Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I wonder if you would seek unanimous consent to extend questions and comments on this particular dissertation.
House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 1997, with 37% of the vote.
Youth Criminal Justice Act April 15th, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I wonder if you would seek unanimous consent to extend questions and comments on this particular dissertation.
Government Services Act, 1999 March 22nd, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I remember sitting in the House shortly after many of us were newly elected in 1993. I believe it was in the winter of 1994 when the government brought down its first back to work legislation on a strike which affected grain handlers and transportation workers.
The hon. member for Wetaskiwin stood to ask the government if it would take action so that this would not happen again. Here we are, five years later, and we are still doing the same old thing.
This government has abdicated its responsibility to a lot of people. It has abdicated its responsibility to the victims of strikes and lockouts, in this case farmers and the farm economy. It also has abdicated its responsibility to other groups. We have talked about corrections workers, for whom I happen to have a soft spot in my heart. Also, there are people whom I have just talked to in my riding at Dundurn who have some very serious concerns.
The government has abdicated its responsibility. It has done nothing in five years to change this.
Mr. Speaker, I am sure you have heard of the rock group “Hootie and the Blowfish”. I am not sure which one Hootie is over there, but I can hear the blowfish.
I want to ask my hon. colleague from St. Albert if he remembers the day when the government promised it would take action. Does the hon. member remember the day when the government said it would take action, five years ago, so that these kinds of things would not happen again?
Government Services Act, 1999 March 22nd, 1999
Mr. Speaker, I have been listening to what sounds like the government using a sledgehammer to kill a mosquito. It is too little too late in many cases.
I have in my riding a number of PSAC union members who work at the base in Dundurn for the Department of National Defence. They are actually situated in the same grouping as the grain workers. I have been in contact with them over the last few days. They are very upset that they will be taken out of the bargaining process for no reason other than the government wanting to wholesale everybody back to work. They think it is ridiculous. I feel for them. In fact, they have many concerns that I would personally support as a Reform Party member.
What are the thoughts of the member for Brandon—Souris on why the government would not have brought in final offer selection long ago to prevent these strikes or lockouts from ever happening in the first place?
Petitions December 4th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the second petition deals with amendments to the Young Offenders Act, specifically reducing the age of eligibility from 12 to 10 years.
Petitions December 4th, 1998
Mr. Speaker, it is truly an honour to present two petitions on behalf of constituents of Blackstrap, Saskatchewan. They are both very important.
The first petition deals with the repeal of Bill C-68. I have somewhere in the neighbourhood of 70 signatures on this petition.
Supply November 3rd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I am shocked. That was the point of my whole speech. We put forward specifics for five years. When was the last time the government paid any attention or listened to what we had to say? I would be happy to sit down with the government but there has never been one solid concrete suggestion.
The Liberals must remember that they are the government. They are the ones who make the decisions. They are the ones who are failing the farmers, not our party. I would remind the party across the way that if they truly want the farm industry not only in western Canada but right across the country to continue, they must do something. It is on their shoulders. It is their responsibility.
Supply November 3rd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague from Peace River for allowing me to have these few minutes to speak.
Today some members have said that they take great pleasure in standing to address this issue. I take no pleasure in addressing this issue. This debate should not have had to take place in this House.
I want to pick up on a point that my colleague from Peace River made a few minutes ago and which others made before him. They talked about what happened in 1993 when the Liberal government was first elected. Had the government at that time taken some of the advice that we had laid before the House on a program called TDAP, we would not necessarily have been in great shape and the crisis before us today may still have been there but not to the degree that it is. But time and time again over the last five years I have looked across the way and I have seen lawyers from downtown Toronto and downtown Winnipeg telling farmers from Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and northern British Columbia how to farm. That is indeed the problem.
This is a serious problem. I want to recount very quickly about what two people whom I have talked to in the last few days are doing.
One is a person about my age, a good friend of mine, who is a good farmer and has been a good farmer for many years. As we speak he is working on a potato farm in Outlook, Saskatchewan digging potatoes with a spade to make an extra buck to help pay his bills. That is how serious the problem is. It is not fun. It is not nice. The man is in his forties and should not have to resort to that.
I talked to another good friend of mine who is a good farmer. In fact he is a Liberal supporter quite clearly and openly and he still happens to be a good friend of mine. He said that he is going to quit the business because he is no longer prepared to take money out of his equity to keep farming. He is a good farmer. He is a great manager. He is one of the most optimistic people I know yet he is going to walk away from farming because of this problem. That is how serious the problem is.
This government has done nothing in the last five years for a long term approach, to make long term changes, so that these problems do not happen again.
My point in standing was to illustrate how serious the issue is. I want to illustrate that nothing has been done. We look at what the long term solution should be or could be. Yes, we should still continue to work on a long term solution to the income crisis of farmers because this happens from time to time over and over again. This will not be the last time. There will be more down the road.
I encourage the government to look at a long term solution. I encourage the government to finally listen, to pay heed to not only our party but to other parties in this House and other groups that may have possible solutions. I would also have to ask this government to look at possible short term solutions. After all, the crunch will come between now and next April when farmers will not be able to put in their crops.
I talked about two farmers whom I know personally who are on the edge of quitting a business and an industry that they love because they cannot make a dollar at it. They have done their share over the last few years. They have diversified. They have changed their way of farming in order to be economically feasible. These farmers have done their share. The government has not done its share.
Supply November 3rd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, I always find it very interesting to come here not just to talk to agriculture issues but to a lot of other issues. Members of the government come in with canned speeches and read from them as if they were quoting from the Scriptures.
Has the member been out of Winnipeg lately to talk to farmers and to find out how serious the situation is? Does he have a clue what the motion is today? Are we talking about R and D in agriculture or are we talking about a farm income crisis? The questions are quite simple.
Supply November 3rd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, certainly over the last days, weeks and months there has been a call from throughout Saskatchewan and western Canada for some type of farm support program.
The hon. member for Palliser, by the way, has become the member of parliament for a large part of my old riding of Moose Jaw—Lake Centre. How much does he think needs to be put on the table as part of a farm support program? What percentage would need to go to Saskatchewan or any other particular area, given the fact that the numbers we have heard this morning certainly vary from area to area? Some areas are in much worse conditions. Obviously Saskatchewan is one of those areas that is in very dire straits.
Petitions November 3rd, 1998
Mr. Speaker, the second petition is signed by a large number of people in my riding and others who call upon the government to join with the provincial governments to make national highway system upgrading possible.