Mr. Speaker, this budget leaves farmers reeling in western Canada. It has the effect of a hurricane on agriculture. It will leave a trail of destruction and devastation throughout rural Canada.
It will cost rural families one-third of their net income and one-third the value of their land. Farmers work hard to put food on our tables and only ask to be treated fairly. The Liberal government responds by attacking farmers with ruthless cuts.
The minister of agriculture has betrayed rural Canadians by taking away the Crow benefit, reducing dairy subsidies by 30 per cent and abandoning more rail lines.
Farmers are now trapped between dwindling incomes and little prospect of selling their farms. The treatment the government has shown to rural Canada is unforgivable and will cause
permanent damage to what was once the proud breadbasket of this land. This is a devastating budget for western Canadians and a shameful day for a Liberal government that promised more.