The hon. member says I signed it. No, I did not sign it. I was not asked about it.
I would not use a prop, especially this report and the recommendation because it would be a bad prop. However it clearly says other members who participated, which includes me. The day I participated was the day officials from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada were at the committee. I went there to outline my concerns about the way the deputy minister, officials and others were handling the agricultural file. They were not taking seriously enough the low incomes of producers in Canada. I hope that will turn around and there will be a new package to assist farmers. The Prime Minister talked about it extensively last night.
The hon. member tried to refute the Gray study. He should go back a few years and look at the Hartley Furtan study and others done in the 14 year period that ended in 1996 or thereabouts. The Hartley Furtan study and two others concluded that the wheat pool account increased returns to primary producers by $265 million per year versus the open market. These guys are trying to take money out of farmers' pockets and give it to the grain companies. It is hard to believe. The hon. member had better go back and look at the record. He could read some of the debates of the House concerning the Canadian Wheat Board.
I cannot imagine that the hon. members opposite do not believe in democracy. I have concerns about spending in terms of Canadian Wheat Board elections because there are not enough rules. The grain companies buy advertising to get their people elected. It is an electoral process where primary producers are elected to the board. I have always thought that when primary producers are in charge they should be allowed the right to govern their agency and do their marketing. In light of its recommendation, this crew obviously does not think farmers should be in charge of their own destiny through an electoral process. I am surprised.
The hon. members talked about value added. Value added is extremely important. The Canadian Wheat Board recognizes this and is working toward finding ways to improve value added in western Canada. However we do not want the flexibility to be such that we end up with lower prices for primary producers. I am a strong supporter of adding value. However one of the difficulties with the value added situation is that instead of adding value to the raw primary product it lowers the price of the primary product which in turn lowers the return to farmers.
Farmers should be paid their production costs plus a reasonable return on their investment. That is what they need. This would make the economy and the country more healthy. Value could then be added to that. However because of the monopoly power of the retail and wholesale trade and the grain companies they end up backing down the prices to primary producers. That is not the answer. We must find ways of adding value, but in the process we must add income for primary producers. Doing this would result in a better economy and better lives for those in rural Canada.