Andy Mitchell

[Agriculture, October 29th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, it would probably come as a bit of a surprise to the U.S. ambassador whom I met yesterday that Canada is not advocating on a continual basis for the border to be opened. I think the point was made very clear to him.

In addition to that, as announced on September 10, the government felt it was absolutely essential that we develop made in Canada solutions so our producers could take into their own hands the types of business decisions that they needed to take.

All aspects of that program that were announced on September 10 are now in operation. We are working with the industry to ensure they can achieve profitability.

[Agriculture, October 28th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, there are two significant things that need to be done to address that particular problem.

First is the need to build more capacity. In our announcement of September 10 we are providing initiatives by the federal government to increase that capacity.

In addition, the hon. member and I have had a chance to talk about this. We are in discussions with a number of organizations, including the province of Quebec--and this would also apply to other dairy areas--on exactly how to deal with the cull cow issue in the short term. We will deal with increased capacity in the long term, but we are also having discussions about what to do in the short term.

[Agriculture, October 28th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, not only is money flowing to producers under the CAIS program, but on September 10 we instituted a special CAIS program advance for the beef producers. I am pleased to report that to date, 4,500 of those producers have taken up the offer. We are in the process of ensuring that they have the cash and the necessary liquidity in addition to the restructuring measures that we took on September 10 that will allow our industry to be profitable with or without a border opening.

[Agriculture, October 28th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, what we have indicated is a willingness to sit down with the industry and have a discussion about exactly how CAIS should be restructured, if it should be.

I should make the point that the Canadian Federation of Agriculture has made it clear that we should engage in this annual review. That process is being put in place. I made the commitment to them that as we review this, if there are alternative and better ways to make that particular program work, I am quite willing to listen to them and work at putting them in place.

[Agriculture, October 27th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, I would suspect that such a record would be a very long document. We have been working diligently with the Americans to see the border reopen. That is why we have a partial reopening. It is why we were able to sign an agreement with China last week.

The hon. member, when talking about what is happening in Asia, conveniently forgets about the agreement we signed. I do not understand why she ignores the positive and simply talks about the negative. It is simply what that party does all the time.

[Agriculture, October 27th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, as I said yesterday, the Japanese understand the integrated marketplace. We make that point with the Americans. In fact, that is in part why they partially opened the border to meat from cattle under 30 months of age.

We continue to work with the Americans to reopen the border. On September 10 we made a very significant announcement that would allow us to reposition the industry to be profitable with or without a border opening.

[Agriculture, October 26th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the preamble of the hon. member's question is clearly inaccurate.

When I was in Japan two weeks ago, we received a very firm commitment from the Japanese government that it treated us, Canada and the United States, as an integrated North American beef marketplace.

Those arrangements that were being put in place for the United States would also be put in place for Canada in the same timeframe. What has taken place is good news for Canadian cattle producers.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, October 19th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the most important issue in this respect is to make sure that we assist the producers in the challenges they face. As the Minister of Agriculture, I am very much committed to ensuring that takes place. Part of the strategic approach, of course, is to deal with the issues the Americans have brought forward. We do not believe they are justified and we will certainly, within the power and purview of the federal government, take the appropriate action.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, October 19th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, in anticipation that there may be a problem, I met with my provincial colleagues a month ago. We had some very in-depth discussions about this issue. I will be meeting again with relevant ministers on Friday to continue the discussion on the types of actions we may want to contemplate. In addition to that, I will be meeting with representatives from the industry next week and we will also be having a discussion about the appropriate measures that we ought to be taking.

[Agriculture, October 18th, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the Government of Canada recognizes the difficulties that our tobacco producers and the communities that support them are experiencing. I am pleased to advise that we will be honouring the commitment made last May. We are working with the industry on the particulars of the implementation of the program and we expect to see that implementation take place this fall.