Disgruntled farmers have joined forces with Six Nations to attack the $9 billion a year in revenue that Ottawa and the provinces collect in tobacco taxes.
On Monday morning, a convoy of pickup trucks will leave the Delhi tobacco auction exchange destined for Caledonia. Each pickup will carry a 20 kilogram bale of cured tobacco. The cargo will be taken to the Douglas Creek Estates subdivision, the scene, since February 2006, of a native standoff over disputed land.
Six Nations representatives will be at Douglas Creek to receive the visitors. The plan is to turn the tobacco over to the natives as "a goodwill gesture."
Tobacco farmer John Van Daele of Courtland, president of the Oxford-Norfolk-Elgin Landowners Association, unveiled the plan last night during a meeting at the Langton Community Centre.
"The government is prepared to put us out of business, and they are," he said. "And they are winning. We're going to give them a taste of their own medicine."
Van Daele called the meeting earlier this week but kept his plan secret. More than 200 tobacco growers and their families came to hear what he had to say. Nearly all signalled that they will participate in Monday's convoy.
Following his introductory remarks, Van Daele invited surprise guests to come to the front from the back of the room. They were Six Nations representatives Blake Bomberry, chief of the Cayuga nation, Jesse Porter and Clyde Powless. They sat at the head table while Van Daele laid out his strategy.
Van Daele explained that a 20-kilogram bale generates about $4,000 in revenue for federal and provincial governments. He estimated that 200 bales given to cigarette manufacturers on Six Nations would erase nearly $1 million in tax revenue. Van Daele said tobacco farmers will keep shipping bales to Six Nations free until Ottawa and Queen's Park agree to a fair buyout of tobacco quota.
The visitors from Six Nations were greeted with applause. Porter told the crowd that no one will listen to their demands unless they are prepared to take direct action.
"Six Nations has been advocating for a long time to get things right," Porter said. "Don't do what we did and just sit there and talk because they will just roll over you. What we're about to do will make history."
Support for the plan was overwhelming while criticisms were few.
Van Daele asked Linda Vandendriessche, vice-chairwoman of the Ontario Flue Cured Tobacco Growers Marketing Board, whether she was willing to participate in Monday's protest. Vandendriessche said she would not because that would compromise her effectiveness as a negotiator on behalf of tobacco growers.
Haldimand-Norfolk MPP Toby Barrett told the crowd that the plan will certainly get the attention of the public and the government.
"This will play into a very serious embarrassment for both levels of government - the illegal trade in tobacco," he said.
Hank Chromczak of Aylmer, chairman of Tobacco Farmers in Crisis, expects Monday's turnout will be large.
"We have nothing left to lose," he said. "Why wouldn't we do this and keep on doing this? No one has listened to the respectful lobbying we've done over the past three years. The depression we've all felt has turned to anger. The only thing government understands is votes and money. We do not have the votes to affect government that way. So we will have an impact on their revenue. We don't want to do this. But we feel forced to do it. The vast majority of us recognize that we are facing the end."
It remains to be seen what Six Nations does with the tobacco once it arrives.
"It is up to our Confederacy to determine what the procedure will be after that," Porter said. "Whatever happens, it will be used to benefit our community."
The proposed convoy is illegal. Special permits would be required to transport tobacco from Delhi to Caledonia. As well, it is illegal to transact tobacco outside the confines of the auction exchange in Delhi.
"There's lots of laws being broken," said Rick Cerna of Aylmer, a past director of the tobacco board. "I will be there Monday because nothing else works."
Farmers who illegally transact tobacco are at risk of losing their quota. It is up to the tobacco board to decide on these issues once a conviction is registered.
Tobacco growers are asking Ottawa and Queen's Park to pay $710 million to retire 271-million pounds of quota owned by an estimated 1,500 stakeholders.