Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
The 1995 budget proposed a $1.6 billion ex gratia payment to offset the decline in farmland prices that would result from cutting the Crow benefit. Later the minister made three basic changes to that budget policy by deleting land seeded to forage crops, by deciding to include renters, and by deciding that those renters would pay income tax on their payments.
What was the rationale for these changes and how are these decisions consistent with the original budget allocation?