Mr. Speaker, as I was saying prior to question period, members of the Conservative Party recognize that we can ill afford to lose any more of our farmers. With less than 7% of our land presently being used for agriculture in this country, Canadians are becoming increasingly dependent upon foreign imports.
The Liberal government may accuse me of exaggerating the severity of the situation; however, I do not think I am exaggerating Nova Scotia's increasing dependence upon imported agricultural goods. Whether these goods are imported from the U.S. or from another Canadian province, the fact still remains that it is importing large amounts of agricultural products, and this trend will continue so long as our youth stay away from agriculture.
As I have mentioned many times in the House, our farmers in Nova Scotia have had to endure three successive years of drought conditions. These hard weather conditions have significantly reduced yield, resulting in a tremendous increase in feed costs. A number of farmers have been forced to prematurely rid themselves of cattle, at a substantial loss. With the price of beef being so low, a farmer in Yarmouth told me that some beef producers have incurred such tremendous losses they will most likely be forced to exit the beef industry.
I would like to offer these farmers and many others like them throughout the country some ray of hope, but I find little in the government's estimates to do that. Even the Prime Minister's throne speech failed to address any of the major issues facing our farmers. In fact, farming barely received mention in the throne speech, which simply confirms what all Canadians know, that this government is not committed to helping Canadian farmers.
Our western neighbours are struggling tremendously, yet the federal government is not there to help. Unfortunately, our western friends are coming to grips with what Nova Scotian farmers have known for years, that this government simply is not committed to maintaining or enhancing our agricultural industry.
As I mentioned, we have had three successive years of drought conditions, yet the federal government has seen fit to introduce an aid package that is very difficult for our farmers to access. We had farmers experiencing hardship during the ice storm, yet the government did not see fit to provide them with any assistance.
Nova Scotian farmers are not immune to hard times, yet they tend to be overlooked by the government. I am telling the government that it can no longer ignore our Nova Scotian farmers. Farming is an important industry within Nova Scotia, as it is throughout the rest of the country, and I will continue to demand that our farmers be treated fairly by this government.
The previous Progressive Conservative government recognized the importance of agriculture to our Canadian economy. That is why in 1991 the government introduced the gross revenue insurance program, GRIP, and the net income stabilization account, NISA. These programs were designed to complement each other. Unfortunately, the Liberal government abolished GRIP and has failed miserably in replacing it with an effective, nationally responsive program.
For over two years our member of parliament from Brandon—Souris has been calling upon the minister of agriculture to create a long term safety net program for our farmers, yet his calls and suggestions have fallen upon deaf ears, as have those of our farmers who have been pleading for government assistance.