Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to participate in this debate. I want to thank my colleagues across the way for putting this important matter, agriculture, before the House of Commons. I may disagree with much of their policy on the other side and the way they have phrased this motion, but in any event I recognize their concern, as I know they recognize mine, over the situation that Canadian farmers find themselves in.
The past year has certainly been a challenging one for Canadian farmers and farm families. There is no other job like farming. If it is not the vagaries of the weather, it is a worldwide downturn in prices. If it is not high subsidies from other countries, it is the closing of borders, and we have experienced both those points in the last while in dealing with the United States.
We recognize, and I think everyone should recognize, that both the United States and the European economic community, in terms of the agricultural subsidies they put into their industry, really have not abided. They have met the law with respect of the World Trade Organization agreement, which replaced GATT, but they really have not met the spirit of the negotiation in reducing subsidies, as we have done in Canada. When it comes to the United States closing the border, it certainly has used “any old excuse will do”.
We have experienced that many times in my home province of Prince Edward Island. We have had the experience of potato wart. We have had the experience of the mop top virus--