Mr. Speaker, during her speech the member opposite made mention of various groups or sectors that potentially will be helped by the budget. I heard nothing from her about the plight of tobacco farmers, nor did I hear anything yesterday from the Minister of Finance when he tabled his budget.
As the member opposite may know, there are over 600 tobacco producers, some in my riding and hundreds in the riding of Haldimand—Norfolk, the riding of the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration. Their industry has been crushed. They have lost market share and are feeling the real financial crisis or pinch of product from offshore.
I would like to ask the member opposite, particularly in view of the innuendo or overtures which have been made over the past several months by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and the member for Haldimand—Norfolk, why is there nothing whatsoever in this budget to assist tobacco farmers whose livelihoods are very much jeopardized? Their average age is 58 or 59 and have an average debt load of about $.5 million. They have been crushed and I would like to know why there was no relief for them in the budget.