Gerry Ritz

[Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, February 4th, 2004]

Mr. Chair, it is great to finally get this out here in the open and to have the minister here. I thank him for his contribution so far.

This goes beyond the beef sector and so on. All livestock sectors are facing this. There is a lot of collateral damage. There are a lot of other industries out there that hinge around livestock. Neither the BSE compensation program or whatever came anywhere near those industries. Is the minister considering anything along those lines, I mean all of the other livestock industries that were affected, the sheep, buffalo and the elk, including the truckers, everyone that pivots around that livestock industry, is there any sort of compensation program that you are considering for those folks?

[Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, February 4th, 2004]

Mr. Chair, I believe that if you seek it you would find unanimous consent to allow members wishing to split their time slot during this evening's take note debate to do so.

[Agriculture, February 3rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, the new minister claims he is a big listener and another committee will be structured; however, the industry out there is more interested in what he will do. Actions speak a lot louder than weasel words.

The head of the Alberta Cattle Feeders' Association said yesterday that his industry can survive another 45 days under the Liberal government. The clock is ticking.

When will the minister announce his new plan and the budget to go along with it? When will he do that?

[Agriculture, February 3rd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, agriculture is a cash flow business like any other. Due to a single case of BSE, that lifeline has been cut. AIDA, CFIP and now CAISP are all Liberal programs that failed to deliver and do little to address a crisis like BSE.

Why does the new agriculture minister carry on the old Liberal tradition of advancing programs that never reach the farm gate?

[Address in Reply, February 2nd, 2004]

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today in response to the throne speech. I, too, look at the one paragraph on page 18 that is supposed to supply solace to our farm and ranch families who are in dire straits.

We have one paragraph in the speech for the third largest contributing group to the GDP in the country. We are back stopped by a half of one per cent of federal spending. That is as good as it gets from this government. The 2002 farm program, CFIP, is only paying out 60%. Is that the best farm families across the country can expect from the government? It is time to change the government.

[Petitions, November 7th, 2003]

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today and present a petition that was sparked by a young fellow from Alberta, Timothy Wishewan, and his cattle drive to Parliament Hill.

He has collected in excess of 10,000 signatures that support the beef industry across this country asking for better and quality interventions by the government in its dealings with federal governments in other countries in getting our trade back on track and getting the cattle industry back to some sense of normalcy.

Tim collected over 10,000 signatures in various spots across this country in his cattle drive to Parliament Hill.

[Elk Industry, October 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, that is three years late. Just in the nick of time the minister has finally gotten engaged on the file. Where is the cash? That is the next question. All these years of denial by the government have hurt our elk producers.

Could the minister explain why the CFIA confiscated $100,000 worth of elk velvet from one producer and raided the home of another with a SWAT team?

The government has not even worked toward opening the borders until today, finally. It has refused to compensate the elk industry directly. What is it going to take to get those guys over there, those sleepwalkers, to actually pay attention to this escalating crisis?

[Elk Industry, October 30th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, for years now the Canadian elk industry has been fighting issues concerning closed borders all by itself.

Its producers have been denied access to the U.S. and Korean markets without so much as a whimper of protest from the Liberal government. The Liberals have done absolutely nothing to address the elk producers' losses during this trade dispute.

Why does the government continue to deny elk producers a stand-alone chronic wasting disease compensation package?

[Child Pornography, October 29th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, the minister must have inhaled because he is sure blowing smoke.

The Canadian Police Association, the Toronto Police Service, Project Guardian, the Office for Victims of Crime, the Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime and Beyond Borders have all said that Bill C-20 will be ineffective in stamping out child pornography.

Why will the minister not commit to making the amendments these groups are putting forward and make the commitment today that he will withdraw all of these goofy defences?

[Child Pornography, October 29th, 2003]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians continue to speak loud and clear. They want all and any of these so called liberal defences for child pornography eliminated.

Will the justice minister commit today to amending Bill C-20 to reflect the will of the people?