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Ontario corn growers question premier
The Ontario Corn Producers' Association has released a statement, questioning Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty's statement about reassessing the province's position on a 10 percent ethanol blend in Ontario by 2010.
July 11, 2008 By Ontario Corn Producers' Association
July 11, 2008
Guelph, ON -The organization representing Ontario corn farmers is requesting immediate clarification from Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty regarding comments the Premier made about reconsidering its position on a 10 per cent ethanol blend in all gasoline sold in Ontario by 2010.
“It’s disconcerting that the Premier’s office is buckling under media pressure suggesting Ontario’s small ethanol industry is the factor responsible for rising food costs,” says Dale Mountjoy, President of OCPA. “In reality rising food costs are associated with increased costs everyone is facing – namely the price of petroleum-based fuels, which reinforces the need for a vibrant renewable fuels industry in Ontario.”
Ontario farmers grow the majority of the grain corn grown in Canada, which is used in food processing, animal feed, and ethanol. This year farmers do not expect a shortage of corn in Ontario – farmers in the province are currently exporting more Ontario corn than they have in the last five years.
OCPA will work with other agricultural organizations to help the Premier and other Members of Provincial Parliament understand the issue more clearly.
“We are pleased to hear Prime Minister Harper is standing by the federal government’s commitment to mandate a 5% ethanol blend in gasoline sold in Canada, and we are confident that once the Premier’s office has had the opportunity to review the issue more closely it too will stand by its previous commitments,” says Mountjoy.
OCPA has sent a letter to the Premier requesting immediate clarification of the issue.
