Thank you very much.
I won't take much of your time. I will read from some notes that I have passed to the clerk for later translation.
There are two items we wish to discuss with you today. One is crop loss from wildlife, and the second is Transport Canada and agriculture in Delta.
On the first issue, crop losses from wildlife are not a new issue in B.C., or across this country. There have been several programs running in B.C. during agricultural policy framework 1, which is now coming to an end. Most have been designed as stop-gap measures and pilot projects, and they have been quite successful. The one we work with in Delta is the Delta forage compensation program, and it is only one of many within the province. There are several programs dealing with elk and deer damage in the Peace country, northern B.C., the Kootenays, etc., along with the Comox wildlife forage program as well.
APF 2, to my knowledge, has no provision to continue or enhance the work that commenced under APF 1. Those farms that have been able to see some type of limited compensation will cease to see any as of March next year. This is a concern to the DFI, the Delta Farmers' Institute, unless there is some provision to continue and enhance those programs.
Damages from wildlife amount to several hundreds of thousands of dollars annually in the province, and if the true cost of crop losses was known, the amount would be even greater. Most of the programs are barely scratching the surface in regard to compensation payments.
As society continues to demand the protection of environmental values, including wildlife, it is essential for society to find resolutions between the protection of wildlife and the ability to recover ag losses from wildlife damage. It is an issue that must be dealt with fairly, and it must be dealt with immediately. There are farmers who are suffering as a result of this particular issue.
The second issue I want to talk about is port development at Roberts Bank, in Delta, B.C. It is a reality, and change is very evident. New highway and rail capacity to move goods and services is to be built to service the port expansion. More road traffic and more rail traffic is the offshoot of that increased economic activity—activity that benefits Canada as a whole.
New or expanded conveyance routes, be they rail or road, will be at the expense of prime farmland in Delta, an area generating millions of dollars of food or feed products. We understand that Transport Canada has offered to fund some overpasses for rail lines leading to Deltaport and through various communities within B.C. The Transport Canada options were released to us on or about March 7, with a request for a response by April 2, a date that we could not meet due to other commitments.
Transport Canada did not undertake any discussion with the agricultural communities as to impacts before they released their proposed options. Indeed, it is possible that none of their options may be satisfactory to the farming community in Delta.
Their options fail to understand that the economics of farming are just as important to the individual farmer as they are to any other business today, including railways that move goods and services. Economics drives our society. We know that. Economics also drives the agricultural sector of our society, right down to the farmer who actually grows the food and feed products that we consume.
So why is it that we have no or little input into decisions that may affect our ability to increase our economics--all at the expense of others who wish to increase theirs? Elongated crossings due to larger and more trains do nothing to reduce our costs, but the railways gain. The businesses handling those delivered goods and services gain, but the farmer loses once more.
It is time for everyone to understand that farming is a business that must fine-tune its economic base to gain or increase its profitability, just like every other business. As we know, businesses that cannot fine-tune those economics will fail.
We believe we have to be part of the larger decision as to where those overpasses are placed—not just to service residential and industrial areas, but to ensure that the movement of our fresh produce is not held up; and to ensure that our homes and business buildings are not left subject to risk, such as fire, when fire trucks or emergency vehicles have to wait an extra five to ten minutes to get across a railbed.
It's time to recognize that agriculture, to gain and retain profitability, must not be shunted aside in major decisions. Transport Canada must work with the ag community in Delta and, indeed, other ag communities in B.C. that may be affected by such undertakings, all for the economic benefit of Canada, not just B.C. or for the municipality of Delta.
That's our submission. Thank you.