Mr. Speaker, I commend the hon. member for Fundy—Royal for his words this evening.
I represent the riding of Kings—Hants. In that riding is the Annapolis Valley, an area known for its agriculture nationally and internationally. Nova Scotia has had two consecutive years of the worst droughts in over 50 years. Annapolis Valley has suffered dramatically based on weather conditions.
This is one issue that has affected our industry in our province dramatically. Currently there is federal-provincial finger pointing on this issue. At a time when it requires decisive action, at a time when we should be helping farmers, there is finger pointing between the feds and the provinces on the issue. The province of Nova Scotia is blaming the federal government. The federal Liberals are blaming the Liberals in Nova Scotia. It is not a very effective situation.
When we look on a national level, net farm income is down 55%. In 1998 cash receipts for instance in western Canada are down terribly. My hon. colleague from Fundy—Royal spoke of the pork industry. In Nova Scotia the pork industry is a $110 million industry currently with 1,500 jobs. If we allow our pork industry to disappear, it will be a significant loss to the province of Nova Scotia.
That is where we are at. It is not an issue of whether we can wait or whether the farm community on a national level can wait for assistance. Farmers need assistance now. This situation is not a time for dilly-dallying with the federal government. I commend the government that we are at the point now where there is a package being discussed at cabinet. We urge it to move quickly on that package.
It was interesting earlier hearing the Liberals, the patron saints of hypocrisy, who have backtracked on every major initiative in the red book from their opposition to the GST, their opposition to free trade, their opposition to deregulation and privatization. How dare they ever accuse any other party of betraying an election platform? They invented the notion. We see the Reform Party in an ideological box talking tax cuts for farmers at a time when farmers are facing bankruptcy. It is like throwing an anchor to a drowning man. Reformers say let us twist the arms of the Americans or the EU nations to get them to reduce their subsidies.
I am not disagreeing with the Reform Party that in the long term these steps have to be taken, but the fact is this has lasted for decades. The EU nations and the Americans are subsidizing significantly. It will take work but that will not help the farmers who are in crisis now.
They say they are opposed to bailouts. They probably would have opposed Roosevelt on the new deal. The fact is farmers need help now. While the Liberals dilly-dally and the Reformers pontificate about Adam Smith, farmers need help.
A nation's ability to produce food is fundamental. Frankly, current income support programs simply do not cut it. We need to act decisively. There is no time for this ideological warfare. Farmers need assistance.
The hon. member for Fundy Royal was speaking about the GRIP program which was gutted by the Liberals. On a national level if we look at some of the programs from the past, ultimately if we do not have sustainable long term programs that ensure there are funds and programs available for farmers in crisis we will always be back to this type of situation where we are trying to deal with a crisis on an ongoing basis.
This is an unprecedented crisis in recent history. We recognize that. We urge the Liberals to move quickly. This is not an issue for ideological wrangling. It is a time for us to do what is right and to help farmers.
In the Annapolis Valley we are seeing farmers go bankrupt at an unprecedented level. It happens every week that we are getting calls to our constituency offices and hearing stories of absolute heartache and devastation from family farms, farms that have been in these families for generations. There are seven or eight generation dairy farms that are facing devastation based on the current situation.
The pork industry is going downhill. The apple industry in the Annapolis Valley is facing significant challenges. We need a holistic program. We need to work in terms of foreign policy to address the subsidies issue globally. We need to address our tax policies in Canada and ensure that farmers and all business people are not impeding by an egregiously heavy tax burden. But in the short term we must do what is right. We must do what is important, help farmers who face a crisis right now.