Garry Breitkreuz, Member of
Parliament for Yorkton - Melville, has heard from farmers and has decided to
take action. "During the month of January, I hosted eight meetings,
attended a farm rally at Sask Place in Saskatoon and I heard the concerns of
farmers. Now it is time the government acted on those concerns. At each of my
town hall meetings a questionnaire was circulated asking for direction on the
farm crisis and other issues affecting agriculture. The responses are very
helpful in communicating this crises to government and determining the action
needed to sustain hope for farmers," said Breitkreuz.
On the topic of immediate financial assistance, 100% of the farmers told
Breitkreuz that AIDA is a flop and 94% thought it should be replaced with a more
broad-based payment. "The government is sitting on over 1 billion dollars
in the AIDA program. It's time they let go of the purse strings and get that
money out to the farmers who need it to put in a crop this spring,"
Breitkreuz stated.
Breitkreuz also asked farmers about their views on other agriculture topics:
- Endangered Species Legislation:
"Farmers have expressed concern
that if new legislation is enacted, there will not be adequate compensation
for land that may be forced out of production to save an endangered species.
As a result, I will be fighting to ensure protecting endangered species
includes adequate compensation for landowners."
- Genetically Modified Foods:
"Farmers are split on whether there
should be mandatory labeling on GMOs, but what they seem to agree on is the
need for more information to get out to producers and the public about the
safety of these foods. I will be continuing to push for more research on this
issue to ensure that GMOs are safe and that our farmers are not hurt by
unsubstantiated claims against GMOs."
- Value Added Processing:
"Farmers have told me that it is time the
CWB allowed them the freedom to make their own choices. 94% thought the CWB
needs to change its policy to allow farmer owned value-added facilities to
develop on the prairies. In this time of declining farm incomes, this is a way
for producers to vertically integrate their operations. Capturing additional
profits from processing would help eliminate some of the risk of the volatile
commodity markets. It is unbelievable that in Canada our farmers cannot choose
to process their own grain. I will fight vigorously to give our farmers this
choice."
- Grain Transportation:
"Farmers have not endorsed the Kroeger
report but they do agree on the need for joint running rights on the rail beds
and increased competition between the grain companies and rail companies. That
is why any legislation changing grain transportation must ensure increased
competition. What was interesting, out of all the questionnaires returned,
over 1/3 of them never answered the questions about the Kroeger report. Many
farmers wrote comments such as "I don't know enough about it to
answer". There is still a lack of information about the Kroeger report
and his suggestions for change. Farmers should become more informed of his
plans because the impact of these changes on their operations will be
significant.
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For more information please call:
Yorkton: 1-800-667-6606
Ottawa: (613) - 992-4394
Email:
