Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to take part in the debate this afternoon to make amendments to the proposed changes to the Farm Credit Corporation Act.
Some Canadians will know that the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food has been considering this legislation over the past short while. We have heard from some of the groups that would be affected by the legislation. In opposition to what we have heard in the last two speeches, the New Democratic Party caucus does not have major concerns with what has been proposed.
The Farm Credit Corporation was established in 1959. Although it was originally the lender of last resort to family farms, that role has changed over the years. Probably most of those changes were introduced after 1993 when it became a self-financing operation.
The industry has been changing dramatically since the act was amended. There are active farmers in the House of Commons today who can attest to that only too well. There is an ongoing revolution in Canadian agriculture and perhaps around the world. It is more complex. There is much greater interdependency among suppliers, producers and processors than ever before.
Producers are growing new crops. In the standing committee this morning we had a lengthy debate on organic crops that have been multiplying enormously over the past 15 years or 16 years. They are growing new crops. They are diversifying into livestock production. They are entering into long term contracts with suppliers and buyers. Farmers are forming alliances to increase their purchasing and selling power. These are called new generation co-ops among other things. Some producers are exploring new generation co-ops and others are expanding into value added manufacturing.
In this environment producers need a broader and more complex range of financial and business management services to help them achieve the long term success they are striving for. Farm related businesses need greater access to capital, including equity and venture capital in order to achieve that growth.
In the winter of 2000 the standing committee was told by the chief executive officer and other senior officials of Farm Credit that they had held a number of stakeholder consultations with more than 100 national and regional organizations to discuss the proposed changes to the legislation. Almost all those organizations, we were told, were supportive of the amendment. Their main concern was that Farm Credit Corporation should continue to maintain its focus on family farms and on primary production.
We were told that one farm organization which was strongly opposed was the National Farmers' Union. The NFU's main objection, as we heard it and understood it, was that the proposal before us would allow the Farm Credit Corporation to finance farm related businesses which were not farmer owned and controlled.
That is a significant piece of the proposed change to the legislation. Until now it has had to demonstrate amply that it is farmer owned and controlled. This change is one that the NFU believes would enable Farm Credit to act like a private lender with its only goal being that of maximizing its profits.
The NFU believes that Farm Credit should focus only on family farms. It is concerned that if Farm Credit is allowed to lend to agribusiness that is not farmer owned or controlled it will emphasize operations geared to the export market instead to domestic family farms.
We have considered that point. We listened carefully to people who made representations to the standing committee on agriculture. Notwithstanding the concern expressed by the National Farmers Union, notwithstanding what my colleagues from the Bloc and perhaps the Alliance said, we think on balance the changes are warranted and support them.
Before I get into the Alliance recommendations, there is a name change. The acronym FCC would be the same but it would now be called Farm Credit Canada. Farm Credit Canada would be allowed to provide financial services to farm related business on the input or output side of primary production. For the first time FCC would be able to lend money to non-farmers. That is a change as I mentioned a moment ago.
In addition, equity financing would be extended to producers and farm related businesses either directly or in partnership with others.