NEWS RELEASE

October 8, 2004                                                                                    For Immediate Release

BREITKREUZ SPEAKS UP FOR YORKTON-MELVILLE ON AGRICULTURE CRISIS

“The larger centres in Yorkton-Melville function because of our rural people. When our rural neighbours are hurt financially, everyone feels the pain.”

OTTAWA – Garry Breitkreuz, Member of Parliament for Yorkton-Melville, blasted the Liberal government for ignoring rural Canada.  He gave a voice to everyone affected by the crisis in agriculture during the Throne Speech debate yesterday in the House of Commons.

“BSE is hurting all of our rural communities and beyond. In my riding of Yorkton-Melville, in eastern Saskatchewan, we are seeing businesses take losses like never before,” said Breitkreuz during the debate. “The larger centres in Yorkton-Melville function because of our rural people. When our rural neighbours are hurt financially, everyone feels the pain.”

Now the BSE crisis is being compounded by the August 20th frost.  Farmers are seeing how devastating this frost really was as they harvest their crops.  Indeed, crops that looked so promising earlier in the season are actually much lower in yield and quality than expected.

Since the lone BSE case in May 2003, the Liberal government has done little but hope for the American border to re-open to live cattle exports. That lack of action has left Canada with an overstock of cattle, worthless to producers who have been left to feed the animals through another winter.

“I find it appalling to know that the battle our farmers fight everyday is being done with so little support from this government,” said Breitkreuz. “Despite its significance to the entire Canadian economy, agriculture barely received mention during Tuesday’s Throne Speech. That silence was absolutely deafening to the ears of our producers. Again, rural Canada is being treated as second-class by this government.”

During the Throne Speech debate, Breitkreuz called upon Finance Minister Ralph Goodale to become a strong advocate for agriculture around the Cabinet table.  He asked Goodale to explain his silence and the Liberal government’s silence on the agriculture issue in the Throne Speech and in the speeches following it that outline the government’s direction during this Parliament.  Mr. Goodale avoided answering the question and instead blamed the opposition for the lack of action.

In February, the Conservative Party of Canada proposed a plan to immediately aid the cattle industry and to plan for the future. The Liberal government, however, chose to ignore that plan and has yet to implement a sufficient solution to the ongoing crisis.  “Just like the frost-damaged crops that looked so promising, the Liberal government’s farm programs are, in reality, completely inadequate as frustrated farmers try to access them,” concluded Breitkreuz.

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