Premier Kathleen Wynne has chosen Amy Cronin, chairman of
the Ontario Pork marketing board, and Dr. Deb Stark, deputy of the Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for her Growth Steering
Committee.
The committee faces the daunting task of making good on
Wynne’s vision to double the agriculture industry’s growth rate and add 120,000
jobs.
Wynne was her own agriculture minister when she set that
goal last year. Now Jeff Leal is her agriculture minister, adding that to his
previous responsibilities as cabinet member for rural affairs.
When Wynne announced her growth goal last year, many thought
it was to double agricultural production. Now it’s clear that the goal is
doubling the growth rate.
Just after Wynne’s announcement last year, Kellogg’s
announced closure of its plant at London, Ont., and Heinz announced closure of
its ketchup-processing plant at Leamington.
Wynne said by way of a news release that Cronin and Stark
will “bring together industry and government leaders and experts to identify
opportunities to help the industry meet the Growth Challenge.”