May 10, 1999                                                                                                                           For Immediate Delivery

LIBERALS AGRICULTURE INCOME DISASTER ASSISTANCE PROGRAM IS A DISASTER

"Agriculture Minister blames farmers for the problems with AIDA"

Ottawa – Official Opposition Agriculture Critic, Garry Breitkreuz had the opportunity to question Agriculture Minister, Lyle Vanclief, during the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture, about his mishandling of the farm income crisis. During the exchange Breitkreuz pointed out the program itself is a disaster. "When I questioned him about how many producers have applied for AIDA he said so far 850 applications had been received from Manitoba and Saskatchewan. According to the Canadian Wheat Board there are about 110,000 farmers in the Prairie Provinces. If I were the Agriculture Minister I would not be bragging about the fact that less than 1% of prairie producers have applied for the program," Breitkreuz stated.

The Minister promised that NISA and AIDA would be sufficient to get farmers through this farm income crisis throughout the committee meeting. "He seems to think the problems in agriculture have been solved but we know the farm income crisis is far from over. Agriculture Canada has indicated that, in 1998, net farm income in Manitoba and Saskatchewan fell, from 1997 levels, by 34% and 40% respectively. In 1999 Agriculture Canada is forecasting a fall of 40% and 80% in Manitoba and Saskatchewan in 1999. In Saskatchewan that means a farmer who made $20,000 in 1997 made only $12,000 in 1998 and will probably only make $2,400 in 1999," said Breitkreuz.

Breitkreuz also questioned the Agriculture Minister about why so few farmers are qualifying for Assistance under AIDA. "I still have not heard from one producer who has qualified for AIDA assistance. Part of the problem is that a farmers’ income has to fall even further then the 30% that has been stated by the Agriculture Minister. I have had producers who thought they had qualified for compensation because their income fell 30% but then the farmer has to consider their NISA payment. Because the program is tied to NISA most producers will have to see their incomes fall by almost 40% before any compensation is awarded." The Agriculture Minister never responded to these concerns raised by Breitkreuz.

The Agriculture Minister seemed to think farmers were the reason AIDA is not working properly. "Mr. Vanclief reiterated over and over that not enough farmers were applying which is why the program is not proving to be affective. The Minister doesn’t realize that the complication, timing, cost and most importantly the farmer’s inability to qualify are the main reasons why AIDA is disaster. I am going to continue to push this government to create a real safety net program that producers can count on when problems occur that are out of their control," concluded Breitkreuz.

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