Ontario's Progressive Conservative leader, John Tory, wants to make sure prisoners, hospital patients, schoolchildren and bureaucrats all eat their broccoli — Ontario broccoli, that is.
Campaigning for the Ont. 10 provincial election while at a dairy farm outside Brockville, Ont., on Tuesday, Tory said any public institutions — including schools, jails, hospitals and government buildings — should have to serve Ontario-grown produce.
Although Tory admitted it was hard enough getting his own four kids to eat broccoli, he said his plan is worth a try.
"What I want to have in place are very clear guidelines that say if you are using taxpayer money in a public building, whether it's at a college or a hospital … you are buying and serving Ontario produce," Tory said at Roosberg Farms in the town of Athens.
"These things aren't simple to do, but I don't think it means you don't try."
It's not enough to run "feel-good ads" about the province's produce, Tory said. Not only should Ontario fruits and vegetables be served in public buildings, they should also be clearly identified in the grocery store, he said.
"I would rather spend the money on having really good promotions that would get people in to buy Ontario broccoli or Ontario asparagus or Ontario apples than to have the feel-good ads on television that don't really tell anybody anything," Tory said.
"We've got to do a much better job."
Jim Watson, the Liberal running for re-election in Ottawa West-Nepean and Ontario's minister of health promotion, said public buildings already do what they can to buy Ontario produce at the urging of the government.
A northern Ontario program that provides fruit and vegetables to schoolchildren uses homegrown produce when it's in season, he added. The Liberal platform includes setting nutritional guidelines for schools, which would encourage cafeterias to purchase Ontario products "where possible," Watson said.
"We're about a year ahead of Mr. Tory on that and we're quite proud to be supporting Ontario farmers," he said.
All three party leaders were to spend Tuesday in rural eastern Ontario, wooing farmers at the International Plowing Match.
Tory and his NDP rival, Howard Hampton, paraded through the event on floats while Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty arrived later following a morning stop at a school. McGuinty was expected to tout his party's new risk management strategy.
Tory and Hampton both argue the Liberals have been ignoring the concerns of farmers for the last four years.
Related
Internal Links
Video
- Mike Wise reports for CBC-TV (Runs: 1:52)
- Play: QuickTime »
- Play: Real Media »
Ontario Votes 2007 »
- McGuinty wins massive majority, Tory loses seat
- Dalton McGuinty won a second majority government for the Liberals in Ontario on Wednesday night, a triumph for a party that earlier expressed fears of a drop to minority status.
- Ontario rejects electoral reform in referendum
- Ontario voters have rejected a proposed electoral reform that would have seen some provincial legislators chosen based on a party's share of the popular vote, results showed Thursday.
- Ontario voter turnout a record low
- The percentage of eligible voters casting ballots in Wednesday's Ontario election hit an all-time low despite changes introduced in an effort to boost turnout.
- Ont. Green party scores 8 per cent of vote
- No Green party candidates made it to the Ontario legislature in Wednesday's election, but that defeat was sweetened by a swell in their share of the popular vote, which more than doubled.
- McGuinty only leader not facing leadership questions
- Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty won re-election in Ottawa South and NDP Leader Howard Hampton again won his northern Ontario riding of Kenora-Rainy River. PC Leader John Tory was defeated.
District Profiles
More Ontario Votes Headlines »
- McGuinty wins massive majority, Tory loses seat
- Dalton McGuinty won a second majority government for the Liberals in Ontario on Wednesday night, a triumph for a party that earlier expressed fears of a drop to minority status.
- Ontario rejects electoral reform in referendum
- Ontario voters have rejected a proposed electoral reform that would have seen some provincial legislators chosen based on a party's share of the popular vote, results showed Thursday.
- Ontario voter turnout a record low
- The percentage of eligible voters casting ballots in Wednesday's Ontario election hit an all-time low despite changes introduced in an effort to boost turnout.
- Ont. Green party scores 8 per cent of vote
- No Green party candidates made it to the Ontario legislature in Wednesday's election, but that defeat was sweetened by a swell in their share of the popular vote, which more than doubled.
- McGuinty only leader not facing leadership questions
- Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty won re-election in Ottawa South and NDP Leader Howard Hampton again won his northern Ontario riding of Kenora-Rainy River. PC Leader John Tory was defeated.
