Mr. Speaker, I would like to congratulate my colleague from Pictou—Antigonish—Guysborough on a very timely and well delivered speech.
While many Canadians prepare to celebrate the holiday season, many others are worried that any kind of celebration will be short lived if they do not see any kind of financial assistance soon from the federal government. I am referring to Canadian farmers who in some instances have been suffering through the most serious farm crisis since the Great Depression.
The sad fact is that the Liberal government fails to recognize the severity of the situation throughout Canada's farming communities. Since being elected in 1993 the Liberal government has consistently ignored the plight of our farmers. From what our farmers can see from the government's estimates, this neglect is bound to continue.
Farm support since 1993 has been reduced by approximately $3 billion. We are talking about federal-provincial contributions that once exceeded $7 billion which have been reduced to under $4 billion. This is a very significant decrease at a time when our Canadian farmers are facing increased subsidized competition, rising input costs and natural and economic disasters. Now our federal government wants to add Canada's inadequate national safety net program to their misery.
The government continuously preaches about the importance of our agricultural industry, yet its inaction in a time of crisis suggests a clear lack of commitment toward our Canadian farmers. In response to the crisis in the agricultural industry the government has introduced a farm aid package that has been thoroughly criticized for being inadequate. Even members from the minister's own governing party are lamenting about the inadequacy of the government's AIDA program. This is the program that was going to provide farmers with $1.1 billion in aid but has thus far only delivered $300 million in much needed assistance.
The minister has promised that all the money will be in the hands of our farmers by Christmas. I would like to tell the minister that Christmas is fast approaching, as is bankruptcy for many farmers unless money arrives soon.
The government has designed a program that is a regulatory nightmare. Many Canadian farmers who need the help the most are falling through the cracks. The AIDA program was ill designed and totally underfunded. Even provinces such as Ontario and Saskatchewan are threatening to pull out of the federal safety net program because they recognize that the government is not truly committed to helping our Canadian farmers.
On November 22 I read a very disturbing article in one of Nova Scotia's daily newspapers, the Halifax Herald . The article was entitled “Quebec farm suicides lead country”. Any suicide is tragic but to have specific numbers for our farming community simply magnifies the crisis situation our Canadian farmers are facing each day due to mounting debt. I recognize that this Queen's University data is somewhat dated, however it does magnify the tragedy our farmers are facing due to the extreme financial pressure often associated with the agricultural industry.
Agriculture is one of Canada's top five industries. However by the actions of the federal government we would think that this important industry is of very little benefit to Canada's overall economy. Nothing could be further from the truth. In 1998 alone, our agriculture and agri-food industries contributed over $90 billion to our overall economy. That is equivalent to 8.6% of Canada's gross domestic product. Our overall agri-food exports exceed $22 billion and are responsible for 30% of Canada's total trade surplus. These are impressive figures, however behind these impressive figures lies much anxiety and heartache.
Perhaps blinded by some of these impressive numbers, our federal government appears incognizant of the growing threat to our agricultural industry. Each and every day Canada is facing the loss of another farmer. We are losing these farmers because the government has failed to come up with any long term solution to the problems facing this vital industry.
In Nova Scotia alone, well over 1,000 farms have disappeared since 1981. That is an average of 69 unreplaced farm closures across the province every year. Nova Scotia's youth increasingly choose other careers rather than farming because they sense that there is no future for them in this industry. They recognize that their federal government will not be there to help them in a time of crisis such as we are witnessing today.
Nova Scotia's farming industry is increasingly in danger of eventually becoming irrelevant. This would be a tremendous blow to an area that has prided itself on its agricultural prowess since as far back as the beginning of the 17th century when the first European settlers arrived in the Annapolis Valley. What is particularly frightening in Nova Scotia is the fact that 42% of our farm operators in 1996 were over the age of 55. The average age of farmers in Nova Scotia is 52.2 years. Our farmers are slowly getting older and there is no indication that our youth will be willing to carry the torch in any significant manner come the new millennium.
The government should be encouraging our youth to embark on a career in agriculture. Yet by the proposed estimates the government has introduced concerning agriculture, any future young farmers and I see that the government has very little interest in encouraging our farming tradition that spans back centuries.
Already we see a considerable number of our farmers being forced to rely on outside employment to subsidize their farming income. Because they are forced to pursue other employment opportunities to survive, many of them fail to qualify for government tax incentives that would offer them some relief on an already enormous debt load.
Members of the Progressive Conservative Party recognize that we can ill afford to lose any more of our farmers. With less than 7% of our land being currently used for agriculture, Canadians are becoming increasingly dependent upon foreign imports.