Mr. Speaker, Canadian farmers are dealing with one of the most difficult years ever due to wet field conditions combined with the lowest grain prices in over 100 years.
Low commodity prices, slow grain sales and movement are at the root. The Canadian Wheat Board, the railways, the subsidies and domestic support programs in other countries, and our government's agriculture and trade policies, or lack thereof, are all to blame for the situation facing Canadian agriculture today.
Last week I met with the parliamentary secretary, as well as the Minister of Agriculture, and heard the same old responses: the CAIS program is in place, farmers have crop insurance and the Canadian Wheat Board has asked for an increase in initial prices. None of these will put money in farmers' pockets.
Producers still do not have the tools or the opportunities to add value to what they grow.
The government has failed to address this and many of the failures in CAIS and foreign subsidies. I will continue to push the Liberal government to reach an agreement at the upcoming WTO ministerial meetings that will help farmers. This is on the 12th anniversary of the government taking office.