Mr. Chair, this being my first opportunity to rise on behalf of the constituents of Fleetwood--Port Kells, I would like to thank my constituents for their confidence and trust in me. Indeed, it is an honour and privilege to represent them here in this Parliament.
The issue before us tonight, the BSE crisis and the ongoing closure of the U.S. border to live Canadian beef, is of vital importance to the Canadian economy.
Eighteen months ago the discovery of a single case of BSE on an Alberta farm launched beef farmers on a long but steady road toward bankruptcy. The fallout from that BSE case threatens rural communities from British Columbia to Nova Scotia.
Estimated losses now total more than $6 billion. Cattle that were worth nearly $1,500 before BSE hit fetch only $350 today, not even covering the cost of feed. About a million head of cattle are raised throughout British Columbia. Before the current crisis, the beef industry contributed $1.4 billion to the B.C. economy and the sales of cattle are nearly on par with those for dairy products and vegetables and surpass poultry sales by $100 million.
Agriculture has been the economic base of Surrey for over 100 years. Even today as the fastest growing city in Canada, almost one-third of Surrey's total land area is agricultural.
The BSE issue is an economic crisis that is severely punishing our beef producers and many related sectors. The BSE crisis is not about unsafe meat. Within six weeks of the border's closure, a team of international experts concluded that the herd in Canada is safe. However, the U.S. department of agriculture, despite acknowledging that beef from Canada poses no health risks, keeps the reopening mired in procedural studies.
The Liberal government assured Canadians that the border would be opened by the end of the summer. It turns out that the only strategy the Liberals had was to hope that it might just come true. Now it is October and the border remains closed and there are no signs of it opening again.
Last month the agriculture minister admitted that there is no specific end date to the American review process. That means there is no relief in sight for the beef industry. About 60% of the cattle in Canada are raised for export to the United States. Before that single case of BSE, we exported 2.5 million cattle annually.
What we have now is strictly a political problem that has nothing to do with the quality of safe Canadian beef or scientific fact. My constituents know where the blame lies. It lies with the weak and arrogant Liberal government that has failed to maintain good relations with the United States.
The Liberal members appear to consider it good fun to call our neighbours childish names. An ongoing string of anti-American outbursts from the Liberal caucus members has been detrimental to Canada-U.S. relations. These outbursts have compounded the situation, just as they have with the critical problem we face in the softwood lumber dispute.
A NAFTA panel ruled that Canadian lumber was not a threat to American producers and that the 27% levied since May 2002 could not be justified and further pursuit would be futile. But the U.S. is still not accepting this ruling and is likely to file yet another extraordinary challenge.
The Liberal government does not have a clear strategy to deal with these ongoing trade disputes with the U.S. The Liberals, rather than defending and expanding Canadian trade, have rather seriously jeopardized our commercial relations with our most important trading partners.
For the sake of Canada's farmers, lumber producers and countless other industries, I hope the Prime Minister will develop some backbone and exhibit better control over his members. The Liberals should put an end to the strategy of crossing their fingers and hoping the U.S. border will suddenly reopen to live cattle. What our farmers need now are open markets, not a gutless and indecisive do nothing Liberal government.