Mr. Speaker, last week I spent three days viewing an area in my constituency that is suffering a severe financial disaster. At least 50% of the cultivated acres in five rural municipalities in my riding are under water. The remaining 50% will not be seeded this year.
This area is roughly the same size as the total number of farm acres on Prince Edward Island. The current disaster accompanied by a significant drop in farm income from previous years could spell an end to hundreds of farm operations.
Today I ask the minister of agriculture to join with his provincial counterpart to view the area that I have visited and to take the necessary steps to declare at least the five rural municipalities a disaster area.