Mr. Speaker, our concerns on this subject were increased during the clause by clause debate in committee. The chairman of the FCC indicated that FCC could consider taking possession of land in the government's yet to be announced plans to facilitate the intergenerational transfer of farmland. As a mother who has lost two sons from the farm, I am very concerned about this.
The FCC and the government should have no objections to the motion because the FCC has stated, in testimony before the committee, that it is not FCC's intention to become a landholder. The FCC has also testified that it works to ensure that land is sold at prevailing market prices and that FCC does not influence land values. I know in my own riding that it does.
Motion No. 2 reads:
That Bill C-25, in Clause 5, be amended by replacing lines 32 and 33 on page 2 with the following:
“that complement but do not directly compete with those available from the private sector, or that complement but do not duplicate those provided by other publicly owned institutions;”
The motion is designed to ensure that the federal government does not actively compete with private financial institutions, such as credit unions and the banks.
During the committee review of Bill C-25, representatives of Canada's credit unions indicated that the Farm Credit Corporation currently actively competes for business. I know it does in my own riding. One witness testified that his credit union lost a customer because the FCC dropped its loan rate after learning of the rate offered by the credit union. The expansion of the FCC's powers would make this active competitive behaviour much more likely.
We are also concerned that the expanded powers of the FCC would simply duplicate the existing authority of other public financial institutions ,such as the Business Development Bank which, as we all know, does not have a good track record. The motion would ensure that the FCC's new powers would not duplicate the authority and problems of the BDC.
Motion No. 1 reads:
That Bill C-25, in Clause 5, be amended by replacing lines 12 to 18 on page 2, with the following:
“services and products to farming operations and to those small and medium-sized businesses in rural Canada that are businesses related to farming. The primary focus of the activities of the Corporation shall be on farming operations.”
This motion is designed to address one of our most serious concerns with Bill C-25; that the corporation could lose its focus on providing services to farmers because of its involvement in off-farm businesses.
According to the current wording of the bill, the FCC could loan money to agriculture businesses, no matter how large or lucrative. For example, the Farm Credit Corporation could give a loan to the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool if the government concluded that this was the direction in which they wanted to go. The motion would ensure that any services offered to non-farm operations would only be given to small and medium sized businesses and not large corporations.
The government and the FCC should not object to the motion because they have repeatedly stated that they have no interest in providing financial services to large corporations.
I ask members sitting opposite to look at our motions and, on behalf of the rural residents in my riding of Saskatoon—Rosetown—Biggar, to respect our opinion as farm people from western Canada.
