握手

I haven’t shaken the hand of a stranger, 或朋友為此事, 在一年多, 都冇好多其他加拿大人.

似乎唔係一個好大嘅犧牲. COVID-19大流行令我哋失去咗咁多. 親人已經死咗. 企業已經關閉. 仔們喺返學方面落後了.

握手嘅喪失可能係我哋最唔擔心嘅.

但我哋需要佢哋返嚟. They’re more than gratuitous social gestures. They’re essential actions that forge relationships and build human connection.

佢哋打破僵局. 佢哋喺比賽結束時表達體育精神. 佢哋達成允許我哋買賣嘅交易.

這對農民尤其如此. 儘管我哋依靠尖端科學嚟生產和保護我哋種植嘅種子同高科技設備嚟收穫我哋種植嘅食物, 我哋以老式嘅方式開展大量業務. 意味住喺肉體上握手, 唔向縮放呼叫上嘅像素化人員揮手.

關於 15 幾個月前, 當世界開始認識到COVID-19的挑戰, 我喺溫哥華參加一個農業會議—換句話說, 對我嚟講，喺農業世界度，生活係平時嘅. 鎖定前, I’d speak at events such as this about ten times a year, and I’d attend even more.

會議和會議嘅親自聯繫對任何行業都好緊要, 但佢哋可能對農民更重要. We don’t congregate in offices. When we’re working in our fields, we’re isolated. 当我哋只看到家庭成員，或者喺一個小圈子度睇到其他幾個人時，日子會過去.

I’ve joked that on our farm in rural Saskatchewan, we haven’t had to adopt special pandemic practices because we were social distancing long before anybody had ever heard of COVID-19.

因此，農民有一個特別嘅理由利用人們可以見面嘅聚會, 學習, 並改進. 我哋必須抓住機會握手.

当我由溫哥華返嚟嘅時候, 鎖定生效後嘅幾個星期, 我本來應該飛往比利時代表加拿大農民參加一個農業貿易會議嘅. 我嘅目的係解釋我哋點樣以及點解使用作物保護工具, 減輕歐洲消費者和監管者嘅恐懼，佢哋聽到呢個詞就會震 “草甘祚。”

沒有人比實際農民更有說服力地了解糧食及其種植方式—我哋嘅客戶需要睇到我哋, ask questions, and hear what we have to say.

Ultimately, it will be very difficult to change the hearts and minds of skeptics who don’t know much about food production if we can’t look them in the eye and yes, shake their hands.

The event in Belgium was canceled, 答案係肯定嘅, and that was the right choice. More than a year later, 然而, we need to get back to normal because we need to start repairing 15 months of broken connections.

Before the pandemic, I thought Canadian trade was ready to boom. We had just negotiated the USMCA, our revised accord with the United States, 墨西哥, and Canada. The Trans-Pacific Partnership, which links us to countries around the Pacific Rim, was gaining attention and momentum. The provincial government of Saskatchewan even opened a trade office in Singapore, so we could take advantage of TPP’s opportunities through in-person meetings.

今日, after more than a year of closed borders, our situation feels a lot different. While our trade pacts remain in effect, people have gotten used to looking inward—and I’m worried that we’re going to hear new calls for the protectionism that is the enemy of farmers, business and customers who depend on global markets.

Here’s a simple step in the right direction: Let’s start by allowing free movement between Canada and the United States. This would allow for an increase in the cross-border purchase and sale of crop inputs, machinery and grain. The increased competition among buyers and sellers would benefit farmers and businesses on both sides of the border.

Canadians and Americans both like to boast that the 49th parallel is the longest undefended border in the world, accessible to travelers in both directions. Let’s go back to leaving it undefended and accessible. We can meet at the Peace Bridge in the east and the Peace Arch in the west.

Free movement between Canada and the U.S. can be the precursor to free movement worldwide. I can’t wait to visit Belgium and talk about the importance of global trade and global connections—and shake hands once again.

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提名 接受緊嘅候選人 2021 Global Farmer Network Roundtable and Leadership Training. Tentatively scheduled to be held during summer 2021, the next Roundtable will include a virtual component prior to meeting in person in Brussels, 比利時. The face-to-face event date is dependent on when travel is allowed and people feel safe. 瞭解有關該活動嘅更多信息 呢度.

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