Mr. Speaker, the action for struggling agriculture producers was launched by the official opposition late last year after Liberal, NDP and PC members of the standing committee on agriculture refused to support a Reform motion to travel across Canada to areas hit hard by the farm income crisis.
Since then, Reform MPs have held over 60 action meetings in five provinces, meeting with over 3,500 farmers, listening to their concerns and promising to take their messages back to Ottawa.
The message is loud and clear: 71% of farmers say that they want the freedom to make their own marketing decisions; 96% say that taxes and user fees imposed by the government are too high; and, a staggering 94% of farmers say that the government's AIDA program is a failure.
The facts speak for themselves. The government held nine meetings in three provinces. The official opposition has held over 60 meetings in five provinces and counting. Is there any doubt who speaks for farmers in this country.