Thanks, William.
I'm going to talk a little bit about some of the solutions we're proposing. A national income support program with regional flexibility will provide grains and oilseeds producers with long-term income stability and predictability. Companion programming will provide a long-term bankable solution for farmers, shared costs and risks by government and farmers, and farmers will be paid only when the average world price falls below a target price.
The next slide shows what happens in the CAIS program and why it doesn't work for producers. These numbers are Ontario numbers from 1999 to 2006. It shows that most farms, 97% of the farms, had declining margins in that timeframe. These are grains and oilseeds producers, and CAIS is based on production margins. When margins are declining, eventually producers can't get payout from the CAIS program, so we're proposing a different solution. We're proposing companion programs. These companion programs need to be designed with input from farmers, they need to have regional flexibility to meet unique regional needs of local farmers, and regional focuses will avert WTO challenges.
The benefits of a companion program: it eliminates the waste and ad hoc distribution of agricultural funds, and agricultural funds will be targeted to reach farmers who need income support. In Ontario, this means a risk management program for grains and oilseeds. In Quebec, this would mean support for their current ASRA program.
Some of the features of the program are as follows. It's an insurance-based model. Risk management programs would be funded by farmer premiums in both levels of government. Producers usually supply one-third of the total funding; federal and provincial governments would invest the remaining two-thirds based on a 60-40 formula. Funds would only be distributed when needed rather than on an ad hoc basis.
One of the benefits is that it provides a long-term solution: it offers predictability. Canadians depend on us for reliable, safe food. We are a key component of the Canadian economy. It will slow the flight of farm families off the farm and will continue contributing to the economic prosperity of rural communities.
On March 19 there was a budget introduced, and it was a step in the right direction for producers. It was $600 million to a contributory-style savings account. This is a change to the top tier of CAIS. This is still a stabilization program and not necessarily an income support program. The other $400 million would be based on cost of production support. This is more of an income support program that would help producers in the plight they're in, but it needs to be delivered in the proper program to be effective. There are also incentives for renewable fuel and also changes to the capital gains tax in that budget. But these are more long-term solutions along with, say, changes to the WTO. What producers need now, though, is an income support program.
There's certainly national support for the program. There is the Canadian Federation of Agriculture: “The CFA is committed to the principle of federally/provincially funded Companion Programs that offer regional flexibility to fill the gaps not addressed by CAIS and other national business risk management programs.”
It also has support from the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan: “Companion programs are tools that should be used to level the playing field in Canada with respect to regional issues without creating regional disadvantages”. That's from Ken McBride.
Also, from the UPA in Quebec, there was the statement that: “In order to offset the impact of the Farm Bill, the Federal government absolutely has to make funds available to finance national companion programs that can be used to meet regional needs.” That's from Laurent Pellerin, their president.
The Ontario-Quebec Grain Farmers Coalition looks forward to working with the government to develop innovative support programs that meet the diverse needs of Canadian farmers.
Thank you.