OLDS - More needs to be done, including action by the federal government, to address ongoing mental health concerns in Canada’s agriculture community, according to Red Deer-Mountain View Conservative MP Earl Dreeshen.
Earlier this spring Conservative members of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Foods released a supplemental report to the recently-released main Mental Health – A Priority for Our Farmers report.
The incidence of mental health issues in the agriculture community is on the rise, with farmers, ranchers and producers increasingly experiencing high levels of depression, stress, and thoughts of suicide, committee members heard.
Dreeshen is a member of the committee, which unanimously accepted the main report’s findings. He co-authored the supplemental report with two other Conservative MPs.
That report highlights some specific calls to action.
Increased education of the general public about the importance of agriculture to the larger community is a must, he said.
“One of the key things is having less people attacking you and one can do that by emphasizing the need for education,” Dreeshen told Mountain View Publishing. “You hear so many things on the radio or television or social media that are attacks on agriculture.
“We are producing the safest and most secure food supply in the world and we should be making sure that all Canadians understand that. That we have to do through education.”
The government should also do more to counter negative social media comments aimed at the farm community, he said.
“Social media is a great tool to bring people together and to work out problems, but unfortunately it’s also a tool that is used by others to attack and demean an industry,” he said.
“Farmers don’t always have the network of support that they should have, so when they hear these loud voices taking runs at what they do for a living it’s hard on them.”
There are a number of factors leading to the increase in mental health concerns in agriculture, according to the supplemental report.
“The causes are many and varied,” the report states. “Farmers and producers face increased stress and hardship arising from recent government initiatives like the federal carbon tax and concessions made by the government in recent trade agreements.
“Market volatility, prices, the high costs associated with farming, and succession plan can also result in increased anxiety and stress levels.”
Negative social media comments from environmental and animal rights activists aimed at the farming community are also creating undue stress for farm families, the report states.
The report calls on the federal government to work with provincial governments and educators to develop programs that could be added to current education curriculums so that Canadians are better educated about the nature of food production and the care that farmers take in managing their animals and crops.
“As fewer and fewer people understand how extremely complex an agricultural business is, and as society is tending to consider the work of farmers less natural and less valuable, an enormous amount of education needs to be done, starting at the base, in the schools, to explain it and to re-establish its value.”
The report also calls for the federal government to “take into account the interest of the farm community when proceeding with regulatory or legislative changes (such as crop input reassessments and fee increases) and better consult with farmers and stakeholder groups before proceeding with such changes or give full consideration to withdrawing said changes if the impact is found to be of great negative impact on the Canadian agriculture sector.”
The report calls on the federal government to take measures to prevent “unproved social media attacks” on the farm community.
“Tragically, the committee heard that rural youth under the age of 20 are four to six times more likely to commit suicide that those living in urban areas. One witness suggested that youth across Canada have identified mental health as one of their greatest challenges and have indicated the need for more support and resources.”
Canada’s agriculture and agri-food industry employs 2.3 million people and contributes more than $110 billion annually to the nation’s gross national product.
