Mr. Speaker, people often remark about grain farm subsidies, usually not in a very positive manner. What most people are not aware of is the problems faced by grain farmers which are beyond their control.
Since the 1970s provincial and federal governments and the Wheat Board of Canada have supplied 18,000 hopper cars to railways.
In spite of this, some Manitoba elevators have not seen a rail car in over two months. Most elevators are full to capacity and April 1 road restrictions in Manitoba will restrict the movement of grain by farmers.
There are currently 30 ships in Vancouver harbour awaiting grain. These ships get up to $20,000 a day in demurrage charges and this comes out of the farmers' pockets. Some ships have left empty after collecting as much as $350,000 in demurrage charges.
Since the Vancouver port shutdown, western grain farmers have lost approximately $200 million in grain sales and demurrage charges. Canadian farmers cannot afford this and neither can the Canadian economy.