Evidence of meeting #21 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 40th Parliament, 3rd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was need.
As an Individual
The Dairy Farmers of Canada are only now starting to look at policies to control quota price. I think it's time they did that.
As an Individual
I think we need to look at a totally different system that takes agricultural land out of the speculative property market. That way we could purchase land from older farmers and make it accessible to younger farmers, moving it through a charitable organization such as a community land trust. The older farmer would be taxed on the sale, and the younger farmer could... We don't need to own the land, necessarily, as long as we have security. A community land trust model, with a long-term lease, could give us the security without our having to own the land and could give access to people like Erica, who need access to the farming land on a long-term basis but could be paying a lease fee instead of an ownership fee.
Conservative
Randy Hoback Conservative Prince Albert, SK
I understand that. The concern I have with it is, to take the case of the father who is retiring, that this is his retirement, as Peter is saying.
The other concern is that they already do have that tax situation. They have their capital gains exemption of three quarters of a million dollars each. That's $1.5 million for a husband and wife team. So it's already there.
As an Individual
But if that program could buy out a farmer and let that farmer live on the land...
As an Individual
I don't see how you can get around this, unless you're going to ask people to sign some kind of moral code that they're not going to abuse a program that's there, in order to make it more accessible to young entrants. As with any of what's going on, it's based on trust. And it would have to be based on trust going onward as well, with something like that.
There are programs. We have the new entry program here in Nova Scotia. It's interest relief, and it's not very much. But you could do the same thing. You could increase your price by the amount that you know a young farmer is going to get for it, and you would just have to hope that people aren't going to be that low.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
Thank you. Your time has expired.
Mr. Shipley, you have five minutes.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Thanks.
I appreciate everyone's coming out. You have made some great comments and obviously have expressed some concern. With that comes some optimism also in the industry, as we have gone across Canada.
I just have a couple of questions.
Ms. Versteeg, we have Dairy Farmers of Canada—I don't know whether that covers you... I farmed. I was in dairy and I was also in the open market, so I have a bit of a concept of both sides of the marketing position. I know that in Ontario and in Quebec there has been a sort of graduated... They have capped quota; at least in Ontario they've capped it. Nothing is ever all right or all wrong. Right now there are some concerns with availability, for people who need to expand to get hold of it, because it's capped; it's not coming on the market.
The other part that is happening, and it seems to have acquired some really great traction, is a sort of graduated entry program whereby there's an allotment of quota that can go to a beginning farmer to get them started. With that, they get it for a period of time in which they have to start to pay back, but they also have to bring in and make available extra quota for them to get started. It comes to about 35 kilograms, which is about 35 cows that you can milk. Is that something that's available in Nova Scotia?
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
Do you see that as a benefit that would help in getting going? It may give some security, I guess, to your potential lenders.
As an Individual
The problem with it is that you cannot own more than 24 kilograms. So you have a maximum farm size of 36 kilograms, including the 12 that they're going to give you for five years or whatever the period is. It's too small. If you're looking to purchase a farm, you're not looking at a 24-kilogram farm. I don't want to sell or pare the farm down to make it that so that we can buy it, because that's inefficient.
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
One of the things we're heard, which was mentioned here and I think at every meeting we've been at, is about the concern—this is where actually federal government, or levels of government have some impact—over the regulatory process affecting whatever you are growing: apples, beef, grains, or whatever. That is our kind of regulatory process.
I had a motion that went forward and was passed by Parliament that would help to parallel some licensing. The bottom line of it all, and you've mentioned it, is that we have products that come into Canada that are what I call production management tools. They either can use a pesticide or they can use a veterinary medicine on an animal—say in the United States, because it's licensed there—that is not licensed in Canada, and yet it comes across the border and sits on the shelf in direct competition with us. I've heard this from every group as a regulatory issue that we need to help with. I would ask you, if you can, to help me move this along in any way through our bureaucracy right now. I would very much appreciate it.
In Budget 2009 we brought in a Canada Agricultural Loans Act. It was a bilion dollars for five years to help beginning farmers. It could be used by cooperatives in terms of coming together. Has anyone been able to access it, or do you know about it?
As an Individual
I tried to access that program, but wasn't able to for the reason I said earlier, that I didn't own the land, that I had a lease on the land instead.
Conservative
As an Individual
I tried to get into that program or to look at that program, but we got into financial difficulty in 2005, and no bank or lending institution would look at us, so I didn't qualify.
As an Individual
Bev, can I help Erica out a little on the quota thing you mentioned?
In Nova Scotia they've just started what I'd call a lottery. They're going to draw one producer a year to get this free quota. It's a lottery.
Conservative
Conservative
Bev Shipley Conservative Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, ON
I'm not promoting or denying the good or the value. I was just asking whether it had some value in terms of the principle, as much as anything.
How am I doing, Mr. Chair?