Ottawa

October 20, 2000
OPEN LETTER

Hon. Lyle Vanclief
Minister of Agriculture
Room 207, Confederation Building
House of Commons

Dear Mr. Vanclief,

Subject: Farm Income Crisis

Over the last number of months, anyone closely monitoring the state of the farm economy and its effect on producers and rural communities, could see that it is not good; in fact, this could be the worst year many farmers have faced in the last couple of decades.

Grain prices have not rebounded, as you are well aware. Foreign subsidies in the United States and in Europe are still the main reasons grain and oilseed prices remain extremely low. Input costs for farmers also continue to rise. Recent reports indicate that fertilizer has gone up from about $215 per tonne to $240 per tonne since the spring, and as energy prices increase, fertilizer costs will continue to rise.

On numerous occasions we have asked your government to address the problems in agriculture and still we see little support for our farmers.

The government could help farmers by reducing the taxes on farm inputs such as chemical, fertilizers and fuel. Why do you refuse to address this area? It is estimated your taxes on farm fuels cost farmers $100 million each year. You are the only government in Canada that taxes farm fuels. Why do you continue to overtax the people who put the food on your table every day?

The user fees farmers are charged also create a financial burden. Those user fees add an additional $137 million to farmers’ costs each year. Even the Auditor General of Canada stated that the user fees are excessive. This is just another form of taxation by your government.

A financial disaster assistance program (AIDA) was developed to help farmers through these tough times, but it fails to deliver any assistance. Only 42% of the money in the AIDA program has been delivered to farmers in need. The program is also a bureaucratic nightmare. In the provinces where the federal government operates the program, only 7% of the 1999 applications have been processed. This is unacceptable. What are you going to do to speed up the processing rate for the 1999 AIDA applications?

You said this program would be bankable; however, I still have not come across one individual who has been able to take his AIDA application to a bank or creditors and tell them this is how much support he will be receiving. Because this program has so much bureaucratic red tape, farmers have no way of knowing whether or not they qualify for assistance. At the end of this month, most farmers’ bills will come due. How are they supposed to make informed decisions if they have no idea of whether or not they are receiving support from AIDA?

Another concern I have is your plans to scale back the support for farmers next year. A recent Statistics Canada report says we lost 22,000 farmers on the prairies last year. How many more farmers do we have to loose before you realize your programs are not working and need to be enhanced not scaled back?

The farming situation is very bleak right now. Producers want to know what the government is going to do to support them through this tough time. I would also like to know what your plans are for the future of farming in Canada.

Sincerely,

Garry Breitkreuz, MP

Yorkton - Melville

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