Mr. Speaker, in recent months I have sat around the kitchen table with farmers and their families who are feeling the real effect and it is extremely painful.
From 1996 to 1997 farm income declined by a whopping 55%. This decline was especially felt in the west where farm net income dropped by 35% in Alberta, 40% in Manitoba and 84% in Saskatchewan. Farm income will likely fall another 40% across the country this year. Like last year, this decline will be felt more severely in the west.
I am dumbfounded as to how the government can deny there is a crisis in light of these statistics, especially in light of the fact that other governments have responded to this problem. The United States has already announced a $6 billion package for agriculture producers. This package includes $3 billion in market loss payments to offset low prices and $2.5 billion in disaster relief for crop loss.
The measures taken by the U.S. are significant for two reasons. First, the U.S. government has not only acknowledged the crisis but has responded to it. Already our government is two steps behind. Second, further subsidization in the U.S. can only worsen the crisis in Canada. It is imperative that the Liberal government deal with the issue of trade distortion and foreign subsidies.
It is also important that the government take these issues seriously. I have little confidence that this government will do that.
This fall when mid-western states began disruptive actions barring the entry of Canadian livestock and grains into the U.S., some government ministers dismissed these actions as election year nonsense.
Election year nonsense was not the problem. Falling commodity prices are at the root of the dispute and they will not disappear after the U.S. election. That is just one small example of the way the agriculture portfolio has been handled over these years.
In each of the three generations of farming in my family there was one or more income crises, although perhaps varying in degrees of intensity. In each case the government went through a period of denial before taking action. This denial stems from fear as the government has never had a comprehensive plan to ensure secure future for the agriculture industry in Canada.
In response to questions about this crisis, the minister of agriculture has repeatedly stated that the net income stabilization account will adequately address the current situation.
NISA was never intended for a crisis of this magnitude. NISA accounts contain an average of only $18,500 per account which is not enough to cover the average fertilizer or chemical bill for even one year.
The program has not had enough time to accumulate adequate funds and the government is partly to blame for this as there were years of delay in making the decision to implement a farm safety net program.
Many businesses will not have enough money to finance the upcoming season and many more will go bankrupt if the crisis is permitted to continue even longer. This is an urgent matter. Measures must be taken now so that farmers can make decisions about the upcoming spring.
As part of its election platform the Liberal government committed to a whole farm safety net program to see farmers through such crises. Now the crisis is here. Nothing has been done and the government is poorly prepared to deal with it.
This government must make modifications to the existing safety net program such as NISA and follow through with promises to develop a whole farm safety net program that includes disaster relief.
The government must also address trade issues. When the world trade agreement was signed in 1994 the intention was to level the global playing field for Canadian farmers. If anything, the playing field has grown steeper with Canada at the bottom of the slope.
Canada is fighting an uphill battle against heavily subsidized American and European producers. American farmers will receive billions of dollars in extra assistance this year. Americans also have emergency aid for natural disasters. In addition, the Americans have income support to offset depressed commodity prices.
According to the Canadian Wheat Board Americans receive $2.68 per bushel in direct subsidies. Meanwhile their competitors in Canada receive a subsidy of less than 40 cents per bushel. This difference is nothing when compared to the difference between Canadian and European subsidies.
European grain farmers receive direct area support payments of $175 per acre just for being farmers. European farmers also receive intervention support that creates floor prices for grain.
OECD's analysis of this situation shows that Canadians have approximately a 10% subsidy, Americans 30% and Europeans 36% to 37%.
Canadians have upheld their commitment to reduce subsidies and have proceeded quicker than required. Now it is the responsibility of the government to address foreign subsidies.
The government must ensure that our foreign competitors are meeting their commitments and trade responsibilities. No one can know how long this crisis will continue or how serious it will become.
Asian economies represent approximately 20% of Canada's agri-food exports and there is no way to know when these economies will recover.
Livestock and grain sectors are the most susceptible to declines in income and will be most severely impacted by the collapse of world commodity markets. Something must be done.
I am truly shocked that the government is so dismissive of an industry so central to our nation's existence. One of the fundamental factors determining the success or very existence of a nation is its ability to feed its people. A country becomes vulnerable once it is dependent on other countries to feed itself.
By allowing American and European competitors to provide unfair advantage to producers through subsidies and refusing to provide additional assistance to farmers, this government is jeopardizing the future of agriculture in Canada.
My colleagues and I are not asking for retaliatory subsidization. Canada has been moving toward production and trade based on competitive advantage, a steady progression we support.
However, global free trade must also be fair trade. At this point Canada is getting the short end of the stick.
I implore the government to address this problem immediately. There are a number of measures that could be taken, including eliminating or placing a moratorium on all cost recovery programs, eliminating the excise tax on farm fuels, improving transportation to help farmers in the long term, introducing general tax reductions for Canadians, and introducing some flexibility to enable the Farm Credit Corporation to deal with the crisis in agriculture.
It is imperative that the government push for reductions to foreign subsidies and for the elimination of trade barriers which continue to depress the prices our producers receive. The first step is acknowledgement of the problem and that has yet to happen.
It is my sincere hope that by the end of the day the government will be able to admit that Canadian farmers are in crisis and that the farm income crisis is an issue worthy of its immediate attention. Ignoring this crisis amounts to jeopardizing the backbone of Canadian society.