James Bezan

[Agriculture, October 15th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the BSE border closure has caused a backlog of livestock across the country, and the need for more slaughter capacity is a must. New start-ups have been trying to access Farm Credit Canada's venture investment fund to start their operations. Many producers are skeptical as to whether the government's new loan loss reserve will entice lenders to invest in slaughter plants.

If the government's loan loss program does not work to expand plants or induce new start-ups, will the government commit to direct financing of new and expanding plants in every region of the country to deal with our backlog of livestock?

[Agriculture, October 12th, 2004]

Mr. Chair, just to follow up, the deadline is approaching, and not because they do not have their plan in place. They have a good plan. They have an opportunity to buy a plant in the U.S. and move it up here. The deadline is on the offer to purchase. If they do not have their financing in place, they will miss out on an excellent opportunity. Their lender agrees with the plan but wants the loan loss program. Since it has been announced, their lender says, “We want that loan loss to back it up”.

This operation needs to have this by the 15th of the month. We are only a few days away and still there is no application. We are going to miss out on an excellent opportunity to build a new plant in Manitoba.

[Agriculture, October 12th, 2004]

Mr. Chair, the hon. member across the way was talking about SRMs and how it has become necessary for us to remove SRMs in our food processing systems.

Because of the SRM criteria, we essentially have had to go to designating plants as being either for youthful animals or for mature animals. In Manitoba, we have a lack of processing capabilities and we have a group of producers who want to take those initial steps toward setting up a plant to handle the higher risk cattle, the mature cattle. They are right now in the final stages of getting their plans off the ground, but unfortunately they have not been able to get an application to the loan loss reserve program, purportedly by the government.

I want to know where the application forms are and when we can expect to see them. We have some tight deadlines coming down on this operation. Rancher's Choice Beef Co-op needs to have its financial plans in place by the middle of the month. I just want to ask the hon. member from the government side where those forms are.

[Agriculture, October 12th, 2004]

Mr. Chair, in his speech the hon. member talked about the isolation, or that the Quebec cow herd should not have been roped into the same category as the rest of Canada since the BSE crisis broke out in Alberta. There is one thing I want to acknowledge. I want to thank the Quebec industry. Cattle feeders in Quebec have bought a lot of cattle in Manitoba, especially this fall and last fall. Thanks to the generosity of the provincial programs that Quebec has, that has enabled those producers to come to Manitoba, where we do not have a lot of support, and outbid local producers in Manitoba and the rest of the provinces for those animals and to take them back to Quebec.

With all these animals moving from western Canada into Quebec, we have a huge migration of animals back and forth. I would like to know how he feels this might have impacted the overall health status of their own herd.

[Agriculture, October 12th, 2004]

Mr. Chair, I just want to follow up on the comment by the parliamentary secretary about how much this has cost the industry. He tried to paint the picture.

From my own personal experience as a cattle producer and from talking to friends and fellow producers in my area, I know that the losses on the farm at the primary producer level have been in that $300 to $400 per head loss. In my case it was over $43,000. The amount of money that I was able to get through support programs, which is also in comparison to other people in my area, was only around $45 a head. It is nothing compared to the financial stress and loss that the industry is going through right now. We have to look at why programs are not working and why the money is not getting to the producers.

The industry asked for a cash advance. I want to know why our government decided to go ahead and do a cash advance through the CAIS program when most producers, myself included, do not believe the program is a viable program, one that will be there in the long term and one that will provide the mechanisms to get the money out of the system.

I want to know why the government did not look at a different way to deliver money. Money flowed a lot easier through some of the other programs. CAISP is administratively burdensome. It is very long in the process and producers are still waiting on 2003 money, never mind having an advance on 2004. If the government really wants constructive criticism, the CAIS program is a key case in point. The government needs to take a hard look at other ways it can deliver cash advances.

[Agriculture, October 8th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, today I would like to address the devastation felt by ranchers and farmers across Canada.

BSE has negatively affected farm and ranch families and has impacted all the towns and small businesses in my riding of Selkirk--Interlake. Producers have not been able to keep up with bill payments since the BSE crisis began and many face bankruptcy if prices do not rise.

I would like to pay tribute to those trying to improve the situation. I would like to thank the Manitoba Cattle Producers Association for its work on the BSE file. I would especially like to thank the board of directors of Rancher's Choice Beef Co-op, which has worked diligently to establish a new beef packing plant in Manitoba.

Finally, I would like to thank the Leader of the Official Opposition for talking to agriculture lenders and urging them to have patience and understanding in this time of crisis on the farm.

[Agriculture, October 7th, 2004]

Mr. Chair, yes, I believe we need to remove these barriers. It does not concern me as a producer. I believe most producers would say that they would like to see a good two-way trade. That will help cultivate the discussion to opening the border totally for live animal trade across the border.

[Agriculture, October 7th, 2004]

Mr. Chair, I was disappointed with the Speech from the Throne. The mention of agriculture was relegated to three letters and one word. I believe that this issue is so important that we need to be debating it and it needs to be the foremost priority of the government.

I encourage the members across the way to urge their cabinet members to ensure that this issue becomes a first agenda item in every committee meeting and in every cabinet meeting so that we can ensure we are addressing the needs of this industry from coast to coast.

[Agriculture, October 7th, 2004]

Mr. Chair, I have not yet heard exactly what the feeder set-aside program will look like for the Province of Manitoba. That is part of the problem. Every province may change the programs to some degree, and they pick and choose in what portions they want to participate. I have a concern that we must ensure that these programs are available to every producer across the country.

In the event that feeder set-aside did come into play in Manitoba, I have a concern that the way it is working right now on the slaughter cattle, it has pitted producer against producer. They are bidding against each other as to who can keep the cattle the longest and the cheapest. I think that is an unfortunate way to run a program. I would much prefer to see programs that would flow cash in a way that would help stabilize the industry for all producers.

I know that there will be much debate and discussion over the next coming days and months about the various programs. Until Manitoba steps up to the plate and we see what it will put into its plans, I will reserve some of those comments.

[Agriculture, October 7th, 2004]

Mr. Chair, I rise to speak in the House for the first time and I too would like to thank the confidence bestowed upon me by the great people of Selkirk--Interlake.

I am a cattle producer. My riding is heavily dependent upon cattle production as well as the other ruminant industries. There are elk herds, bison operations, and even goats and sheep. Everyone has been affected dramatically by the BSE closure. The livestock industry in my area has sent me here to be its voice and I plan to be a very strong voice.

My children will have a future in this industry. That is why I came here. It is to ensure that the next generation can really be excited about what is left for them in agriculture. We as a government have a responsibility to fix this problem, fix it quick, and ensure that everything is in place for the next generation and generations to come.

The ranch and farm families in Selkirk--Interlake and across this country have been devastated by what has happened. When the border first shut down, everyone was worried. That worry turned into anger and that anger turned into desperation. Now that desperation is turning into depression. It is the responsibility of the government to look at this whole issue and ensure that this desperation does not slide any deeper.

I have people in my riding who are talking about getting right out of the industry and doing some drastic things to their herds of animals and to themselves. I do not like listening to that. We must recognize the fact that this is a major issue. It seems that we are not getting a lot of attention from the media, but I am really concerned that it can be as dramatic as the dirty thirties were to the farming industry at that time.

This has escalated into hurting businesses in my riding. It used to be that farmers would walk in and buy boxes of bolts and nails. All they can afford to do now is buy a few bolts and nails to fix up their operations. We must ensure that we can flow the money into that economy through the farmers so that they can pay their bills and encourage the businesses that support them.

I am really concerned about our rural infrastructure. If we are not flowing monies into our communities to help out the farmers and to carry on those businesses, once those businesses end, no one is going to be there to pick up the pieces.

The municipalities in my riding are also greatly concerned. We have a situation where municipalities do not believe they are going to be able to collect the taxes this year from the farmers in order to carry on with their own infrastructure programs and the services that they provide for our communities.

One of the issues that we have in Manitoba is a lack of slaughter capacity. We have an organization called Rancher’s Choice Beef Co-op. I have raised this before with the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and with his parliamentary secretary. We must ensure that we can encourage the growth of the packing industry. Rancher's Choice Beef Co-op is trying to do that. It is under some tight deadlines in getting its project off the ground. It is trying to buy a plant in the United States and move into Manitoba. It has until the middle of the month to come through with the money. The Province of Manitoba has stepped up and provided some funding. It has gone first to the Farm Credit Canada capital venture fund to get funding. Unfortunately it was rejected because it was a new start-up.

It has the loan lost program, but there is no application or way for it to access those funds. It has been told that it could be the end of the month before it is available. That is too late.

One final issue that I want to bring forward deals with having a level playing field. We must ensure that all producers, wherever they are located in the provinces, have the same access to all the program funding that is available during these desperate times. If producers are in a have not province like Manitoba, where the province has not stepped up with all the funds yet, they are at a great disadvantage compared to the producers in other provinces like Alberta.

In conclusion, I am an optimist. I believe that out of all desperate situations and out of all adversity the resilience of our producers will provide opportunities. We must ensure that we provide the mechanisms so that the industry will recover.