Debates of June 5th, 2001

National Agriculture Industry Relief Coordination Act

[Ken Epp, Canadian Alliance, Elk Island, AB]

Mr. Speaker, the Progressive Conservative member's bill deals with times of crisis in agriculture and attempts to take a farmer through those years when family and farm income is very low or zero. For the member who is listening so carefully, which I appreciate, I simply am drawing the picture that some of the reasons for a reduced or zero income for farmers are due to climate, such as dryness. However some reasons are government induced for which we should have solutions but we do not because the government is unresponsive to the needs of prairie farmers.

I mentioned the seed farmer. I have talked to other farmers who are very frustrated. They have products in their bins which they are ready to sell. They even have buyers but they cannot sell to them. They have to take the product to the wheat board. Then if they want, they can buy it back at an inflated price. No one else does that. I do not know of a single other industry where, in order to sell one's own product, one first has to sell it to a government or an agency of the government and then buy it back at a higher price.

There is a farmer in southern Alberta who has been actually doing that. He markets his product in the United States because he has a customer there who buys it. This is so absurd that I must relay it.

He takes his grain from his bin to his truck, which he drives over to the grain elevator. He gets his truck weighed then dumps the grain so it can weigh the truck again. The difference is the weight of the grain. Then they load the grain back up again. He sells it to the wheat board, then writes a cheque for something more than what he pays for it, including costs of dockage and a proportional cost of transportation for which the wheat board is responsible. He does it himself but he has to pay for it. Then he takes that product across the border and sells it to the person who wanted to buy it from him in the first place. He is still making money.

Where is the effectiveness of the wheat board? Part of the farm crisis is that there are rules and regulations which affect farmers and which are induced by inaction or wrong action on the parts of governments. If the wheat board is so good for Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, then why is it not good for Ontario and Quebec? Why is it not good for the Atlantic provinces? Why do they not have to sell their products through a marketing board controlled by the federal government? That is an area that has been overlooked.

To have an agency which looks at all of these different areas and helps to provide a way whereby farmers can, in those bleak years, weather the storm and carry on with their businesses instead of going bankrupt is so important. I do not think people who have never gone through a bankruptcy know how devastating it is, especially when a family loses a farmland which has been in the family for 50, 80 and 100 years. That is totally devastating and it is about time that something be done about it. Therefore, I commend the member for the bill and I am very pleased to support it.

[Rick Borotsik, Progressive Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I will close the debate and will be brief. I thank the hon. members for being in the House this late and speaking to an issue, which means a lot to me.

My constituency consists of agriculture. My economic base is agriculture. I believe very strongly that anything we can do in the House to assist the agricultural industry to get through these difficult times is important for us all, whether we are on the opposition side of the bench or on the government's side of the bench.

I would like to suggest that the parliamentary secretary spoke very eloquently. However when I listened to his speech, it seemed he was saying that everything in agriculture was just hunky-dory and that it had all of those wonderful programs associated with it, which could help agriculture get over this terrible speed bump. That in fact is not the case.

I come from a constituency that has had a double whammy. It had the double whammy of a natural disaster in 1999, when 1.3 million acres were not sown. The next whammy were the crops that were generated in the 2000 crop year and put in this year. They are generating commodity prices so low this year that producers cannot pay back all the losses they incurred for the 1999 crop year. So things are not hunky-dory.

The reason for this bill was to suggest that a committee be struck and be charged with the responsibility of coming forward to the minister, then to the government and to this parliament with a safety net program that absolutely would work.

As I said earlier, we have models in this country, particularly the ASRA program in Quebec and perhaps the MRI program in Ontario. If we could get a committee that would bring together all stakeholders and put forward the right safety net program and model and have it come to fruition with the proper financial resources coming both from the federal and provincial governments, then maybe we would not have to stand in the House over and over again trying to make sure the government recognizes there is a very serious problem in agriculture.

I would like to thank the House for its indulgence. Unfortunately the AIDA program is an unmitigated disaster. The CFIP program will be an unmitigated disaster. If there is a disaster caused by weather in Alberta this year, the federal government will not be there to help and assist. If there is another weather disaster, whether it be in Nova Scotia or in the southeastern portion of the province of Manitoba, where we are suffering through a similar fate as I did in 1999, the federal government will not be there. If it is, it will be an ad hoc program.

It absolutely amazes me that the government does not have the ability to put forward what I believe are the right programs. That can be developed. However the political will is not there.

I thank the House for its indulgence, and hopefully next time we can get this voted on.

[The Deputy Speaker]

The time provided for the consideration of private members' business has now expired. As the motion has not been designated a votable item, the order is dropped from the order paper.

A motion to adjourn the House under Standing Order 38 deemed to have been moved.

[Judy Wasylycia-Leis, NDP, Winnipeg North Centre, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to elaborate on a question I raised in the House last week pertaining to mercury in fish. In fact I raised several questions last week as a result of an indepth investigative report done by the Ottawa Citizen , backed up by independent laboratory testing, which showed that mercury levels in several species of fish available in the marketplace today, including shark, swordfish and fresh and frozen tuna, were twice the limit set by Health Canada, if not more.

The news that was generated from that story was greeted with a less than positive response by the government. I was shocked that this finding was not treated more seriously by the government of the day. I had fully expected that the parliamentary secretary or the Minister of Health would have stood in the House and said that the findings concerned them and they would investigate and take appropriate action.

Instead the response of the government was as follows. The suggestion was that these fish in fact were gourmet fish and therefore were eaten in such limited quantities that the impact on human health was negligible. This statement was made despite the fact that there are no studies or findings to determine levels of consumption of those species of fish in Canada today.

The government then suggested, and the Minister of Health in particular, that Canada's limits were so prudent that we could afford to take a risk with high levels of mercury in certain fish. The Minister of Health suggested that our limits were twice the limits set by the United States.

I point out that the limit set by Canada, which is 0.5 parts per million of mercury in fish, is a limit that is genuinely accepted across the board in numerous countries. According to the government's own information and statistics, Canada is not dissimilar from many other countries and in some instances is less prudent than other countries.

Also it is important to point out that when it comes to the United States, which is often cited as an example of having a less than cautious regulatory approach, the real level used that helps consumers make decisions is on par with those of Canada.

Our concern in raising this question is not scaremongering or fishmongering, as the Minister of Health so foolishly suggested in the House. It is to require the government to take the necessary steps to ensure consumers are protected.

I ask again if the government is prepared to issue warnings to all consumers so that they are aware of the levels of mercury in fish and so that pregnant women in particular can take necessary precautions. I also ask the government to issue an advisory to all fish sellers across Canada asking them to provide some notification to consumers purchasing these products.

In the absence of government action and leadership, fish retailers and wholesalers across the country are making decisions on their own. They are in a quandary as to what to do. They expect and demand action from the government. I think it is a reasonable request and I would ask the government to respond accordingly.

[Yvon Charbonneau, Liberal, Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of Health]

Mr. Speaker, for some time now, a Health Canada directive has provided for a tolerance of no more than 0.5 ppm of mercury in fish.

Some species are not covered by the directive: swordfish, shark and both fresh and frozen tuna. These are large predatory species that tend to accumulate mercury and therefore have higher levels of it.

Rather than preventing perfectly wholesome and nutritious foods from being available in the marketplace, a strategy to protect health in the case of exempted species was warranted. Contrary to recent media reports, Health Canada did not instruct CFIA to exempt these fish from testing or other surveillance activities. In fact fish are subjected to regular inspection by CFIA. The agency enforces the guideline and monitors levels of mercury in these fish.

In 1998 Health Canada issued an advisory recommending consumption of no more than one meal per month in the case of women of child bearing age and children, and one meal per week for the general Canadian population. This advisory was reissued last week.

I am sure everyone understands that, when it comes to health protection, the same strategy cannot be employed in all circumstances. While laws and directives are useful in the production and sale of foods, there are other situations where it is just as legitimate to use strategies based on the use of information or, as in this case, consumer advisories. In this instance, the advisory to limit consumption seems the best strategy.

Other jurisdictions have also exempted species. The European Union, for instance, has a 0.5 ppm limit for the mean total mercury content of fish and exempts many more species than does Canada.

I maintain that Canada can proudly take its place in the world as a nation that acts responsibly to protect groups sensitive to mercury in fish.

Canada is not at all imprudent in the case of mercury, and, in some instances, it is even more prudent than others in its recommendations. The directive in effect and the advisories issued should be seen as strategies that both help disseminate important health information.

[The Deputy Speaker]

The motion to adjourn the House is now deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, this House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 2 p.m., pursuant to Standing Order 24.

(The House adjourned at 7:15 p.m.)