Mr. Speaker, yesterday's farm rallies have ended but the plight of farm families endures.
The hurt really began after 1993 when the government took a sledgehammer to agriculture. Hiding behind the World Trade Organization and with a compliant reform opposition that hates words like support and subsidy, the government socked it to Canadian agriculture by killing off transportation subsidies, like the Crow benefit, and by jacking up user fees.
Despite recent announcements, federal support for agriculture is nowhere near what it was when this government assumed office. Net farm income in Saskatchewan averaged just $5,000 last year and this year looks worse.
All MPs, but especially government backbenchers, are realizing that the inability to help our farmers in a meaningful way resides ultimately with the Prime Minister.
The message from the farm to the Prime Minister is this. He should stop governing by polls or by whether the official opposition or the media cares about agriculture. He should do the right thing and put sufficient resources into agriculture to ensure that our farmers will once again be on a level playing field with their major competitors.