Wayne Easter

[Pork Industry, December 12th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, leadership is about acting with solutions in times of crisis, but the government is failing dismally to show leadership to the Canadian hog industry in its time of need.

Past governments have acted with action and resolve in times of commodity crises and yet the present government sits on surpluses and dances away from solid solutions proposed by Canada's pork industry.

Canada's hog producers are in serious trouble. Families are suffering, communities are jeopardized and we are losing an industry.

Every day efficient producers exit, gone forever, financially ruined. For what? For having provided food to Canadians and meeting Canada's export needs. Canada's hog industry has lived up to its responsibility. It is time the government lived up to its responsibility.

Every day counts. I call upon the government to act with financial assistance and long term security for Canada's hog producers, now, immediately, forthwith.

[Agriculture, December 11th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, beef and hog producers across the country are facing financial devastation and the government fails to respond.

Farmers who responded to the government's call to modernize, to increase production, to increase exports, are the best of the best. Third, fourth and fifth generation farmers are not only losing their businesses, they are losing their homes and their heritage, yet they are left desolate by a government sitting on a huge surplus.

Will the minister not act immediately beyond regular safety nets and put immediate cash into the farm community?

[Budget and Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2007, December 3rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, that member may be able to peddle wild stories in his riding about what the previous government did or did not do but nobody pumped as much money into agriculture as the previous government did.

Let us talk about BSE. The border was supposed to be opened in June when the Conservatives formed government, but because the Prime Minister was so close to President Bush he did not put the heat on to ensure that it opened in June.

The member said that we did nothing on BSE. Let us go through the list: $520 million for a BSE recovery program; $200 million for a cull animal program; and $680 million for a transitional industry support program. We stopped supplemental beef imports. It was not the member's government.

We had a fed cattle set aside program. We had a feeder cattle set aside program. We had authorized case special advances. We managed the older animals program. We assisted in establishing traceability. We fostered expanding export markets. We fostered increased slaughter capacity in this country. We put in place the loan loss review program. We expedited established review and plant appeals for slaughter plants. We increased the CFAA line inspectors. Finally, we put $80 million in place for traceability in the plants. It took the member's government 18 months to negotiate how that $80 million would be spent.

That member does not need to talk to me about what we did or did not do because I have just shown him our record. His government is failing. When the industry was in crisis we acted. It is time for that government to act today.

[Budget and Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2007, December 3rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, my apologies. The fact is that other governments have acted but the new government is failing to do so.

The new government should realize that there are ways of acting. If I have time I will get into what the previous government did on beef in the past just as an example so that the new government will understand that there are things it could be doing.

Simply put, Canada is losing its hog industry and our beef industry is in serious trouble.

We in the House and Canadians need to understand that this is not just about losing a business. These are family farms and some corporate farms as well, but farming is not only a business. These are third, fourth, fifth and sixth generation farmers who are now going down the tube or exiting the industry as a result of financial pressures they find themselves under. These are not just numbers. These are farm families. These are human beings who are actually losing their heritage as a result of this farm crisis in which they find themselves.

The government must absolutely act, as other governments have in the past.

For those who do not understand the farming industry, these are not poor or inefficient farmers. They are the most efficient farmers in the industry who are now facing financial ruin. They are farmers who have responded to calls from governments over the last 20 years to increase production and increase their efficiencies so we could get into the export industry. Those farmers met that call that governments asked them to meet. They produced more efficiently, increased their production and exports from Canada went up and up. However, farm incomes went down considerably during that period of time.

These people, who met the call of government to become more efficient, more productive and produce more, are now facing financial ruin for themselves and their families. It is not because of anything they have done. It is because of events far beyond their control. Yes, part of it is the dollar, part of it is high feed costs and part of it is the amount of subsidy going into ethanol production, which pushes up the price of the feed costs, but they are efficient farmers.

The new government has a huge surplus. What is needed is an immediate cash infusion.

Last Thursday night, in my province of Prince Edward Island, the beef and hog producers had a meeting. I was not able to attend because I was returning from an international event on food safety. However, I have reports from that meeting. The beef and hog producers who attended outlined their fear and their frustration of where they were at in the industry and whether they could survive.

In Prince Edward Island, 30% of the hog industry has already closed its doors. Many others are hanging on by a very thin financial thread. For these people, this is a life's work, not only one life's work but, in many cases, several generations' life's work destroyed, while the government sits on its hands on a huge surplus and fails to put in an ad hoc financial payment to tide them over.

Previous governments have done that. Why will the government not act when it is absolutely necessary to act for the beef and hog industry in this country?

I have spoken about Prince Edward Island but it is the same across Canada. On the beef industry, let me read from a letter from the executive director of the P.E.I. Cattlemen's Association, Mr. Bradley. He said:

There is no doubt the Island's beef industry is in crisis. I get calls every day from producers asking if there is any government assistance on its way. Farmers are desperate. There is a huge amount of concern and desperation out there....

He goes on to say:

...The operations we are losing today belong to some of the best farmers in the region and once they are gone, they won't return.

Even The Guardian, our local newspaper, which covers the Island like the dew, talked about the situation. It said:

This province has been built on agriculture and Islanders need to think carefully before allowing that foundation to erode.

It goes on to state:

...almost 30 per cent of hog producers have closed their doors and most are losing $60-$80 per hog.

The article continues to state:

This isn't a question of whether farmers can weather this or that challenge; it's whether they can survive.

This is about the farmers of Canada. This is about hog and beef producers in this country. This is about food security. Do we want to be dependent on other nations for our food supply in this country? The crisis in which these individuals find themselves is not the farmers' doing. It is more the government's doing than any others.

In news reports on the Minister of Agriculture's meeting with the Canada Pork Council, they revealed that the minister expressed concern. I am telling the House today, on the third day of December, that a lot of these farmers will not be around by Christmas. Will we allow these farmers, the people who feed this nation, to go broke before Christmas? The minister does not need to show concern. He needs to come up with actual cash, with an ad hoc payment that will do some good.

The Minister of Agriculture owes it to the hog and beef producers of Canada to state clearly what his government intends to do and he needs to state that immediately. Governments have a responsibility to act and the Conservative government has displayed a consistent aversion to acting on behalf of struggling farmers. The hog and beef industry needs action now. I call on the government to act today.

[Budget and Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2007, December 3rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to speak to the budget and economic statement implementation act. I will use this time to spell out how serious the hog and beef crisis is in this country and the absolute neglect that the new Government of Canada is showing toward that industry in its time of trouble. I will keep my statements mainly on the new government's lack of commitment to Canadian farmers.

Nothing is so glaring in this economic statement as the new government's failure to respond to the crisis that primary producers are facing. I could go into a lot of areas, including the fact that the Prime Minister committed 18 months ago to a cost of production. Nothing has happened. There has been no cost of production for Canadian farmers.

I could point out the fact that the new government promised to scrap CAIS but all it did was change the name and pass a few little amendments that are already in place. Even with those few little amendments, the safety net program does not meet the needs of producers in the livestock industry.

The simple fact is that this country's beef and hog producers are facing the worst crisis in a century, bar none. There is no question that BSE was a crisis in the beef industry but it does not have a patch in terms of the crisis in economic pricing that the beef and hog industry is facing at the moment.

The new government, with its huge surpluses, is failing to address that need. I do not know whether it is caught in the Ottawa bubble, where nothing exists outside of Ottawa, and it does not understand the concerns, but it is certainly not acting when it should be acting in farmers' interests.

Traditionally in this country when commodity crises have hit in the past, previous governments have acted with haste and resolve to do their part to support a commodity in crisis. It does not matter whether it was Brian Mulroney with his $1 billion and $1.2 billion Canadian grain payments or the previous government under Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin in terms of BSE and other--

[Archer Daniels Midland, December 3rd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the government's obsession with destroying the Canadian Wheat Board will destroy farmer marketing power, but a fractured market of wheat and barley sellers will be a huge benefit and financial windfall for grain companies such as Archer Daniels Midland.

Brian Mulroney serves on the board of ADM and according to media reports, ADM pays him $200,000 a year in cash and options. He has shares worth about $3 million.

Has Brian Mulroney or any representative had discussions with any minister, political staff or a department on behalf of ADM?

[November 15th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the parliamentary secretary and the government can attack me if they like, but the fact of the matter is that the government is failing the beef industry in this country and the parliamentary secretary knows it. With huge surpluses, beef producers need an immediate cash payment and they need it now.

I would suggest that the little list that he went through is an absolute pittance in terms of what this industry needs. This industry is in disaster and the government is failing the industry. The Canadian Cattlemen's Association had a number of suggestions.

I am saying, number one, that we need an ad hoc payment and we need it today.

The Canadian Cattlemen's Association also talked about the need to lower the Bank of Canada interest rates. That has to be done.

The association said there needs to be changes to CAIS to ensure national uniformity and greater responsiveness to rapid change in currency values. That needs to be done.

The association said we need to decouple the cash advances from CAIS. That needs to be done. It said we need--

[November 15th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, on November 2 I raised a very serious question with the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food on why the new government is failing to respond to the income crisis facing beef producers and cow-calf operators across this country.

Farmers in the beef industry are taking historic income losses, with prices at the farm gate absolutely tumbling into negative levels for the last several months. Many are faced with no choice but to attempt to refinance or even close down their farm operations and many are taking that option, which is very serious. These farmers are watching in fear and frustration as their life's work disintegrates before their very eyes and the government does nothing.

After I asked the question, the response I received from the Secretary of State (Agriculture) was nothing short of idiotic. The secretary of state showed absolute disrespect on the government's part for struggling farmers, farmers losing their life's work because of events beyond their control, farmers who put high quality food on Canadian tables, farmers who are the key generators of wealth for all others in the food chain, and farmers who contribute to export dollars and Canada's positive balance of trade.

I would hope the parliamentary secretary tonight, on behalf of the government, has some positive program and financial dollars to announce for suffering beef and hog farmers in this country.

How serious is the crisis? As one producer in my riding told me, for several months now he has been losing $20,000 in equity every week as the dollar goes up in value. Another sold cattle for $1,400 per animal in April and in October for $900. We certainly have not seen prices come down on consumer shelves.

Fed steer prices in Alberta fell by 13% in the last eight months while costs rapidly escalated. It has been noted that 40% of the cow-calf herd operators in Alberta could be out of business by Christmas. Bred cows are being sold at disaster prices, if they can sell at all, at between $300 and $700. This is a nationwide disaster and the government has a responsibility to act.

These are not just numbers. These are people. These are farmers. These are people who live in communities and are in serious financial trouble while the Government of Canada sits on huge surpluses. In fact, many are saying that this income crisis is worse than that caused by the closing of the border when we were struck by BSE.

However, during the BSE crisis cattle producers had the support and understanding of the Canadian public. It is not the same today and there is a huge difference in Ottawa. During BSE farmers had a government that cared and acted while the new government seems struck by inaction at best and incompetence at worst.

Just to emphasize how governments can respond, let me draw a comparison when BSE happened. The previous government acted. Yes, there was CAIS, but it was inadequate to do the job and instead of using safety nets as a crutch for inaction as the new government is doing, the minister of the day, Andy Mitchell, acted with the following: $520 million for the BSE recovery program, $200 million for the cull animal program, $680 million for the transitional industry support program and 10 others--

[Sinclair Cutcliffe, November 15th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I wish to pay tribute to one of P.E.I.'s finest sons, Sinclair Cutcliffe, who passed away Saturday.

Sinclair spent his lifetime helping others and was strongly committed to his family, his community and Canada. He was active in many capacities, key among them being past owner and director of Cutcliffe Funeral Home. He was a provincial MLA and deputy speaker, a stalwart Liberal activist, a founding member of the Hillsborough Rotary Club, provider of ambulance services and first aid training to nurses and firefighters. For his years in first aid he won the highest honour, the Order of the Red Cross.

Although he never sat in this chamber having made one attempt to do so, he still had an influence on this place and federal policy through his active connections with Prime Minister Trudeau and the Liberal Party. The stories he could tell.

Canada and Prince Edward Island are a better place because of Sinclair Cutcliffe. We thank his family and we wish them well.

[Food and Drugs Act, November 2nd, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, this bill is about one simple thing. It is about meeting the needs of Canadians who want to feel secure that their prescription drugs and vaccines are there for Canadians. Let me re-emphasize that. This bill talks about security of supply of drugs and vaccines for Canadians.

I will not get into a lot of the technical details of the bill. The member of Parliament for St. Paul's went to great lengths to explain some of the technical details of the bill, but I want to talk about it in layman's terms.

I congratulate the member for St. Paul's for bringing forward this bill. Previously she was a minister of public health and therefore she understands the needs of Canadians on the ground. She is a medical doctor and therefore she knows first hand how important it is that Canadians are able to get not just drugs, but the most recent drugs, the most effective drugs in terms of meeting Canadians' needs. This bill is about meeting Canadians' needs.

Bill C-378 is about Canada not becoming America's drugstore. By amending the Food and Drugs Act, this legislation would protect Canadians.

The bill would amend the Food and Drugs Act to prohibit the export of drugs set out in schedules D and F to the Food and Drugs Act regulations, which are vaccines and prescription drugs, except as permitted under the regulations.

The bill would make it an offence under the Food and Drugs Act to export prescription drugs in prohibited circumstances. The exporter would be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine of up to $50,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, and on conviction by indictment, to a fine of up to $250,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years.

Simply put, this bill would push the Canadian government to stand up for Canadians. It is something the Conservative government very seldom does.

We heard in the House today that it is not standing up for a Canadian citizen who is facing execution in the United States. The excuse is that a democratic decision was made in the United States. Canadians have always stood up for human rights. That is why we are respected around the world. How can the government go to China and talk about human rights any more when it is allowing a Canadian citizen to be executed in the United States?

That may be a little different story from this particular drug and vaccine issue, but it is all about standing up for Canadians, and the Conservative government is failing to do it. In terms of opposing this bill, it is clearly not standing up for Canadians.

This bill would push the government to stand up for Canadians, rather than just allow the export of drugs that would enhance American health and ignore the need for Canadians to be absolutely sure that the necessary drugs are available for Canadians. The government is opposing that.

I was shocked when I listened to the Parliamentary Secretary for Health. He went on at great length to say that the White House is opposed to the importation of drugs and therefore, we really do not need to deal with it.

I know the Conservatives love George Bush and love to hug him, but if they would just look a little beyond him to the candidates for the next presidency, they would see that most of the candidates support the importation of Canadian drugs into the United States because the drugs are cheaper.

We can understand why those presidential candidates are doing that. It is because the American health care system does not work. Over 40 million people do not have access to health care. It would be a great cover for the Americans to import cheap Canadian drugs, even if it shorted Canadians in terms of their supply, to kind of cover up the failures of their own health care system.

There is no question that the new government would stand by idly and risk the drug supply for Canadians. This bill is basically challenging the government, the companion of George Bush, to actually stand up for Canadians for a change and protect their supply of drugs and vaccines.

I have to ask this question. How often do we need to have Canadians subsidizing the United States?

The United States is our great friend. I spend a fair amount of time down there and the U.S. is our greatest trading partner. However, I think every Canadian is bothered when they learn that we are exporting oil and gas to the United States, a great Canadian resource, and what it is being used for in the United States. It is a cheaper supply. It is subsidizing its industrial plants so they can compete against Canadian industrial plants with cheap Canadian energy.

Why do we always need to be more supportive of the United States economy than our own? Now the government is going to put Canadians at risk by not being proactive and supporting Bill C-378.

Some will argue, as they always do because they like to use the trade agreements as a great crutch, that this will violate the trade rules. I say to the Government of Canada that if the trade rules do not make sense for Canadians then they need to be challenged. If this bill means there needs be a challenge to the trade rules, then let us challenge the trade rules. That would only make sense because then we would be standing up for Canadians.

The parliamentary secretary raised a number of points. He basically said that there was no imminent drug shortage and that the United States Congress has not adopted legislation to legalize the bulk importation of drugs. That is true for the moment but why can we not be proactive?

The fact of the matter is that the government should be proactive by banning bulk exports to the United States rather than waiting until after shortages of prescription drugs and medications occur.

As a coalition of Canadian pharmacists, distributors and patients said in a letter to the health minister on January 12:

We believe it is incumbent on the Government of Canada to respond proactively to this threat, with actions driven by a commitment to prevent harm and protect the public interest.

Why will the Government of Canada not listen to Canadians, to pharmacists, to distributors and to patients and be proactive? These people are concerned. Instead, the parliamentary secretary takes his advice from the White House. That is unacceptable.

He also talked about the Internet pharmacy sales having decreased significantly in the past two years. We really cannot be sure of that. It is difficult to determine the extent of Internet sales to the United States because many of them are being made offshore.

The bottom line is this. This bill is all about protecting the security of the drug and vaccine supply and medications for Canadians. The Canadian government should be proactive in terms of supporting this bill, even if it means it needs to stand up to the United States in terms of its agenda and its wishes. The government should stand up for Canadians, be proactive and support this bill to ensure that protection is there.