Mr. Speaker, if this government and this minister took it seriously, two years ago they could have been looking at support programs, not now when it is a full-blown crisis. The criteria that the minister talks about is money being put into the farmers' pockets. Unfortunately cash will not flow until March 1999.
Is the minister prepared to change the criteria and put cash in farmers' pockets this year so that the farmers can have an early Christmas present and get back on the land this spring?