I'm not a farmer, and I've been trying to learn this file over the last two years, but one of the complaints I've heard so many times about CAIS is that it's totally unpredictable. You fill in all the applications and send them in, and the comparison that was used is that when you do your personal income taxes, so long as you fill in all the correct information, it spits out a number on the bottom that you either owe so much or you're going to get back so much. And that's subject to some adjustment, once you send it in to Revenue Canada. But the bottom line is that you can pretty well predict.... With CAIS, unfortunately, because some of the variables are out of your own control, no matter how good a job you do or how smart an accountant you are, it is actually impossible.
I had a farmer recently tell me that in 2004 he had what he felt was a very good accountant and the accountant told him he would be getting back somewhere between $13,000 and $42,000, and it turned out he got a cheque for $8,000. So that's very frustrating.
Can you tell me whether the changes being discussed for CAIS or the new program are going to address that issue, that the concern I'm raising is being addressed? Are they going to try to come up with something that is more predictable, so that when a farmer is partway through the year...? You're even talking about interim payments, but I don't understand how you would have any idea what your interim payment is going to be if you have no way of calculating what your final payment would be.