Mr. Speaker, I would like to ask the member opposite what his understanding is of the experience in Australia. We on this side of the House have been reading about that experience. It is always good to learn from other people who have gone through this.
Jock Munro, an Australian wheat farmer, in the Grain Matters magazine, said:
We estimate we have lost $4 billion as growers since the wheat industry was deregulated three years ago.
The loser is definitely the Australian wheat grower, and the winners are the huge companies that control the logistics chain and are end users themselves. The industry is moving into the hands of big multinationals, which is where we were 60-70 years ago. What the Australian industry has done is gone back to where it was pre-single desk.… Deregulation of our wheat industry is becoming a national embarrassment.
Western Canadian farmers should look at the Australian situation...which offers a cautionary tale. Australian farmers have seen no advantages...despite the planning and slow pace of transformation...
We were warned about this in The Economist. We were warned about this as well in The Wall Street Journal. We were warned that it would be the big multinationals that would reap the profits of this, profits that would otherwise be in the pockets of farmers.
Could the member explain what will make us different from the Australian experience?