Mr. Speaker, this past Sunday morning I met with Mr. Nick Parsons in Biggar, Saskatchewan which is in my constituency. I was not alone. The coffee shop was filled with local farmers and businessmen wishing him Godspeed on his journey.
As members may know, Mr. Parsons is driving his combine from Dawson Creek, British Columbia all the way to Ottawa. It is a slow, cold and difficult journey at a speed of 23 kilometres per hour and a distance covered of a maximum of 200 kilometres per day.
This trek is another desperate attempt to get the attention of this Liberal government to convince the government that if more aid is not forthcoming in the next budget, thousands of western farmers will go under before spring seeding.
Mr. Parsons and people in that coffee shop are saying that they need some help and they need it now. The government is looking at a budgetary surplus of approximately $100 billion in the next five years. Surely there is money to reinvest in the people who put food on our tables.
I salute Mr. Parsons. I look forward to seeing him and his big red combine here on Parliament Hill.