37^th Parliament, 3^rd Session
(February 2, 2004 - )

Edited Hansard • Number 019

Thursday, February 26, 2004

Supply

Allotted Day--Agriculture

(10:25)

    Hon. Grant Hill (Macleod, CPC) moved:

(12:10) Hansard Page 1093

    Mr. Garry Breitkreuz (Yorkton—Melville, CPC): Mr. Speaker, if I were to trade places with you for even just a day or two, you would realize how absolutely devastating the BSE crisis is in my riding. Day after day, producers are calling my office. They have done everything they can to possibly save themselves from the devastating effects of this. They have rationed feed. They have sold animals for next to nothing just to pay a few bills. They have cut back on veterinary visits which is harmful to their cattle. They have begged the banks for loans and the banks have said that they cannot lend them any more money because of the uncertainty of the situation and the fact that the government is not coming forward with some kind of announcement of assistance. There is nothing else that they can do.

    Brian Patron is a producer from the Goodeve area in my constituency. He has been told by his bank to give up. He said that the bank told him to go to the Alberta oil patch and work, that there is nothing the bank could do.

    Judy Holod of Langenburg is selling cattle for about half as much as she would have received one year ago.

    Greg Hemmings from Esterhazy said that the difference between selling cattle in December and February is like night and day. That is a matter of two months. In December Mr. Hemmings sold six head and received $6,000. When he sold six more on February 3, he received $1,801.65. The difference in just a couple of months is absolutely staggering.

    We do not realize how the BSE crisis is compounding. On a daily basis it is becoming worse. Producers in Saskatchewan are receiving about half as much for their cattle as they were compared to a year ago.

    Would the member agree that this collapse in the agriculture industry is not only affecting the farmers of the country but it is also affecting Atlantic Canada? Do we not have to do something now and quickly?

    Mr. Peter Stoffer: Mr. Speaker, I thank the hon. member from Saskatchewan for that great question.

    The reality is that coming from Atlantic Canada we know exactly what happened in 1992 to the fishermen in Newfoundland and Labrador when their industry was completely cut out from under them. The farmers on the Prairies especially with BSE concerns are going through the exact same thing.

    What has to happen is that with support from this side of the House the federal government needs to ensure that those people are financially stabilized. Perhaps it could be something similar to TAGS on the east coast. We need to ensure that the families especially in rural Canada have dollars coming in to ensure the survival of their enterprises and their families.

    At the same time we need to work with the United States and other countries to ensure, as my colleagues from Regina—Qu'Appelle and Palliser said, that we operate on the best science. One cow should not bring down the entire industry. We have to get the message out that our beef in Canada is some of the world's best. I know there is nothing better, except for an Atlantic lobster, than good Alberta beef. Put that surf and turf together and we have a meal.

    When we have our dinner tonight we should say a little prayer for the producers and those farmers and their families who sustain us and give us the best quality food in the country.

    As well as financial support, we have to work cooperatively, not just separately, and tell the world that our food is the best in the world and that we have nothing to hide. We should show our support for those families so that years from now the kids on those farms can have a livelihood and can provide sustenance for our children in the future.

[SNIP]

(16:25)  Hansard Page 1131

    Mr. Garry Breitkreuz (Yorkton—Melville, CPC): Mr. Speaker, I have been following the debate all day.

    I have also been attending the agriculture committee meetings that have been taking place regarding the BSE crisis. At the last agriculture committee meeting that I attended, the value added processors that came to the committee were upset with some of the issues surrounding this.

    In probing this further, I point blank asked them, what is the key problem when it comes to resolving this in Canada? They told me that there was a lack of leadership in dealing with this. I asked them what they meant by that? Who is not providing this leadership? The processors said there was only one person in the whole country who could provide that leadership and that is the agriculture minister. It is our government that is responsible for bringing it together.

    They explained that we must bring together the various sectors of the industry. We must have a strong representation at the international negotiations, especially with our American neighbours in promoting beef around the world and developing other markets. They said that is not happening.

    This was an extremely serious indictment of the government when the processors pointed out that there was no real leadership here. We see the Americans defending their farmers. The Canadian government does not do the same.

    The Conservative Party has put forward a proposal. People know that I have been working here in Parliament on the gun registry. People also know that the gun registry has been ballooning now to not just $1 billion but is now approaching the $2 billion mark.

    I would ask the hon. member for Cypress Hills—Grasslands, what kind of support would he like to see farmers getting? What kind of changes should the government be making to our agricultural programs? What positive suggestions has the Conservative Party made regarding farm programs, especially in relation to the BSE crisis? I would appreciate an answer to these questions.

(1630)  

    Mr. David Anderson: Mr. Speaker, the issue of value added is an interesting one. Over the last few years I have found that the leadership on this issue is coming from our small communities. The leadership is coming from local people who have the gumption to get up and get together, and put companies together and go out and do something.

    Unfortunately, these people have waited years for the government to do something and it has not happened.

    Regarding the BSE crisis, there are a couple of places where the government could show some real leadership in this value added area. One area where the government could show leadership is in the area of slaughtering animals and packing. We have sat here for almost a year now. We have last year's group of culled cows that are not marketable. The government has sat and waited. This group of cows is still out there.

    We have now come to the second cycle. We now have two years of culled cows. The government has not taken the initiative and put a couple of plants in place to deal with those culled cows. The government has not insisted that the Canadian fast food companies use those culled cows. The result is that we have two years of culled cows.

    There is also a problem with the feeders. The slaughter companies have decided that they do not know if they can put extra packing lines in place. They do not know what the future is and how long those lines would be operational. The slaughter companies are hesitant about investing money when the government has not given them any direction about how long they will have to wait to recover their investment. These are a couple of areas.

    We must move those culled cows out of the system. It looks as though we will end up having to rationalize those animals. I do not think there is anyone who wants that to happen. If it happens, it will be because the government has completely failed to show leadership over the last year.

    It would be a terrible situation if we lost the market for those younger animals as well. One fact that has not been mentioned too much today is that the border is still open to animals that are 30 months and under, as long as they are packed and in boxes.

    There is an opportunity for us to move some of that beef through the slaughter plants, freeze it and ship it to the United States. We have a market for it. However, we need that extra slaughter capacity and we need it quickly, or we will lose that market. We will lose our feedlots. Those people are on the edge of a bad situation right now.