathering in his home near Mounstberg, stressed that the agricultural sector is suffering. “But we eat everyday and we have to look after the farms,” he said.

Easter touted the Liberals’ plans, which include setting aside $564 million to create an Agri-Flex program. This program, he explained, could be accommodated to give income stability to the various agricultural industries, including cash crops, grains and the beef and hog sector.

A funding commitment of $30 million has also been budgeted to assist local farm markets in enhancing the “ “Grown in Canada” program, which would help solve some of the labeling issues.

This, explained Easter, would also tie in with issues relating to Canadian food safety concerns, and “ensure that Canadians know that when they go to a grocery store shelf, if it says ‘Product of Canada’ on the label, it is in fact a product of Canada.”

Local flower producer, Ed Scharringa, was in attendance at the Sunday afternoon gathering. He stated his belief that Canada has to go back to the basics when it comes to the agricultural sector.

Scharringa told Easter that he has always been a developer of his own market, growing a product and making that product sell.

“We need to instill that, get people to respect us as farmers, respect the product that we grow and that this country has a unique agricultural system and let’s support it, let’s buy it,” said Scharringa.

Easter agreed, stating that the party’s commitment to spending $30 million to address the labeling issues will do just that.

“Why do we need 2,000 miles on a plate of food, coming from somewhere else, when we are producing it in our own country?” Scharringa wondered.

With recent concerns of tainted food, Easter believes that Canadians are more interested in buying more locally grown and produced foods.

“We have one of the better agriculture platforms that we’ve ever had,” he said, acknowledging that, although the Green Shift plan will benefit local farmers and farm markets, there are some issues that would “have to be worked out,” such as building infrastructure to transfer energy created on local farms to the power grid.