Lost his last election, in 2006, with 40% of the vote.
Agriculture February 25th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, the comments from the hon. member are utter nonsense. He ignores the almost $2 billion that has gone to assist the beef and cattle industry. He ignores the fact that in the first two years of the new business risk management program $700 million beyond what was originally projected to be spent will flow to producers.
The reality is that there has been substantial support for producers across the country. We have done that in the past and we will continue to do that in the future.
Agriculture February 25th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned in my answer to the first question, officials on both the Canadian side and the U.S. side are in the midst of discussions in anticipation of the rule coming into force. They will ensure that the regulatory regime that will be necessary to facilitate trade is put in place and they will work on that in a manner that works for producers as well as consumers.
Agriculture February 25th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member is well aware, the USDA put forward at the end of December a revised rule that would govern how the border would be open to younger cattle. That rule is based on science. Officials on both sides of the border are working with each other to develop the necessary protocols to bring that into effect.
Agriculture February 23rd, 2005
Mr. Speaker, what Canadian producers can expect is record payments in support, $4.8 billion. What producers can expect is a repositioning strategy of set aside programs that in fact increase the price of both feeder and fed cattle substantially in this country. What is happening is that our producers once again are beginning to get from the marketplace a good return on their products. We have more to do and we are determined to do it.
Agriculture February 23rd, 2005
Mr. Speaker, that is utter nonsense. The agricultural secretary of the United States has said that the basis upon which the border will be open is one that will be based on science. We have made it clear that the science indicates that the border should be open and in that respect, the USDA put forward a rule that would in fact allow for the export of live cattle under 30 months to the United States.
Natural Resources February 14th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, that is utter nonsense. The Minister of Natural Resources sees within his mandate the need to work with all stakeholders. He does that well and will continue to do that into the future.
Natural Resources February 14th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Natural Resources works with constituency groups on an ongoing basis.
The hon. member mentions the Mackenzie Valley pipeline. There is a tremendous amount of work being done with the first nations in that community and with others to ensure that this is done in a reasonable way and in a way that takes into account the views of all those being impacted by the project.
Agriculture February 4th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, we have been very clear about our public policy in respect of slaughter capacity. We will support projects that increase the amount of capacity available to producers. That is the public policy. I have made it very clear to officials in Quebec that any proposal which deals with increasing capacity will be looked at very carefully.
Agriculture February 4th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, the reality is that actions have been taken. For instance, the Canadian Dairy Commission has provided a $5 increase in the price of milk, a portion of which has been allocated to deal with the issue of older animals.
Second, in the contemplated rule change that the U.S. has put forward, the ability to ship meat from older animals is one of the considerations and this would have a positive impact.
Finally, as the hon. member knows, we have been working very closely with the officials in the province of Quebec to determine what additional measures would be in order.
Agriculture February 4th, 2005
Mr. Speaker, corn producers are facing challenges in Ontario, which is why we have provided over $82 million through the CAIS program to producers in Ontario and why we have made changes in the program to cover negative margins to increase the cap.
That is why I am working with my provincial colleagues to contemplate additional changes. That is why the parliamentary secretary is taking a close look at structural changes within the various commodity sectors to deal with long term declines in income. That is why we are working within the WTO to make sure that our producers are able to compete on a level playing field. That is why collectively in 2003 we provided $4.8 billion of assistance to producers.