Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise this evening to take part in this emergency debate on the cattle industry. My remarks will focus on the beef industry.
Even in this technological age, agriculture remains the backbone of this country's economy. Our country was born when farming started. The farming sector and our farmers are facing many challenges, and not only in the beef industry. Let us be clear on that.
This industry which so desperately needs help is faced with an insensitive government that is showing absolutely no willingness to help our farmers. Worse yet, and I will get into it later, it is laughing in their face when it says it will try to give them extraordinary assistance. The Conservatives had said that farmers would be seeing help and that it would save them.
The reality is quite different. I will get into some very embarrassing tidbits about the Conservatives later on.
Earlier, I said that agriculture and agricultural producers are facing numerous challenges, and have been for several years. I think everyone agrees on that. However, their income has not been increasing. There has not been much improvement since before the BSE crisis. Before the crisis, people were making good money, or at least, more than they are making now. All of the Conservatives' promises and pretty words do not put more money in farmer's pockets when they sell their livestock. It would not be truthful to pretend otherwise. Incomes have dropped by 60% to 70%. There has been no improvement since then. The Conservatives claim that the crisis is over, that everything is fine, and that they are handing out cheques to boot. However, incomes have not gone up; they have gone down, and as surely as incomes have gone down, expenses have gone up.
I will give a few examples of rising costs. There are many examples to choose from. Think of the incredible increase in the price of fuel, of diesel. The government is not doing anything to help our agricultural producers. The cost of cattle feed is rising. The cost of electricity is rising. We do not live in the south, so we have to heat our barns and buildings to make sure our animals do not have any problems. And there is so much more.
One of the worst problems Canadian agricultural producers, particularly those in my riding, are facing is foreign competition. That is probably one of the worst problems. It is hard to compete on a level playing field when people are not being treated fairly.
I heard the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources and for the Canadian Wheat Board say earlier that the quality in Canada is superior to that found south of the border. If it is superior in Canada—and I agree it is—why is it that we allow meat and animals to enter Canada from elsewhere, from the south, where the quality is inferior? This means that our farmers cannot play on a level playing field. Who is allowing this? The government opposite is. They boast that the Canadian product is better, yet they allow animals of inferior quality to enter the country. Who will pay? The consumer will pay, but that is not a problem. Who will pay the price in the end? Our farmers will.
If I were a Conservative member listening here this evening, I would be embarrassed, simply because the government is spouting rhetoric.
The government tells farmers that it is there for them. It announces funding. It asks farmers to vote for them, telling them they will see how the government plans to help them. Yet we have seen proof of the opposite. I hope the members across the floor will be embarrassed here this evening.
I would like to give the example of a farmer in my riding, Madawaska—Restigouche. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with him. He feels he is being made a fool of. I challenge any Conservative member, minister or parliamentary secretary to tell me that they are doing anything positive.
On March 9, 2007, with great fanfare, the Prime Minister announced $1 billion for Canadian farmers. The government's press release talked about a national agricultural income stabilization program, and I quote the Prime Minister of Canada:
Our government is taking another step forward towards replacing the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization Program with programming that is more predictable, bankable and better enables farmers to better respond to rising costs.
I spoke earlier about rising costs. Consider the example of that farmer in my riding: he own approximately 225 head of cattle and he recently received a cheque for $55.04. The Conservative government should be ashamed of itself for trying to say that it wants to help farmers.
The Conservatives are boasting to farmers about the $1 billion program they have introduced. But what are people in my riding getting? They are getting 26¢ a head. The government should be ashamed to send a cheque like that to that farmer. It is shameful to pay someone 26¢ a head.
How do you think our farmers are going to survive? The Conservatives can keep on telling us that everything is fine. The parliamentary secretary to the Minister of Natural Resources even dared to say earlier that his government was proud to announce that program. I wonder whether, in his response, he will tell me that he is still just as proud of that program, when farmers with 225 head of livestock are getting 26¢—not $26, $260 or $2,600, but 26¢—a head to help them get through the crisis.
As I said earlier, if I were a Conservative member, I would be ashamed to hear that tonight. I would talk to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and I would talk to the Prime Minister about the announcement he made on March 9, 2007 in Saskatoon. If the Prime Minister's announcement is not his way of thumbing his nose at our farmers, at the people who are the backbone of one of the largest economies in the country, then I do not know what it is.
I can assure you that this is just one example. Some people have decided not even to register for government programs any more, because they get absolutely nothing out of them. Filling out the paperwork costs more than the paltry cheque for $55.04 that they get.
I am anxious to hear what the government members will ask me. When we talk about an emergency debate, it is because there is an emergency. Our farmers need help. Where is the government? Nowhere. Does the government want to take positive steps? No. It is finding excuses and not coming up with solutions for our farmers. Despite all the fine speeches and lovely promises, the government is offering no real solutions and absolutely nothing to help our farmers get through the crisis.