Rick Borotsik

[Agriculture, May 28th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the minister of agriculture has acknowledged that there is a disaster taking place in southwestern Manitoba. We have much too much water, two million acres are in jeopardy of not being planted and the possibility of a $400 million loss in the economy in the area.

In 1998 the government rightfully put forward a compensation package for farmers during the ice storm in Ontario and Quebec. Can the minister tell me please what kind of compensation package will be put forward for disaster assistance in Manitoba and Saskatchewan?

[Agriculture, May 26th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to put the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food on notice, informing him of a devastating natural disaster which continues to affect the residents of southwestern Manitoba.

Farmers are especially hit hard by the flooding. Two million acres of land is in jeopardy and the area is only one rain away from total disaster.

June 15 is the crop insurance deadline. If crops are not seeded by then my riding could suffer a potential loss of $400 million. This could be devastating to an industry in my riding that is still suffering from the impact of a farm income crisis and the problems with the federal government's AIDA program.

As I have mentioned before in the House, as in last year's ice storm in Ontario and Quebec I urge the government to apply the same consistency in the level of compensation to those affected by yet another natural disaster in my riding.

The livelihood of farmers and other businesses in the area is at stake. It is time for the federal government to start developing a long term disaster assistance program. If the Prime Minister's western Liberal task force wants to listen to western Canadians, now is the time to listen.

[Agriculture, May 10th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, my question is for the minister of agriculture. During a meeting of the national safety advisory committee a few months ago, Paul Martin from the department of agriculture stated that it was possible to cover negative margins in the design of a current AIDA program according to article 7 of annex 2 of the WTO agreement. Arbitrarily the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food decided not to cover negative margins at a cost to Canadian farmers.

Why were negative margins not covered in the AIDA program if they were WTO compliant?

[Agriculture, May 10th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, it just seems to be getting worse for Canadian farmers.

Fusarium is a disease affecting cereal crops across Canada. Last year alone it cost $70 million to Manitoba farmers. Manitoba scientists and farmers have been asking the PMRA to authorize an emergency registration of Folicur. Nothing has been done to date even though this fungicide is registered in the United States.

Will the Minister of Health, under his authority, allow the emergency registration of Folicur so farmers will not be devastated by another disaster this year?

[Agriculture, May 7th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I suspect with 21,000 calls the minister would like to make the access face to face as opposed to just over the impersonal telephone call.

I have a guest in the gallery who is the general manager of a very large credit union in small town Manitoba. I ask the guest if in fact this program—

[Agriculture, May 7th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the minister of agriculture has said time and time again that the AIDA program is open and accessible to all farmers.

An AIDA office was just opened in Winnipeg and I would like to visit it. Farmers would like to visit the office, but unfortunately they will not give us their address. They say that it is not open to the public. I wonder if this is the user friendly attitude which this minister talks about in the AIDA program.

[Youth Violence, April 29th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, I rise to extend my condolences and deepest sympathies on behalf of the Progressive Conservative Party to the people of Taber and the victims families of yesterday's tragedy at W. R. Myers High School.

The families of Jason Lang and Shane Christmas are in our thoughts today. We pray that Shane will soon experience a full recovery at the Lethbridge Regional Hospital.

The small agricultural community of Taber has suffered a tremendous shock, which has resonated across the country. Yesterday Canada lost some of its innocence. Coming so shortly after the tragic shootings in Colorado shows that our borders are not immune to random acts of violence.

The actions of this 14 year old boy should be a reflection on what more we must do as a society to prevent such a senseless act from occurring ever again. We need to come to terms with how and why this happened. For now our focus must be on those who are suffering as a consequence of this tragedy.

[Questions On The Order Paper, April 27th, 1999]

What is the monetary compensation each individual Canadian Wheat Board permit book holder will receive from the level of service complaint settlement with both CN and CP railway after accounting for legal costs incurred by the Canadian Wheat Board?

[Questions On The Order Paper, April 27th, 1999]

What is the total estimated financial cost of the Canadian Wheat Board's 49 public forum meetings that are currently being held on Justice Willard Estey's grain handling and transportation review recommandations?

[Agriculture, April 26th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the minister of agriculture says that 24,000 applications have been sent out, but only 291 applications have been returned. The agriculture minister says that $900 million is sitting there, waiting to go into farmers' pockets, but not one red dollar of federal money has fallen into the pockets of western Canadians and Canadian producers.

Does this minister wish to have the $900 million spent on agriculture or does he wish to return it to the Minister of Finance when the program does not work?