moved:
Motion No. 2
That Bill C-26, in Clause 7, be amended by adding after line 8 on page 6 the following:
“(2.1) Subject to subsection (2.2), every producer of special crops shall be entitled to participate in an insurance plan established under subsection (2).
(2.2) The Governor in Council may, by regulation, prescribe the circumstances in which a producer of special crops may not be entitled to participate in an insurance plan established under subsection (2).”
Motion No. 3
That Bill C-26, in Clause 7, be amended by replacing lines 9 to 12 on page 6 with the following:
“(3) A producer who participates in an insurance plan established under subsection (2) and who delivers or causes to be delivered a special crop to a licensee shall pay to the”
Motion No. 4
That Bill C-26, in Clause 7, be amended by replacing lines 15 and 16 on page 6 with the following:
“(4) A licensee shall collect the levy referred to in subsection (3) from every producer who is required to pay the levy under that subsection and shall remit it to the agent within”
Motion No. 6
That Bill C-26, in Clause 7, be amended by replacing lines 3 to 5 on page 7 with the following:
“(8) A producer of special crops who participates in an insurance plan established under subsection (2) may, in the prescribed manner, withdraw from the plan. The agent”
Speaker, I would like to mention again, as I did during the second reading debate, a resolution that was passed at the Saskatchewan Canola Growers Association's annual meeting. Similar motions were passed at the Western Canadian Wheat Growers convention, the Western Barley Growers convention and the Saskatchewan Pulse Development Board. In addition, the concern mentioned in this motion has been raised by other stakeholders in the farming industry out west.
The motion reads as follows:
Whereas the majority of Saskatchewan Canola Growers Association members also are growers of specialty crops, and
Whereas the proposed Special Crops Rural Initiative Program would appear to favour the Canadian Grain Commission and not necessarily special crop growers, and
Whereas the Special Crops Rural Initiative Program is promoted as being voluntary, it is in reality a form of negative billing which all consumers reject—, and
Whereas the scheme has questionable support at the farm level, and
Whereas the Saskatchewan Canola Growers Association rejects the compulsory nature of the Special Crops Rural Initiative Program, and
Whereas the Special Crops Industry has flourished without such a program,
Therefore be it resolved that the Saskatchewan Canola Growers Association inform the federal and western provincial ministers of Agriculture of their concerns and at the very least that the Special Crops Rural Initiative Program be truly voluntary for both the growers and the special crops dealers.
This resolution aptly describes what Bill C-26 fails to do. It fails to give farmers choice, not unlike what the government did with Bill C-4, which failed to give farmers choice in how they sell their wheat.
The compulsory nature of the special crops insurance plan is a form of negative option billing. Today's producers run large operations and should not have to apply to opt out and then to receive their money back if they do not wish to participate.
Farming businesses should have the right to decide for themselves if they want to be bonded or licensed and, if so, pay the bills themselves. Producers should have the choice to decide for themselves if there is too much risk selling to an unlicensed buyer. Special crops producers would be better off having choice between selling to large licensed grain dealers and small unlicensed grain dealers. That would make sense. I hope the government considers giving farmers that choice.
The amendments put forward by the PC Party today speak to these concerns. I hope the government will also listen to the stakeholders and vote in favour of these constructive amendments.
Once again I would like to conclude that the PC Party supports this bill, but we can make this a better piece of legislation if the government supports these amendments and the amendments put forward by the member for Prince George—Peace River.
I know the government wants to rush Bill C-26 because it believes it is simply a matter of housekeeping. However, let us try to give farmers in western Canada a piece of legislation that gives them choice.