Madam Chair, I just want to note before I begin that I want to extend my appreciation to the House for its cooperation in allowing this debate to happen this evening.
I am also aware that the Chair is very judicious in its practice of making sure we do not recognize those particularly in the House who perhaps are not at our level but are within the House, so I will be very careful to note that those who might be here will not be recognized by myself.
However, there is a huge audience in Canada watching this debate and some of those people are dairymen. Some of those people are somewhere in this city and perhaps are watching as we speak.
As someone who is engaged in the business of farming for my entire life, I know how important this debate is to primary producers. Through this debate we are sending a signal that this is a national issue that must receive attention at the highest level. No one farmer or sector in the industry should face this challenge alone.
Yesterday I received a media call concerning this debate. The basic question posed was: What do I hope to achieve with this debate? Based upon this question I offer my remarks this evening.
As you well know, Madam Chair, BSE is not just a rural matter. It is a matter affecting every Canadian. Furthermore, BSE is also no just an issue affecting food security, but it is something that has negatively impacted our national economy.
Given this, I would say that this debate is about sharing information.
First, with the Minister of Agriculture, yesterday at the Dairy Farmers of Canada annual policy conference, he again restated his desire to consult with stakeholders and with parliamentarians. I believe that it is our duty to fulfil that request by providing the minister with the facts that we have. The minister will then be equipped to take the commentary into consideration as he works with the Americans, the Japanese, the Europeans and even the Mexicans.
Furthermore, in this debate we must underscore the fact that Canadian beef is safe and of the highest quality. Canadians understand this, and we need to reassure and remind our international partners of this issue.
Second, with Canadians who are not farmers, Canadian farmers have a firsthand understanding of what BSE has done to the industry and subsequently to small town Canada, not just to beef but to the dairy sheep and also to the goat industries. There has been a substantial impact on the pet food industry as well as farm machinery dealers and countless other peripheral segments of our economy.
Canadian beef production is worth about $30 billion annually to our economy. The average Canadian I am told eats about 132 times a year with beef on the plate. There are nearly 15 million beef cattle in Canada, and Canada is the third largest beef and cattle exporter on the planet.
It is for these reasons and more that we must act to save this industry. I firmly believe that non-farming Canadians want to understand the complexities of this topic. Canadians have a long history of rallying to help those in need. Also, Canadians want to help our farmers, and I believe that this debate is a mechanism by which we can inform them of how we might do that.
Third, and perhaps most important, I believe that government can relay a very important message to those who seek to unfairly profit from this disaster. While I can accept that every person is entitled to make a living, I do not accept that someone has the right to make that living on the backs of the underprivileged.
Those are the areas that I would like to touch upon during my remarks this evening. I would hope that when we are finished here tonight our farmers will know that every member of the House, regardless of political affiliation, stands with them and that we will take any and all steps required to put this crisis behind us as soon as possible.
Prior to prorogation, I served as the chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture. The committee worked tirelessly on all sides of the table to explore this issue and provide recommendations to the government on how to best address this BSE crisis.
While I assume that most members of the House have seen the report, because the recommendations were both instructive and unanimously supported by all parties, I am now going to read a number of them in part at least into the record so that it is there for the record.
The committee recommends that specific risk materials are not included in animal feed. This must be enforced and audited for compliance.
The committee recommends that the government work with the CFIA, the industry and provinces to enhance the existing Canadian cattle identification program by establishing a comprehensive and cost effective national traceability system.
The committee recommends the establishment of a task force that would focus specifically on the trade issues involved in the restoration of export markets for livestock and related meat products.
In order to ensure that increased costs resulting from changes made to inspection, rendering practices and traceability systems are not borne solely by producers, the committee recommends that the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food increase the budget of the CFIA. Furthermore, the committee recommends that the minister name an auditor to ensure that additional costs be kept to a minimum and shared equitably among all stakeholders in the livestock industry.
The committee recommends a compensation plan for a culling program, which would include dairy cull cows, that should be conducted according to an attrition rate that would allow the industry to better balance supply and demand. Since such a program will require the development of meat products with greater value added, the committee recommends that the government support the industry through a special assistance fund for the development of new market opportunities.
The committee recommends that the Competition Bureau conduct an investigation into the price of beef at the processing and retail levels.
Given my first purpose for asking for this debate tonight, I would respectfully remind the minister that these recommendations are the product of considerable national consultation.
On the second point, as a farmer and as an MP representing a riding in which agriculture is the primary industry, I would like to thank all Canadians. It should be pointed out that Canada is the first nation in history to see an increase in domestic consumption of beef following a case of BSE. Madam Chair, through you to all Canadians, we thank you.
I have saved my most salient point for last, and that is unfair profiteering. I must say that the packing houses have been subjected to the vast majority of this criticism. Why, people might ask. I will tell them why.
In May of last year, just prior to the identification of the single Canadian case of BSE, according to market reports, live steers were averaging between $1.05 and $1.12; Holstein steers were selling somewhere between 90¢ and 95¢ and cows at 50¢ to 60¢. Today, one year later, relative to live prices, 78¢ is now being paid for steers, Holstein steers are at 25¢ and cows are 18¢ to 23¢. This is only after some stabilization in the market has occurred. The prices had even been lower.
Despite the substantial drop in prices paid to farmers, the price to consumers does not seem to be going down accordingly. Earlier today I consulted with a grocer in my riding who told me that today he is selling strip loin for $10.99 per pound and top sirloin for $6.99 a pound. I asked him to compare the price that he pays for beef today to what he was paying prior to the BSE discovery and he told me that there was no measurable difference.
Now I am no economist but this seems suspicious. Despite the fact that farmers are receiving 40% to 60% less today than they were a year ago, consumers are paying the same amount.
Some might attempt to distort the issue by saying that the cost of disposing of bones, blood and fat has increased, hence adding to the consumer cost. I spoke to a butcher in my riding who told me that, while his disposal costs have indeed increased, they could not begin to justify maintaining the pre-BSE retail prices of beef given the lower price being paid to farmers.
With this in mind, I would direct the House's attention to the committee's recommendation calling for the Competition Bureau to investigate this matter. It should be noted that a letter was sent to the bureau. However the committee's concerns on behalf of farmers were summarily dismissed.
Specifically, the acting commissioner of competition stated that the Competition Act did not provide the bureau with the authority to look into this matter. He then stated that while price fixing is illegal, unconscionable profiteering is not in and of itself contrary to the act.
Statistics are showing that in 2002 the average Canadian ate 48.3 pounds of beef. I would suggest that even I cannot eat that much bull. Perhaps the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food could remind the bureau that it exists to prevent the development of an anti-competitive marketplace. Failing that, perhaps we should address this issue legislatively via amendments to the Competition Act.
I have much more I want to say but I see my time is running out. As my final point I want to thank the committee. Many of the members who worked on this issue are here this evening. I also thank my colleagues in the House, especially the vice-chairs of our committee. Our cooperative relationship is not lost on those we work to serve. I look forward to resuming our work in the near future.