Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food claims everybody supports his misguided agricultural policy framework and his totally inadequate business risk management program.
I have a news flash for the minister. He is living in a dream world. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Grain Growers of Canada, the Keystone Agriculture Producers and every farmer to whom I have spoken are saying just the opposite. They are not buying what the minister is selling and they certainly do not trust the department of top heavy bureaucrats to understand the real world of agriculture.
Why is the minister so determined to bully and intimidate farmers into accepting his plan? Does he not realize that if he shoves the agriculture policy framework down farmers throats, it is destined to fail? Yet, the minister has made it clear that he is hell-bent to see the agriculture policy framework come into effect with or without farmers' support.
I have a little advice for the minister. He should stop listening to his own big city bureaucrats and start listening to farmers.