NDP urges Nova Scotians to buy local

BY NADINE ARMSTRONG

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com ‘Buy Nova Scotian’ is New Democratic Party and Opposition leader Darrell Dexter’s new slogan.

Dexter and NDP Agriculture Critic John MacDonell were interviewed at The Hants Journal Feb. 6 as part of a whirlwind tour of Hants and Kings Counties.

He says he and his party have gone to the provincial government and requested help for Maritime producers with no immediate response. “We’ve asked the government to help farmers now, but there has been no action,” Dexter said. “We need to start taking matters into our own hands.”

And although producers may not get the immediate help they need from the provincial government, Dexter said the NDP is drafting a sustainability program that will work in the long run.

For $200,000 - approximately what the provincial government spent to advertise the “Keep the Heat Program” in 2006 - Dexter said the same government can spend equal amounts to promote and advertise Nova Scotian produce. “The government of Nova Scotia has decided in favour of the absence of help when help is required,” Dexter said. “We need to map out a long-term vision, but the government has been doing just the opposite of that.”

Dexter and MacDonell presented this proposal Feb. 2 at a news conference in Halifax. They were joined by Willy Versteeg, Vice President of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture.

The campaign aims to advertise Nova Scotia products on the grocery shelves and in restaurants, but also with all provincially funded institutions. “We want to see larger provincially funded institutions in Nova Scotia, such as schools, hospitals and other institutions mandated to buy Nova Scotian products over imports.” Dexter said.

Consumers have a choice

In essence, if Nova Scotia products are clearly marked in grocery stores, consumers have a choice. If larger institutions are earmarked by the provincial government to purchase Nova Scotia produce, they will. The NDP wants to do whatever it takes to have Nova Scotians buying local.

Dexter says that not only do imports force prices down, they also add up to an additional transportation cost that the province fails to recognize. “The provincial government has totally rejected the concept that imports can cost more in the long run, not just for consumers and producers, but the economy in general,” Dexter said. “These shipments cost money. Maybe the consumer doesn’t feel it, but the province does as a whole.”

Not an election campaign

MacDonell says the party has spent months trying to convince the provincial government that farmers and producers need short-term help, but the government has refused to allocate any support. He says there should be an element of debt relief afforded to producers in order to keep them in the picture. “It does us no good if producers have to stop producing because then there will be nothing left to support,” Dexter said.

When asked, Dexter said this is not an election campaign. “I highly doubt an election will be called anytime in the near future,” he said. “We’re campaigning an option for all Nova Scotians: consumers and producers.”

Dexter says it’s about time the Nova Scotia government led by example. “How can we expect consumers to prioritize the local market if their own government rejects it? I believe most Nova Scotians would prefer their own product if given the option. They just need to see it clearly identified so they can make the choice,” he said. “We’re simply asking the government to help campaign their own produce to help add market value and give it the respect it deserves in this economy,” Dexter said. In a press release, Versteeg said food standards should also be a hot topic with consumers. “We as consumers must show that we value high quality food products, grown in a fair trade environment. This is the only way that Nova Scotians will achieve a safe, secure food supply, both for themselves and for the generations to come.”