Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to Bill C-26, an act to amend the Canada Grain Act and the Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Act and to repeal the Grain Futures Act.
The positive effects of this bill are that it will better serve specialized crop producers by providing them with more solid financial foundations and an insurance plan to help protect them from the weaknesses of the present system with grain dealers.
It is to be hoped, therefore, that the minister will select board members from the agricultural community, specifically specialized crop producers. Overall, this bill presents no problem to the party I represent, and our caucus will therefore support it.
I must, however, add that I have several reservations, which I have brought up in both the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food and the House. This bill specifically concerns specialized crop producers in the Canadian West, on the Prairies. It is part of a reworking of legislation affecting that group.
As a Quebec MP, I do not feel much affected by this bill, except to ensure generally that the producers benefit as much as possible from it.
If I were to meddle in this debate at a more technical or more detailed level, this would be interfering in matters that do not concern me, and I have no intention of doing so. For example, where the voluntary contribution to the insurance plan is concerned, we have our own insurance plan and the whole strategy surrounding this debate is totally foreign to me. I will not, therefore, try to get involved.
It is obvious, however, that the interests of the specialized crop producers must be served, and we will therefore be voting in favour of Bill C-26.