Mr. Speaker, I would like to also rise and represent the constituents in my area who depend on agriculture.
The BSE crisis and border closure has impacted the industry like nothing else because it comes on top of other catastrophes in the industry. The frosts across Saskatchewan on August 20 had a terrible impact on the grains industry.
Agriculture producers want to see a much more vigorous defence of agriculture internationally and domestically by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Agriculture. I wish the agriculture minister would be making the speeches I hear him making here to the U.S. senators.
I want to send a very clear message to the agriculture minister today that the CAIS program is not working. I get calls daily from farmers at wit's end trying to adequately access those funds and get them in a timely fashion.
Something was done very quietly, not announced in the budget, and that is the farm improvement loan, the FIMCLA program. Why was this program quietly cancelled? Farmers have come to me in the last while saying the program--