Mr. Speaker, I would like to put the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food on notice, informing him of a devastating natural disaster which continues to affect the residents of southwestern Manitoba.
Farmers are especially hit hard by the flooding. Two million acres of land is in jeopardy and the area is only one rain away from total disaster.
June 15 is the crop insurance deadline. If crops are not seeded by then my riding could suffer a potential loss of $400 million. This could be devastating to an industry in my riding that is still suffering from the impact of a farm income crisis and the problems with the federal government's AIDA program.
As I have mentioned before in the House, as in last year's ice storm in Ontario and Quebec I urge the government to apply the same consistency in the level of compensation to those affected by yet another natural disaster in my riding.
The livelihood of farmers and other businesses in the area is at stake. It is time for the federal government to start developing a long term disaster assistance program. If the Prime Minister's western Liberal task force wants to listen to western Canadians, now is the time to listen.