Madam Speaker, it is good that the hon. Liberal member has raised the issue of ports. This is another sore point for farmers in Saskatchewan. Farmers, through their revenues and income, have supported the ports of Canada. If we did not have ports, we would not be able to ship our grain outside the country.
Farmers are sick and tired of the Liberals continuing to download to them all of the costs that are on the shoulders of the Liberal government. For example, when there is a strike at the port in Prince Rupert, on the coast, or up in Churchill, who pays for the costs of demurrage or for the delay in getting the grain to market? It is not the Liberal government or Quebec. It is the farmers in Saskatchewan, the farmers in western Canada who pay for this.
I am quite appalled that the Liberal parliamentary secretary would say that farmers have nothing to do with the ports of this country. I ask the hon. member to go to Saskatchewan, Manitoba or Alberta and talk to the farmers. Ask them about the federal government which is responsible for the ports, which cannot deliver our grain to market because the workers are not paid adequately and have to use job action to get a fair rate of pay, ask the farmers who pays for all that. It is not the Liberal member of parliament from Ontario. It is the farmers from Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan who pay for those ports. I am glad the member raised this issue.
My sense is that Saskatchewan, because of its involvement with the equalization formula and which supports the concept of equalizing payments, would be remiss if it did not take advantage of an equalization formula which includes resource revenues, which are now down in price and therefore the revenues are down and equalization kicks in. This is something which is fairly important.
Part of the reason that our farmers have record low net incomes this year is not because we have equalization payments. Incomes are low because they are spending a lot of money in ports and other parts of the country to get their grain to market and the Liberals are downloading the costs to the farmers.
I ask the member opposite to go to his Minister of Finance before the budget and have the Liberal government change its policy as it applies to farmers. Rather than have farmers pay for all of the transportation costs, all the labour costs and all the port costs, perhaps the federal government should undertake responsibility in a financial way to help them out in that regard.
I thank the member for raising that issue.