Mr. Speaker, I commend the hon. member for raising the question about the crisis in farm income.
The minister of agriculture is very concerned about the farm income situation. When the official opposition requested a debate in the House of Commons on farm income, it was the minister who led the debate.
Further to the debate in the House of Commons the minister convened a meeting on November 4 with industry leaders, provincial ministers and farm leaders. At that time officials were instructed to accelerate the process to consider both short term and long term solutions to the expected farm income declines in 1998 and 1999. Federal and provincial deputy ministers of agriculture met on November 5 and 6 and are actively developing a full range of options that could be considered.
As well, the industry advisory group on safety nets met on November 10 and will be sharing with the minister and officials its view on alternative actions that could be undertaken by governments including the possible approaches in designing a national disaster program.
We have worked co-operatively with our provincial colleagues and industry players on developing the current safety net system. We will continue to work co-operatively on making the system even better. This is a key priority for the minister of agriculture. He is diligent in his efforts to ensure that farmers across Canada have the necessary tools to manage price and income fluctuations that are beyond their control.
The minister is committed to acting as quickly as possible but not rashly, irresponsibly or prematurely. The necessary tools are being developed to improve the effectiveness of the farm safety net system as quickly as possible, but I am sure the hon. member will agree that inequitable, ineffective and unaffordable ad hoc measures are not the answer.
Action must be taken quickly, however. It is important to take the time necessary to ensure the actions taken are the best ones for farmers and for all Canadians.