Larry McCormick

[Canadian Farmers, February 9th, 1999]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food announced in December that the Government of Canada would provide $900 million of assistance to help producers get through the current farm crisis.

Where are the cheques?

[Kingston, Ontario, December 9th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, two local citizens from my neighbouring riding of Kingston and the Islands, Mr. Ian Milne and Ms. Margaret Angus, have undertaken an initiative entitled “Kingston—First Capital” to gain official recognition of their city as the first capital of Canada.

Kingston, which adjoins the St. Lawrence River and Lake Ontario and is gateway to the Rideau Canal, served as capital of the United Canadas from 1841 until 1843. Often referred to as the Limestone City, Kingston hosted the first, second and third sessions of the first parliament of the United Provinces of Canada until the capital was moved to the city of Montreal in late 1843.

Of the various buildings used for that legislative assembly, only two, the Kingston Hospital and the Bonsecours Market in Montreal, are extant. It is truly fitting that Kingston be officially recognized as the first capital of our great nation.

I visit this historic city regularly and admire the traditions and the respect for history this community supports. I applaud the efforts of Mr. Milne and Ms. Angus and those assisting them for their dedication and commitment to this worthwhile project.

[Agriculture, December 1st, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the current farm crisis is not only a rural issue in one province. It is an issue in all provinces across Canada. Urban Canadians share in the benefits the agriculture and agri-food sector provides.

Farmers' investment and labour provides delicious and nutritious food for Canadians at the second lowest prices in the industrialized world, costing less than 10% of our disposable income.

Production happens in the countryside where machinery dealerships and other input suppliers also live and work. However, transporters, processors, grocers and restaurant workers also live in cities and towns. The industry is Canada's third largest employer. Add to this the $20 billion worth of agriculture and food products exported and we have some idea of the value of the farm sector in Canada.

Our hearts go out to farmers who are suffering extraordinary losses. We must act now and respond to their need. Friends and neighbours in my constituency of Hastings—Frontenac—Lennox and Addington tell me that family farms are a valuable resource that we must protect.

I urge all members of the House to support the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food—

[Agriculture, November 30th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak on the emergency debate on farm income.

I am very glad that our Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food has been listening to witnesses from almost all commodity groups across the country for several weeks.

Because this crisis is very real we want to work with all involved to assist our farmers.

The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food has spoken with passion and conviction about the serious situation in farm income. I know his commitment to deal with this problem is sincere and his response reflects the nature of the challenge.

Demand for key agricultural products in Asia and Russia has been drastically reduced as the buying power of consumers has shrunk. The link between the global financial crisis and farm income in Canada is not a matter for debate.

Combine this with the simultaneous cyclical price downturns in grains, hogs and cattle and pockets of poor production in some areas and we get a situation in which many producers are seeing a pretty significant reduction in income this year, in fact a drastic reduction.

There may be some members who would argue the answer to these problems is insulation from the global economy, but that reflects their simplistic view of the world rather than compassion for those affected by this crisis. Offering complaints cannot be equated with offering solutions and what people need are workable solutions.

Talk of removing Canada from global markets, international trade and the need to export makes great rhetoric but will not make one iota of difference to the financial security of men and women working on Canadian farms. Neither will bland complaints about not getting everything we want or when we want it from trade negotiations.

Let us do our farmers justice by eliminating the rhetoric and instead working together to offer practical responses to a complicated problem.

The responsibility of governing demands that we offer the pragmatic and not the dramatic. As this government has done in the past, we will continue to work with farmers and provincial governments to put programs in place that are equitable and available to all in need, no matter what province they live in.

We will also work with these same partners to develop a strong, united and compelling position for international trade negotiations. In bringing forth long term and short term responses to this serious situation, we are committed to both collaboration and co-operation.

Canadian farmers have a right to expect such an approach to this problem. There is no room for theatrics or one-upmanship given the nature and the magnitude of the problem.

Our most recent farm income figures, and let me underline that these figures were developed with the provinces, show that at the national level overall net farm income is down 4% from the average over the last five years and down 20% from 1997.

Of course that aggregate number hides the problems we know exist. Some parts of the country are suffering worse than others and depending on the commodity, some producers are practically unaffected while others are hurting very severely.

We know there are serious problems in the hog and grain sectors. The majority of hog producers are in Quebec, Ontario and Manitoba and yet Atlantic Canada has significant hog production and so these areas have been affected.

The majority of grain farmers are in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta. There are grain farmers in parts of Ontario. There are wheat farmers in my riding. Meanwhile we must not forget that we have other producers who experienced serious droughts and even outbreaks of disease such as scrapie. This is the full context of the farm income situation and we must recognize all the forces at work. Doing this will help to bring sense to the numbers.

Looking at these problems regionally we see that in Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan and Manitoba the situation is particularly serious. Realized net farm income is forecast to be down 40% this year in P.E.I. and Manitoba while in Saskatchewan farm income could fall almost 70% relative to the previous five year average. Unfortunately our current forecast also predicts that those who are having trouble this year are not likely to see improvements next year.

I know there are a great many people in communities from coast to coast facing hardship and who are looking to the Government of Canada for relief and assistance. There are other pressing issues that demand the attention of the federal government. It is not one or the other. We must find a way to do the best we can for all these people.

The farm income situation is not one that the government will retreat from any more than it will retreat in the face of any other challenge. We want to fix this problem as quickly as possible in order to bring some sense of calm back to the sector that has become increasingly desperate in recent days.

Moving forward, not backward, requires partnership between the levels of government. That principle was established in previous events. As with the ice storm earlier this year, the federal government will pay its share. The provinces can count on that.

In designing our immediate response to the farm income situation, we will shoulder our load. Clearly provincial governments in affected areas will also have a load to bear, and that is unavoidable. The challenge is to design a response that divides the load and best serves the public interest. Again this is a sincere and pragmatic approach and reflects the responsibility of government.

There is never a place for adversarial relationships between federal and provincial governments. In the current situation this is especially true. The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food has made it clear that he wants to work with the provinces in addressing this situation. Farm organizations and both levels of government are now working on solutions that address conditions in the affected regions to meet the needs of those most affected.

The minister has also emphasized the need for open communications and a transparent process to let people know what is happening. Solutions will come from this hard work. Effective programs will be produced by this approach. Will it be flashy? No. Will it be a total cure? I think not. There are no quick, easy or total solutions.

Workable and meaningful solutions do not have to be flashy or miraculous in order to make a difference. Making a difference is part of governing. The Government of Canada is committed to making a difference in the farm income situation.

[Supply, November 3rd, 1998]

What department?

[Supply, November 3rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, this morning in rural caucus as we met at 7.40 individual members from Ontario were discussing how serious this situation is and how it is affecting our producers. Individuals talked about hog producers. We wonder what their future will be. There is an overproduction and commodity prices are at an all time low, and following the Asian flu there is less demand.

I have many neighbours who are involved in supply management and are thankful that the government is supporting that. There are also many people who grow cereals and grains who are concerned about the future.

I am glad to see the motion on the floor. At committee we supported bringing the motion forward, although we may have wanted to change a few words in it. This is a serious crisis.

[Supply, November 3rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I know the hon. member's colleagues on his side will tell him that we had four hours of meetings on the agriculture standing committee today with farm leaders such as Jack Wilkinson and the western pools.

NISA is a good program but it is not the answer to all our problems. That is why we spent four hours in committee listening to these people and asking questions. This is a serious situation. No one has all the answers. That is one of the reasons my hon. colleague from Prince Edward Island on this side of the House today asked what he proposes. The supply management sector is healthy at this time. Does he support that? What would he like us to do?

He does not want us to help anybody out. He wants to cut money from all these programs. Yet he wants us to help the western producers. I want to do that too. We have to look at how bad the circumstances are and see what we can do. This is not a short term problem. World prices are at the very lowest in commodities. We want to work together with our colleagues.

[Supply, November 3rd, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I am thankful for the opportunity to speak on this motion. I will be splitting my time.

The Government of Canada recognizes that Canadian primary producers face unique challenges in operating their businesses. Not only must they deal with the pests, the diseases and the unpredictable Canadian weather, they must also do business in a highly volatile, competitive and often heavily subsidized international marketplace.

To help Canadian producers meet those challenges the federal government is investing $600 million each year in farmer safety nets. The provinces are spending an additional $400 million. This envelope of $1 billion in addition to the funds contributed by producers funds a system that helps farmers deal with the production, the material risks and the market risks they must manage in their farming operations.

The cornerstone of this system is the net income stabilization account, NISA, a voluntary program that can provide a source of money for farmers during market downturns. This money can be used for whatever purpose they choose, to pay input suppliers, to meet operating and term loan payments or to supplement their personal incomes. As the minister mentioned earlier, NISA has been a tremendous success with participants accounting for 85% of the net sales of commodities eligible for the program.

I will briefly describe how the NISA system works and how it helps Canadian farmers deal with market downturns. Each year a producer participating in the program can place up to 3% of his or her eligible net sales into his or her individual NISA account with a maximum of $7,500. The federal and provincial governments match that money and pay a 3% interest bonus on the farmer's share. That is fair.

When a downturn comes, producers can withdraw funds from their account up to the level of their average income over the last five years. Since 1991 Canadian producers have saved almost $2.5 billion in their NISA accounts. Most of that money has been contributed over the last three or four high income years. In general, producers of all primary commodities except for supply management products like dairy, eggs and poultry are now eligible to participate in this program.

Farmers who are not already enrolled in NISA are permitted to make a late application up until the end of December. Benefits for the 1997 year that would be reduced by a late filing penalty could still add up to a significant amount.

Most farmers choose to participate in this excellent risk management program. That means they have a tool to help them manage through a price slump or a market downturn like the one currently being experienced. On a national level, an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada preliminary analysis suggests that the majority of active NISA participants have enough money in their accounts to see them through the winter.

By contrast, American farmers did not have this. They had to wait and see what kind of bailout package Congress and the White House would devise but in Canada farmers and governments have been putting money into the bank every year. Thanks to NISA, most Canadian farmers have money in the bank to fill in their income gaps.

Canadian farmers have helped federal and provincial governments to build the farm income system we now have in place. It is a system that puts farmers in charge, that encourages farmers to save money during the good years and helps them to manage their way through the lean years.

This year we implemented a new interim withdrawal mechanism for NISA so farmers can have access to their money when they need it the most. So far producers have withdrawn only 3% of the $2.5 billion that has been accumulated in NISA. If the need for additional funds increases in the coming months, they will be able to decide based on their own individual circumstances when and how much to withdraw from their accounts.

In conclusion, I am very pleased that Canadian farmers have worked with Government of Canada and the provinces to put in place the kind of tools they need to help them through tough times. They continue to work with the government and with the provinces through the long term review process of the farm income production system currently underway and scheduled to wrap up this coming spring.

More immediately, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is meeting with farm group leaders and provincial ministers tomorrow to discuss this serious farm income situation. As well as the tools we have in place now for these farmers, they will discuss how these tools can be used to maximum effectiveness and if there are other adjustments that we should be making to our safety system for farmers.

Once more farmers themselves are at the table deciding how to deal with the ups and downs in the markets and what the weather and world conditions can bring. I am glad to see so many commodity groups, along with all the provinces, joining our minister tomorrow.

[Pensions, October 26th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the well-being of nearly one and a half million Canadian pensioners depends on them applying every year for the guaranteed annual income. Since next year is the International Year of Older Persons, what can the Minister of Human Resources Development do to make it easier for Canadian pensioners to get the income support they need?

[Action Plan For Food Security, October 19th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, last Friday we commemorated World Food Day. Some time next year there will be six billion people on this earth. In a world that produces enough food to feed every man, woman and child, more than 800 million people do not have enough to eat.

Could the minister of agriculture please tell me what the government is going to do?