Mr. Chair, these are political issues and they have to be. A lot of people are concerned with the future of agriculture. There is no doubt that it is in good hands with this government in play.
The member talked a lot about free trade, but it also has to be fair trade. We are here to ensure that country of origin labelling is fair and does not negatively affect our producers, which we are scared it will.
The problem is the frustration of the unknown. We were able to work with the former administration to get the rules changed to combine two labels and make that much more palatable for the Canadian industry. Since that time, the new administration has decided to go a bit further voluntarily, but said that after six months if we did not measure up to this, it would make it mandatory.
That is where the concern is. That is why we have launched the second challenge, just to address that.
The member mentioned our colleague, the member for Selkirk—Interlake, who is a tireless crusader for the livestock sector. He was a cow-calf operator and so on. He has had some tough times lately. His wife was back in for another operation. Fortunately the tumour was benign, and she is at home recovering. I want to wish them all the best as they move forward. I know everybody agrees with that.
There is a tremendous demand around the country for Canadian product. The member opposite also talked about some of the trials and tribulations we faced due to the system in the U.S. with our calf. As opposition, we sought intervener status in that situation. We were granted status, and we were down there to make the points we needed to make.
We are making changes, too, as we move forward to financing for young farmers. There has not been any substantive programming out there. Farm Credit Canada, a division of Agriculture Canada and an arm's-length crown corporation, has a package that is quite good and works well, but it does do not have the depth that is needed. It is looking at doing more and more. I have had those discussions with Greg Stewart.
We are in the process of making changes to the old Farm Improvement and Marketing Cooperatives Loans Act . The name is new and the programming is new. About $1 billion over the next few years will be available to new and beginning farmers. It has never been there before.
We have cut the down payment to 10% from 20%. We have expanded the loan values from $250,000 cap to $500,000, which will help with succession planning. The member also rightly points out that we have changed the capital gains allowance so that dad can take a larger capital gains exemption, sell out to the son, or daughter, or son-in-law or daughter-in-law and he or she can make use of the new money that is available under FIMCLA .
It is a good all around program. It is the type of thing we see to backstop the future of farming. Agriculture, like any business, is a cash flow business.
Mr. Chair, you know that. You have had boots on the ground and farms in your area as do we. Farmers will tell us that they need is access to credit. They are quite happy to take on debt. It has to be good debt. We have done that with them with cash advances, where the first $100,000 is interest free.
Farming is in great shape in our great country. Under our guidance and working with them, we will continue to build a stronger agricultural sector.