Mr. Speaker, if I were to trade places with you for even just a day or two, you would realize how absolutely devastating the BSE crisis is in my riding. Day after day, producers are calling my office. They have done everything they can to possibly save themselves from the devastating effects of this. They have rationed feed. They have sold animals for next to nothing just to pay a few bills. They have cut back on veterinary visits which is harmful to their cattle. They have begged the banks for loans and the banks have said that they cannot lend them any more money because of the uncertainty of the situation and the fact that the government is not coming forward with some kind of announcement of assistance. There is nothing else that they can do.
Brian Patron is a producer from the Goodeve area in my constituency. He has been told by his bank to give up. He said that the bank told him to go to the Alberta oil patch and work, that there is nothing the bank could do.
Judy Holod of Langenburg is selling cattle for about half as much as she would have received one year ago.
Greg Hemmings from Esterhazy said that the difference between selling cattle in December and February is like night and day. That is a matter of two months. In December Mr. Hemmings sold six head and received $6,000. When he sold six more on February 3, he received $1,801.65. The difference in just a couple of months is absolutely staggering.
We do not realize how the BSE crisis is compounding. On a daily basis it is becoming worse. Producers in Saskatchewan are receiving about half as much for their cattle as they were compared to a year ago.
Would the member agree that this collapse in the agriculture industry is not only affecting the farmers of the country but it is also affecting Atlantic Canada? Do we not have to do something now and quickly?