Mr. Speaker, last night's emergency debate on the drought in western Canada was drowned out by rhetoric. Liberal statistics flew high, wide and handsome, muddying the verbal waters to the point of losing all sight of the farmers who are trying to keep body and soul together.
The Minister of Agriculture is trying to pull the wool over farmers' eyes by claiming that the recently announced agricultural policy framework will provide farmers with over $1.1 billion of federal money per year over the next five years. It is not true.
Once the minister's temporary bridge funding runs out next year, farmers will be receiving less than $700 million a year through the agricultural policy framework.
This is a cut in support. It is time that the minister came clean with farmers and quit playing his shell game. Farmers have the right to know that they will be receiving less money under the APF than they are right now.
The only thing missing last night was the Canadian Wheat Board minister coming in and explaining his statement that farmers would be receiving $15.2 billion in agricultural policy framework funding.