Coyne talk politics at Potato Days

A Globe and Mail columnist visited Brandon on Wednesday to speak at the 53rd annual Manitoba Potato Production Days at the Assiniboine Credit Union Agricultural Centre.

Andrew Coyne gave the keynote speech on day two of the event, which drew hundreds of visitors and dozens of vendors to the Keystone Centre.

Coyne’s speech — titled “How Politics Impacts and Shapes the Industry” — focused on international affairs and Canada’s future, as well as policies he believes are crucial to insulate and strengthen the economy.

“We need to be thinking about how to reduce the ability for the Americans, if they wanted to, to create chaos for us,” Coyne told an audience of about 150 people. “We can hope for the best, but we have to plan for the worst.”

In the world of agriculture, which he said is notably impacted by tariffs and trade tension with the United States, Coyne said Canada should ambitiously build relationships with other countries.

“I think being radically pro trade, pursuing trade options, is essential for all of us,” Coyne said. “We’ve got to be much more willing to turn outwards (away from the United States) in general.”

An obstacle is supply management — which in Canada limits the supply of products like dairy, milk and eggs — and the concept should be done away with, Coyne said.

“It’s bad policy to begin with for the country, but it’s become an irritant and a trade block to negotiations. It’s been one of the stumbling blocks with Europe. And if we’re going to be serious about the national interest, that’s got to be something we’re willing to trade away.”

Organizers invited Coyne as the keynote speaker because he is knowledgable about the political landscape that directly affects their business, and he can provide insight, Darin Gibson, a member of the organizing committee, told the Sun.

Gibson added that the Canadian potato industry is heavily connected with the United States.

Committee member Bill Moons said the columnist was an easily recognizable person to speak about the political climate and how it impacts potato producers.

Coyne said that such speeches give him a chance to communicate with Canadians and try to get them interested in the things that interest him.

As his speech ventured beyond agriculture, Coyne argued that policymakers need to get ambitious in attracting a lot more investment, including foreign investment, to strengthen the country. Canada needs to do some economic housekeeping, he said, to support our future.

“We’ve got to get higher rates of investment, much higher rates of investment than we’ve had, because that’s what’s been holding back our productivity growth and our economic growth,” he said. “We need to get big, radical changes in the rate of taxation on investments and investing. We need to get the rates way, way down.”

Coyne also proposed Canada build a system in which skilled workers could be called upon to provide services to the government in a time of crisis. As an example, he said workers might be called upon to respond if the country’s financial systems were tampered with.

“When you think about the way our infrastructure is connected, when you think about the way our financial systems are connected, for example, if somebody decided to make it difficult for the Canadian banks to access the U.S. payment system, the kind of havoc you could do that way.”

Following his speech, Coyne told the Sun that he had grown up in Winnipeg and so gets back to visit Manitoba often.

According to its website, the conference’s main objective is to communicate current information about potato production to producers. It also provides a venue for retailers to promote the latest products and equipment in potato production. The event has been held annually since 1973.

The three-day event wraps up today.

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com