Mr. Chair, it is a tremendous honour to stand in this place to speak for the first time since the good people of Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry elected me as their representative. I am very pleased that my first speech is on a subject of great importance to the people of my riding and to the people of Canada.
The leader of the official opposition and our agricultural critic have raised serious concerns about the BSE compensation program announced by the minister last month. The opposition struck a working group to consult farmers from coast to coast on BSE in the hope of improving upon the Liberal aid package by making it responsive to the needs of those directly impacted by the crisis. Members from all parties were invited to take part in this process. My role in this consultation process is to focus on the concerns of the dairy farmers.
I would like to thank the Dairy Farmers of Canada and all of the provincial dairy producer organizations for their excellent cooperation in this process. I would like to especially thank the individual dairy farmers who shared their experiences and insights with my office.
I am not being partisan when I say the feedback that I have received from dairy farmers about the Liberal BSE package has been very negative.
The comments from the dairy producers are somewhat along the lines of those from the beef producers. Most of them told us that they had not yet received any details on the compensation programs, how it operated, what its eligibility criteria were. In fact, a month after the program was announced, producers are still waiting for application forms.
An overwhelming majority of farmers we heard from said that they still had not received enough information about the package and those who had looked into it said that the package was too little and too late. Many dairy farmers have lost their entire profit margin as a result of the BSE crisis.
In other words, many dairy producers have lost a portion of their incomes. For the past year and one-half, they have been working for next to nothing. They are generating no income whatsoever to feed and clothe their families.
Given the plight of the farmers in my riding and across Canada, how can anyone explain to them the waste of billions of dollars on the gun registry, the funneling of taxpayer money to Liberal friends through ad scam or the extravagant entertainment costs of the head of Canada Post who just happens to be a former Liberal minister?
Dairy farmers in my riding and across Canada have very little faith that the government's BSE package will help them much, if at all. When I look at the government's track record on compensation to farmers, I cannot help sharing the farmers' pessimism.
Another thing I heard from many of the dairy farmers we consulted were the words “thank you”. They were grateful that a politician was actually asking for their views. The government has ignored the people who are suffering the most as a result of the BSE crisis. No wonder the Liberals seem so paralyzed when it comes to addressing this issue.
I have heard more good, constructive suggestions for dealing with the BSE crisis from farmers in the last two weeks than I have heard from the Liberal government in the last two years.
The producers do not want a facile solution. They want to draw some lessons from their experience. They have already given some thought to the direction their industry should take, and they deserve to be heard.
Among the long-term solutions they hove proposed are: development of a national processing capacity, diversification of international markets, adoption of stringent policies for inspections.
The BSE crisis proves that Canada's relationship with our main trading partner is falling apart. It certainly does not help that the Prime Minister accepts radical anti-American intolerance and childish name calling on the part of his caucus members.
In conclusion, I want to tell my hon. colleagues opposite that there is only one way out of the BSE crisis and that is by respecting Canadian farmers, respecting their needs and their ideas.