Lost their last election, in 2000, with 10% of the vote.
Canadian Wheat Board Act September 27th, 1994
Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for that question. If I read the Liberal red book on the fairness it is portraying that everybody will get under that government, I am sure the Liberals are going to give the western Canadian farmers that privilege to elect their wheat board just like they do in Ontario. If that is the case I applaud them for doing it. It shows democracy in real style, not democracy by region.
(Motion agreed to, bill read the second time and referred to a committee.)
Canadian Wheat Board Act September 27th, 1994
Madam Speaker, I do not have all those figures available that readily. I do not know all the Alberta barley producers but I can guarantee the hon. member that if they are not paying their fair share in research, they will.
He says they have representation from all farmers and that the wheat board is doing such a fantastic job for farmers. I remind the hon. member that in 1993 after staff reductions, after tremendous cuts, salaries to the Canadian Wheat Board increased by $1.4 million.
Not only that, the advisory group spent $50,000 more on travel and sold 15 per cent less last week than the year before. They should not try to tell me that it is working for farmers. Last fall the wheat board and the provincial and federal governments told us there was no market for our tombstone wheat.
Farmers in southern Manitoba marketed that wheat within hours. My son sold his whole crop of wheat in four hours. There was a good market for it and a good price. They should not tell me that all farm organizations are always supporting farmers or doing the best job because I get a little riled up.
Canadian Wheat Board Act September 27th, 1994
Madam Speaker, I was looking for question period. I thought I would get out of this before that started.
It is a privilege for me to address the bill and I am going to address it more or less in a way that a Reform farmer does, not a Reform politician.
I thank the hon. member for Malpeque for all the free publicity for Reform he is giving us. We really appreciate that. It is good advertising.
The spirit of Bill C-50 goes in the right direction. The spirit is good. The increase in private funding for research, pretty well every farmer supports. I am starting to wonder who drew up the bill. When I look at the body of the bill it looks very sick, very old and very decrepit. I do not think it is going to provide the incentive this money is supposed to give.
To me it looks like it must have been a Liberal lawyer drawing it up, not a Liberal farmer because I am sure some of the clauses would be different.
We take a look at clause 31(3) and all of a sudden I realize we have another agency. The agency is called the western research fund and if we look at the track record of federal agencies we know that they usually have deficits, not surpluses. When we look further on we will see that is exactly what the next clause says. It says the cost of collecting these moneys will be deducted from distributed moneys. What have we left over?
I am becoming very suspicious that there will not be very much money for research which we originally intended.
We go back down to the other clause, and all of a sudden we find out we have another fund, a reserve fund, more administration. How much cost is there going to be to the administration of this 20 cents a bushel levy? It does not end there.
Then we go to clause 33(2) and it says there will be provisions made that certain projects are not eligible for this funding and certain research projects that do not pertain to research on these products could be funded. There is no clear direction in the bill.
We go down further to clause 33(3) and we are talking of an annual report that will have to be made to the minister but there are no guidelines that say what kind of a report. It will be at the minister's discretion what kind of report. Is it going to be a report saying it is minus or plus? Or is it going to show us which projects were funded? Why is there no body to the bill? I want some body in the bill.
Then we go further down and we find the door is left wide open to whatever we can think of. If it is at the minister's discretion to call the report, why call for something when there are irregularities in it, especially if the government of that day would not like the irregularities.
Why not put out a bill that is simple and will direct these funds to the research that we want to target? It is very simple. As I mentioned the other day, give farmers the choice. In the next federal election the hon. member on the other side would be really provoked if he were forced to mark his ballot Reform and then ask for it back because he did not agree to vote for Reform. Let us try it and see what they will say. Maybe they all will vote Reform. Maybe it is going to be that impressive. If we want democracy let us have it everywhere.
I am not surprised, if I look at the bill, that we have problems in government. If bills about immigration and bills about law and justice are so vague and so unpredictable no wonder we have lawyers having the richest industry in the world today. To me as a farmer if I want to support something I want to have that right to say so. I do not want somebody to tell me you put this money in here and then if you have time, if you feel things are not right you can ask for it back. I want that money to go to research. That is why I suggest very strongly to the government, if it wants my support as a farmer, to give me that opportunity. I will guarantee that if farmers have that opportunity the government will get more money for check-off to research funding than it will otherwise.
I have another suggestion for the government. If we really want to co-operate in the House why not ask some of the Reform members on this side to help draft the bill because I know it can be improved. The intent is tremendous. We want to co-operate. It is always suggested that we do not want to co-operate. Any member on this side could draw up a bill that would direct that money specifically to the research that we wanted.
Agriculture September 26th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, last Thursday two Manitoba farmers had their homes searched by Canada customs officials and RCMP to confiscate documents related to the export of wheat to the U.S. One of these farmers was not even given the opportunity to be at home when three special customs agents and six RCMP approached his wife and family with search warrants.
My question is for the right hon. Prime Minister. Is this the Liberal government's approach to dealing with hard working farmers who are trying to make a decent living?
Grain Transportation September 20th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, that is a very broad answer to a very definite question.
Farmers are again harvesting a crop under extreme weather conditions. They have a plugged railway system. Because the recommendation was not acted upon we now have a situation where a few large players are dictating the process of car allocation. Farmers, small grain elevators and shippers are again being discriminated against.
What action is the minister prepared to take to solve the problem?
Grain Transportation September 20th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, as the Liberal government and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food well know, in May of this year the subcommittee on grain transportation recommended that a man be appointed immediately to take over the entire allocation process from the Grain Transportation Agency. This was again explicitly expressed as a concern to the minister in a June meeting with the standing committee.
Could the minister explain why he did not act on this recommendation?
Betty Larke June 8th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I rise in the House today to pay a special tribute to one of my constituents, Betty Larke of Morden, Manitoba.
Betty has recently been awarded the 1994 Kinsmen community service award. She has been a member of the Royal Canadian Legion auxiliary for 50 years. In 1985 she was awarded the jubilee medal and the meritorious award. Betty has also worked extensively with the Salvation Army's Red Shield Appeal, Meals on Wheels, the United Way, the community's senior home and her local church.
In this, the Year of the Family, it is very appropriate that we recognize Betty's dedication to her community and her respect for family and values.
Betty Larke has enriched the lives of many people in our community through her strong desire to help others. All Canadians can learn from her example.
Agriculture May 26th, 1994
Excuse me, Mr. Speaker. Why is the minister putting the Canadian cattle industry at risk and also allowing the export of jobs in the Canadian beef processing industry?
Agriculture May 26th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, I thank the minister for that answer. I would like to point out to him that cattle farmers have taken a 20 cents per pound reduction in prices since January. At present beef exports from Australia and New Zealand to the U.S. are down, while exports from Australia and New Zealand to Canada are up 47 per cent. Our cattle producers are being forced to ship live-
Agriculture May 26th, 1994
Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food.
Last December the government acted on a Canadian International Trade Tribunal recommendation for an annual quota of 72,000 tonnes on imported boneless beef. This measure was necessary to prevent serious injury to the Canadian beef industry. Now the government has increased that quota to 85,000 tonnes.
Why is the government disregarding the CITT recommendation, thereby abandoning the Canadian beef industry?