OPEN LETTER TO THE FEDERAL MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE

September 10, 2004

The Hon. Andy Mitchell, P.C., M.P.

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Room 157, East Block

House of Commons

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0A6

Dear Mr. Mitchell:

I am writing to follow up on my letter to you dated August 24, 2004, regarding recent frost damage on Canadian farms and the inadequacies of the CAIS program to deal with this latest crisis.

Freezing temperatures covered nearly forty per cent of the Western Canadian grain belt this past August 20^th, and many crops were hit by a second frost on September 6^th, 2004.  While the full extent of crop damage will not be known until harvest is complete, the Canola Growers’ Association says it will result in a minimum half-billion dollar loss.  The Canadian Wheat Board further predicts the size of Canada’s combined harvest of wheat and five other crops may be reduced by as much as ten
per cent.

The frosts already have devastated many prairie farmers who have faced a very bleak crop year that began with a wet spring and has continued with cold temperatures throughout the summer months.  Farmers who have encountered two years of drought, BSE, and now frost, are under tremendous financial strain.  Bank accounts are drained, bankers are knocking on the doors of farm families, and now harvest earnings are being slashed.  The effects of our farm producers’ financial burdens are far reaching and, in my riding, these ramifications are being felt in every village, town and city.

Farmers need to be assured that there will be assistance to help them through these tragic times.  CAIS, which is supposed to be an avenue of support for our producers, has been not only ineffective but also costly to many farmers.  Changes need to be made.  The program is currently not farm-gate friendly.  The complexity of CAIS and its application process has deterred many, while other farmers have paid $500 in accounting fees only to be told they will not qualify for the program payout.  The deposit required by farmers wishing to access a CAIS account is also forcing many to opt out.  Farm families simply do not have the extra cash lying around.  Others do not want to borrow funds for a program that may never trigger a worthwhile payment.

While some producers have forged ahead and opened a CAIS account, the time it takes to process these applications is unacceptable.  Indeed, I have had constituents wait 60 days, and some 80 to 90 days, to find out if they even qualify for CAIS – all the while wondering if they will have enough money to buy groceries to feed their families.  Moreover, I have heard about concerns with the margin formula being used to calculate the payments of those who do qualify.  Farmers have received much lower amounts than expected because of this formula.

The situation on Canadian farms today is dire, and the severity of this issue must be addressed.  I urge you to hear the pleas of our producers:  offer a program that is viable to farmers by either improving the existing CAIS program or by implementing a new program.  The compounding farm crisis re-enforces the need for an immediate examination of the CAIS guidelines. Many producers simply cannot afford to wait for a future review.  A half-billion dollar loss due to the recent frost will be felt not only within Canada’s agriculture industry, but throughout the Canadian economy.  If our farmers suffer, so too does Canada.

Since the Prime Minister is unwilling to reinstate the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food before Parliament resumes in October– a committee that would provide Members of Parliament on all sides of the House an opportunity to develop concrete short-, medium-, and long-term solutions to the BSE crisis and frost situation -- I am compelled to write this open letter to convey to you the severity of the prairie farm situation.

I thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Garry Breitkreuz, M.P.

Yorkton-Melville

cc. The Hon. Ralph Goodale, M.P., Minister of Finance