Mr. Speaker, I certainly do not use the term “rural Canada” in any derogatory form whatsoever. In fact, my father was born and raised on a farm outside Montreal. As a youth I would go to the farm in the summers and bring in the hay and milk the cows, et cetera. I understand to some extent the challenges of farmers in Canada. We have a job to do to make sure that we preserve the life in rural Canada, the small farm.
A couple of years ago I worked with Ducks Unlimited on a proposal that would allow farmers, if they wished, to convert marginal farmland into ecological areas for wildlife and riparian areas. In fact, that thinking has advanced. I understand the problem of people living on farms and having to have other jobs just to make ends meet. There are areas on farms where there is marginal farmland that could be converted to other uses and provide some much needed capital to farmers.
With respect to the member's comment about health care, I thought I had been very clear that in the health accord we have asked, and the provinces and territories have agreed, that there be greater accountability, more transparency, more benchmarking and performance standards so that comparisons can be made between provinces.
Rural Canada also needs investments in infrastructure. The challenge there is the huge geography and the distances that are involved.
We have the challenges with world subsidies, the U.S. and European subsidies. I am hopeful that we will make some progress on that issue as well. We have a lot to do to support our farming communities across Canada. Our government is committed to doing that.