Mr. Speaker, Quebec agriculture is going through tough times and grain producers are the hardest hit at present. Grain prices are now artificially low because of American subsidies and, currently, the cost of growing grain for our farmers is higher than the price paid for their crops.
The federal program established to assist farmers is not working and the all too real losses continue to accumulate. This is a serious threat to agriculture because these problems are in addition to those often posed by the climate and the cost of transportation.
Canadian agriculture is being subsidized less and less. Amounts of subsidies per capita are lower than in the United States, the European Union and Japan. If no one takes action, if this government refuses to provide adequate support to grain producers, many farms will disappear, particularly in outlying regions.