Mr. Speaker, many Canadian farmers are worried that they will not be able to feed their families or keep their farms. Farm commodity prices have collapsed and many farmers' 1998 income will only be 25% of what it was two years ago. Yet the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and this government continue to say “Don't worry”.
This government refuses to acknowledge that there is a problem. The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food continues to state that the net income stabilization account will be sufficient to address producers' concerns. The minister must know that NISA accounts will not even cover farm expenses. We must begin to discuss solutions to this emergency today. We cannot afford to wait until producers are forced off the land.
I call on the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to admit the problem and admit that his safety net program is inadequate to deal with this crisis. I call on this minister to sit down and discuss real solutions to the emergency. The minister can start tomorrow when we start considering international trade issues at the agriculture committee.