Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak specifically to the three amendments to Bill C-25 proposed by the Canadian Alliance Party. I begin by saying that all three Alliance amendments before us today were discussed and debated at committee, as I understand it, and were changed slightly and brought back to the House. Although the member of parliament for Cypress Hills—Grasslands has modified them slightly, he has not modified them enough to suit the member for Brandon—Souris, our agriculture critic, and therefore the tenets of the Conservative Party.
Motion No. 1 would actually remove the words family farm from the bill, as was stated by my NDP colleague. Members of the House and people across Canada have different definitions of what a family farm actually constitutes, but our party believes it is important for family farms to be recognized specifically in the mandate of the Farm Credit Corporation.
I have said at other times in the House that I grew up on a very small family farm. The farm I actually own today is one piece of land. It is a piece of woodland and not an actual piece of agricultural land. It is a very small piece of only 20 acres, but it has been in my family for five generations. My sons, if they inherit that property, would have that piece of land for a six generation.
There are those of us in the House who are not far away from the family farm. I am quite shocked and surprised the Alliance that claims to represent large segments of rural Canada would allow itself to be divorced or separated from the notion of the family farm, which I think many of us hold very near and dear to our hearts.
The family farm and primary production should be the primary focus of the activities of the Farm Credit Corporation, not simply farming operations, agribusinesses or something that is divorced and removed from the word farm.
Is that the next to go? Will it be not just family farms but farming operations altogether? Suddenly those of us who were farmers in another life will be not farmers any longer but producers. I am very proud to say I was a farmer and expect to be a farmer again some day, not a producer which does not mean anything. I could produce cardboard boxes. A farmer is a definition that holds a totally different meaning from the word producer.
By eliminating family farms from the clause would definitely be a step backward. It would actually do a disservice to family farms across Canada by omitting them from the bill. Furthermore, as was mentioned already, John Ryan, president of the Farm Credit Corporation, stated in the standing committee that discussions were held with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture on the wording of the bill and ultimately it was satisfied. He also stated:
So we clearly do, very seriously, take the fact that it's primary production that's our focus.
Even with that being said, we will not be supporting the motion.
Motion No. 2 speaks to the issue of competition. I find it difficult to believe that the Alliance Party has actually introduced this amendment again. The amendment is not only restrictive and limiting to Farm Credit Corporation activities but it speaks against the idea of competition. Perhaps it is another policy shift for the Alliance Party and now it does not support open competition.
The Farm Credit Corporation should be allowed to compete with other financial institutions. Competition is healthy. The mandate of the FCC has been significantly expanded since its creation. It is no longer a lender of last resort. Nor should it be. It has tailored its operations to the agriculture and agribusiness community.
If commercial banks want to enter those areas, and I think we should encourage them to do so, they are welcome. It is pretty difficult as a farmer to get any kind of serious loan from a commercial bank based on the merits of a farming operation. The competition will only benefit farmers in the end. Again the PC Party will not be supporting the motion.
Motion No. 3 speaks to the issue of farmland ownership. Once again this matter was discussed during committee deliberations. The amendment could place limitations on Farm Credit Corporation activities. Let us take the example of young farmers and the opportunity for an intergenerational transfer of farms: for one to be able to acquire land directly from family members and lease it back to them over a long period of time so they can eventually acquire ownership. The amendment could prevent it from happening if a time limit were imposed.
The president of the Farm Credit Corporation stated in committee that he would be quite comfortable with a five year limit. That was consistent with remarks he made at a previous committee meeting. The average time for land disposal at the Farm Credit Corporation is actually about eight months, which allows for more than enough time set out in the amendment.
On the basis of what the president of the Farm Credit Corporation said, the PC Party will consider the passage of the amendment, but it is certainly one that we do not look at lightly. We have deliberated on it and put some serious thought into it.
In conclusion, I urge all members of the House to remember that many of us in the agriculture business are representatives of family farms or people who are first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth generation, or even more, on family farms. For goodness' sake, let us remember the family farm is an important institution and should be preserved.