Agriculture  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Glengarry—Prescott—Russell for asking that important question. Being a big promoter of the dairy industry in the House, he knows the effect BSE has had on farms and farm families. We are taking many approaches. One is to get the

Agriculture  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Edmonton Southeast for his question. I had the pleasure meeting with some of his farmers last month and they told me their concerns. One of the things that they want to see is the border opened. The Prime Minister and the governm

Supply  Mr. Speaker, in my riding, and in many ridings across the country I am sure, for every dollar a constituent spends on taxes, whether it is income tax or at the gas pumps, they want those dollars taken care of. They want every cent taken care of. Whether it is agriculture or heal

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I will try to address the hon. member's comments. The main topic this morning is agriculture. To comment on individuals who have done wrong with Canadian taxpayers' money, they should be held accountable and our government is taking that into consideration. Let us t

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I was hoping this conversation would not go this way. I knew the hon. member would get excited about it. He was excited about it in the agriculture committee the other day. We have to keep this away. We have to keep politics away from this situation. That is what the

Supply  Mr. Speaker, those were pretty strong comments by the member opposite. There is no doubt that the border is the main issue. Farmers do not really like to get subsidies. They like to have free market and free access to markets. That is of key importance. We are bringing all the

Supply  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the members opposite for keeping the agriculture sector at the forefront of discussion because that is where it belongs. I had the pleasure in the last few months, after taking on this job, of getting out to the west. I met with farm groups in

Elizabeth Beaton  Mr. Speaker, today I would like to recognize a remarkable Cape Bretoner who touched many lives in her 85 years. Elizabeth Beaton was born in New Waterford, Cape Breton in March 1918. At 15, she found her true calling in life, joined the Ursuline order and became Sister Bess Beat

Agriculture  Mr. Speaker, over the last year we have put out $5 billion with the provinces. We are unrolling CAIS as we speak, as well as the cull cow program. Hon. members should look at the figures and check the facts.

Agriculture  Mr. Speaker, we have a good relationship with the provincial ministers. Many of the programs that we unfolded over the last eight months were in agreement with the provinces. We will not stop there. We will work on new programs, and we do have a good relationship.

Agriculture  Mr. Speaker, we are taking measures on all angles to deal with this agriculture issue. It is not the third but the second most important industry in this country. We are dealing with it in Washington. We are dealing with it on an international basis. We are dealing with the farme

Agriculture  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the hon. member for asking me my first question in the House. I will try to do my best to answer it. Over the last eight months beef farmers have faced a crisis. We have many programs in place, such as the NISA program and the BSE program. We a

Agriculture  Mr. Speaker, we are dealing with this from all angles. We are dealing with it on an international level in Washington and we are also dealing with it at the local level. In 2002, $3.5 billion went to farmers. Last year we paid over $5 billion to farmers. We will be paying more.

Maritime Provinces  Mr. Speaker, yesterday the worst winter blizzard in decades blasted the Maritime provinces dumping 90 centimetres of snow in 24 hours. This is the third major weather event to hit the area in six months. Early last fall Hurricane Juan paid an unforgettable visit to the region. T

Resumption of Debate on Address in Reply  Madam Speaker, yes, we have to strike a balance. I think we can have both in this country. There are areas that could probably have non-GMO foods and probably areas that could not have them. I will bring this up at the rural caucus tomorrow. We will discuss this issue further an