Mr. Speaker, I am really encouraged today to stand in this House and address the issue of the barley plebiscite. I think that it has been a very good day for western Canadian producers.
I sat and listened to members from the other side. Do they have the right to speak? Absolutely, yes. I wish they would put up a speaker who is a farmer from western Canada. I wish that the Liberal side would put up at least one producer who would stand in this House and say that they felt this was good or bad. But they do not. They brought people from the cities to explain to farmers why they believe farmers messed up on this.
It is a great day today because farmers had the opportunity to let government know the direction that they wanted to go in regard to how their barley would be marketed. It is a momentous day for western Canadian barley growers.
As members know, barley producers were given an opportunity to express themselves in a consultation with the government on how they wanted to market their grain and they spoke. They spoke very clearly.
Of the Alberta farmers, the province I come from, 78% said that they wanted the ability to market their own barley. Liberal opposition members are standing and saying they should not have that right; they erred; they made a mistake. Those Alberta farmers, the Liberals are saying, are not aware of the best ways to market their barley or their grain.
Today, the results of the barley plebiscite are in: 62% of those across the west who participated have told us they want to remove barley from the Wheat Board monopoly. They do not want the single desk Canadian Wheat Board to be the only avenue that they have to market their barley.
On this side of the House, we have always believed that western Canadian grain farmers should have the freedom to choose how they market their grain.
At the same time, as a government, we want to ensure that we maintain a very strong, viable, but yes, voluntary Canadian Wheat Board. It is something that we promised in the last election and it is a promise that I believe now Canadians can see we are working to keep.
Our commitment to farmers, the barley and wheat producers of western Canada, has been to give them the opportunity to use their own skills to market and to find the best possible return that they can find for their product, to give them the chance to succeed, and to give them the freedom to make their own choices on how to produce and how to market their crops, whether it is through a strong Canadian Wheat Board or some other mechanism.
In this plebiscite, we asked a very clear, honest question.
In fact, if I were wording the question, I would not have worded the question in the same way. I would have made it very clear that choice number one was for a single desk monopoly where it was only through the Wheat Board. That question was toned down. It did not talk about a monopoly; it simply talked about a single desk Canadian Wheat Board.
We asked a clear question and we got a clear answer. The question is whether farmers want to maintain the Wheat Board monopoly on barley; to have the option to sell to whoever they want, either domestically or internationally, including the Canadian Wheat Board; or to remove the Wheat Board, choice three, from any role in the marketing of barley.
We actively encouraged all eligible barley producers to vote to ensure that their voices were heard.
I want to thank the minister at this time for having the confidence of going to the producers of western Canada and saying, “We want to hear from you. This is decision time. We want to understand which choice best reflects the direction that you would like to go in the marketing of your barley”.
Nearly 30,000 farmers from western Canada responded; 30,000 farmers took the opportunity to participate. Nearly 50% voted for the second choice, option two. About 48.2% voted for option two, the option to market their barley to the Canadian Wheat Board or any other domestic or foreign buyer.
A further 13.8% selected option three. They said that they would prefer if barley was similar to oats and canola, and was absolutely removed from the Canadian Wheat Board, and so that it would have no role in marketing their barley. In fact, those 13.8% unlikely said that the Wheat Board had done such a poor job in cases where it was selling their barley that they would rather just go out and find their own markets.
I am not certain I would agree with that. I think it is important to continue to have that choice. That is why I am pleased that the huge majority have opted for choice.
Taken together across the west, 62% of barley producers want to change the status quo. They do not want it the way that it has been for as long as they can remember. They recognize that new technologies, new abilities, and a new style of farming gives them now the opportunity to market and they look forward to it.
Western Canadian barley growers have spoken very clearly. The Minister of Agriculture has said that he intends to move decisively to act on their expressed preferences in order that producers and the entire sector have clarity in the market, and that they know that coming into this next crop year next fall that they are going to have those opportunities that they have waited so long for.
The Minister of Agriculture will be consulting with the board of directors of the Canadian Wheat Board about the changes that we will be making. We will move forward with this marketing choice.
We should all remember that producers take all the risks and they make all the investments on their farm. We are coming to a time now where we are preparing for the spring and where farmers have got their grain cleaned. They have their seed ready. They have spoken for their fertilizer. They have their plan in place. They know what they are going to be planting and when they are going to start if the weather permits. The farmers take all the risks. They study the variety of barley or the variety of grain that would suit best the land on which they farm. They take the risks.
On this side of the House we believe that they should not be punished. They should not be put in jail for pursuing opportunities outside the Wheat Board that make good business sense to them.
The Minister of Agriculture will propose regulatory changes to the Canadian Wheat Board regulations with the intention of removing barley from the board's single desk authority by August 1, 2007.
Barley growers are encouraged to plant this spring with confidence, that the government is listening, and that the government is working to let them decide how they wish to sell their grain this fall.
The regulations that are being proposed will permit producers to make the economic and marketing decisions that are right for their particular operation and to allow them to maximize the returns from the sale of their barley.
We are noticing that there is a very strong demand for western Canadian barley. There is a demand in Canada and there is a demand abroad. Under the new regulations, western Canadian producers will have the choice of selling their barley to the buyer of their choice. It might be a grain company. It might be a market that they seek out and find. I know that many of our organic producers at this point in time, the ones that I know in my riding, are very good at seeking out their markets in other countries, in the United States particularly, and sometimes in other countries.
They are willing to do that. They are willing to sell to this buyer, but now there will be people competing for their commodity and for their barley.
The government will continue to guarantee the Canadian Wheat Board's borrowings and initial payments under the conditions set out in the Canadian Wheat Board Act. The changes will not alter the export guarantee programs of the Government of Canada.
As well, to those who like to scaremonger and frighten producers with stories about losing their advance payments, let me remind the House that cash advances are currently provided to farmers under the Agricultural Marketing Programs Act. That program is available to a wide range of producers and barley producers. They will continue to be eligible for cash advances in the marketing choice environment.
When this debate began, that was one of the questions that I had. As a young farmer I always appreciated the ability to get the advance and the ability to get those cash dollars up front, so that I could put money down on input costs and the like. Is that being taken away? The answer is no.
We have been clear from the beginning that we believe in giving producers a choice. That is what we have done with the barley plebiscite. We let producers have their say on an issue that impacts their business. We made a promise to give them the opportunity and today they have responded. They have said that they want to grab that opportunity.
The farmers who received their ballot, sat down, read the questions, and studied and talked to their neighbours, answered very strongly today that they want the ability for choice and the ability to market their own barley. We are going to give them that choice, that ability and that opportunity.
Since taking office just over a year ago, Canada's new government has made it a priority to listen to producers and to respond to their concerns. In budget 2007 we announced new investments in renewable fuel production that will help Canada's farmers capture new opportunities in the growing bioeconomy.
This is a major commitment by the Government of Canada to not just western Canadian producers but to all producers. We now have a case where farmers have a commitment to 5% biofuel or ethanol by 2010. Farmers know that there will be a market should they decide to grow canola, barley or grain that would be used for this biofuel industry.
We had farmers come here from Camrose and from my constituency. I have been speaking to individuals from Stettler, Beiseker and Kneehill County. All of them are farmers who have talked to us about the importance of what they were hoping the government would do and consequently what we did do in budget 2007. It is important to grow canola and not just use it as a feed, for the oil or food value, but now to be able to use it for fuel value. This government was committed to agriculture when the canola producers, the industry, said that they needed parity with the United States.
They said they needed 20¢ on biodiesel and 10¢ on ethanol. The government obviously listened and responded in the 2007 budget and said that we are going to make that commitment, so that the agricultural industry, especially in the west, can benefit. Not only does it benefit but all of Canada benefits.
We have come into the green fuels. We now see that there are huge benefits for all but especially for those who are in areas where they grow canola and areas where they can contribute to this type of industry.
It is not just the producers who are going to benefit, it is the communities. It is communities like many in my riding of Crowfoot that have been looking for primary industry, that have been looking for start ups so that young people can stay, work and have a future in our rural communities. The new Conservative government is listening and it has responded.
Again, in all the talk about what has gone on here today, I have not heard one western Canadian farmer from the Liberal side stand up and give us any indication why the Liberal Party is not on board with the plebiscite that gives farmers the choice.
Not only are we committed to the biofuel industry and the 10¢ a litre, but we will ensure that industry knows right now, when it looks at where to place that plant. Far too often, I have heard rumours that every 11 days there is a new plant starting in the United States. Every 14 days there is a new ethanol plant. Every 11 days there is a new biodiesel plant. We never had a commitment from the former government. That is why we saw all this production and processing go to the United States because the previous government was not committed to it.
This government recognizes the importance of not just a strong agricultural sector but strong rural communities. This is the kind of initiative that will build up our rural communities. These are the kinds of initiatives that will give new hope to the young people and to all in the industry.
This new investment not only puts in $2 billion over seven years to support the production of renewable fuels of ethanol and biodiesel, but it also gives $500 million in renewable fuel programs and incentives that have been put into place since this government has come into office.
These investments are important. We do not call these only expenditures on the expenditure side of the ledger. These are investments and they are an important step in helping Canada achieve that all important 5% average renewable content by 2010.
I am proud of this government. Since the election last January, I have seen a government that has been hard at work, a government that has brought forward its vision for the country. It has been repositioning Canada, not just at home but abroad. Many people have come to me and said, “I'm proud again to be a Canadian”.
Now we are hearing more and more farmers calling and saying that they are proud of the direction in which the government is going. We have had very steady action on agriculture. I look forward to seeing the opportunities that lie ahead for western Canadian barley producers and Canadian agriculture as a whole.
It is an exciting time to be a Canadian. It is an exciting time to be a western Canadian farmer. As a farmer myself, I think the opportunity now of perhaps having a son who may want to stay on the farm is much greater than it has ever been before. Someone has told me that handing the farm over to one's son is not so much an inheritance as it is a sentence. That is changing and now young people are saying that there is hope in the family farm.
I am on a farm. My grandfather moved up from Minnesota in the winter of 1905-06. For over 100 years, we have been on the family farm and family ranch. It has grown somewhat. I have purchased other land that was in the family, but it feels good to say that maybe there is a future for our children coming up. It is direction like this that gives hope for all farmers, where they can see that now somebody has listened to what they have said, to what they have requested. We have listened and we have acted.
I thank the Minister of Agriculture for the positive action he has taken. I thank him for his strong commitment to agriculture. I thank our Prime Minister for his leadership.