Ottawa                                                                                                          

December 13, 1999

OPEN LETTER OF INVITATION

The Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien                                                                                             

Prime Minister of Canada                                                                                                

Room 309-S, Centre Block                                                                                                    

House of Commons

Dear Mr. Prime Minister:

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food has just completed a whirlwind tour of the Prairie Provinces. I don’t believe anyone could have heard what I did without admitting the crisis in agriculture is a tragedy. The crisis is often understated and doesn’t make good television images, but is devastating the grain producers in my home province of Saskatchewan. I made a promise to farmers to help them communicate their situation to all Canadians—especially those living in the cities. Farmers ask that we understand them and support them in their hour of need. Therefore, I invite you to come and see with your own eyes and hear with your own ears, the depressed conditions that our rural families are experiencing.

Please don’t listen just to your bureaucrats and the politicians that surround you. Do not allow them to shield you from the havoc the depressed commodity prices are wreaking upon rural communities. Come down and meet with the common people.

The programs your government has put in place are terribly inadequate. Not one person that I met thought that the AIDA program was working. The vast majority felt that it should be scrapped and a new program be put in place that distributes the money more fairly. At least $1 billion needs to be allocated for Saskatchewan farmers alone in the next few weeks.

The people of the West feel alienated because of your lack of concern for their situation and their pride in our federation is at an all time low.

Most farmers I met only want to get a fair return for what they produce—high quality food. Many stated plainly that compensation should not be viewed as a subsidy because farmers pay a lot of tax built right into their input costs—fuel, fertilizer, chemicals, machinery, transportation, etc. The federal governments of other countries support their farmers and are not about to stop. Why doesn’t our government defend its most important industry?

Enough though there aren’t many farmers left to vote, please put politics aside. Take time to come and meet the real people in your own country that need the assistance only you can give. You could not ignore what you would see and hear.

Thank you kindly for your consideration of this matter. I hope to see you on the Prairies.

Most sincerely,

Garry Breitkreuz, MP

Yorkton-Melville