Madam Speaker, I congratulate the member for Brandon—Souris on his great speech. I also congratulate him on his basketball club that played St. Francis Xavier in Halifax. They were great ambassadors of the Manitoba people. They should be congratulated on a great effort.
Now Canadian farmers know what east and west coast fishermen have been going through for many years. It is sad for me as a member of the New Democratic Party representing Nova Scotia to stand in the House to make that comparison. That is exactly what has happened.
The government and previous governments have basically said to the family fishermen that they are finished. It does not even have the stamina or the wherewithal to tell the truth. It says quite clearly that the family farm is finished. If that is the direction of the government, it should stand up on its hind heels and tell the people of the farming community throughout the country that is the game plan. That is exactly what it is doing.
That is a tragic policy on behalf of the large corporate sector which will gobble up these farms and destroy the hopes and aspirations of many young people who wish to pursue agriculture as a proud and noble career.
I thank the Alliance for bringing forward the motion today. It is very important as the member and others have indicated. We only hope the government will honour this commitment.
The leader of the Saskatchewan party, Elwin Hermanson, a previous member of the House, said in the House:
There should be no guarantees to small business. There should be no loan guarantees to farms. We should not treat farmers differently.
Also the leader of the Reform Party said:
The brute truth is the prairie provinces cannot support the number of farmers they have been supporting.
I am very proud and would like the Conservative Party member to elaborate on why there is a change of policy in the Reform Party. We are glad it is doing it, but it may be a little too late. All the government is doing is honouring the Alliance policy—