Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to stand and speak to this particular issue.
I agree with the assessment made by my colleague from the NDP on the motion put forward by the Reform Party. We also do not disagree with the issues put forward in the Reform motion. However, I suspect it must be difficult for the Reform members to keep turning those 180 degree turns all the time and making changes to positions that they had taken previously and putting forward resolutions such as we have today.
I would also suggest that if the Reformers really felt that it was an issue of great importance, then perhaps it could have been a votable motion as opposed to simply a non-votable supply day.
There are obviously some issues that the Reform Party, needless to say, has not been terribly forthcoming with respect to its position on assistance to agriculture. As a matter of fact a number of Reform members have indicated quite emphatically that tax relief and reduced subsidies are the only ways we should be going in industry. I could quote a number of members who suggest that the Reform Party does not really believe in support and spending through ad hoc programs to the agriculture industry.
In a debate with me on national TV, the member who put forward the motion suggested quite clearly that hog farmers should take a lesson from cattle producers and stop whining. That does not speak very well to the belief that agriculture is in desperate turmoil and needs some assistance.
I wish to talk about a couple of issues, the first one being AIDA. The member from Charleswood has indicated that the provincial governments are doing a wonderful job but that the federal government is not doing its job. The federal government takes credit for $1.5 billion which has been allocated to the AIDA program and farm relief.