Click
here for PDF version
Ladies and gentlemen, I want to thank all of you for coming today. It is great to be here in Chatham, one of Ontario’s and Canada’s leading agricultural communities, and the home of Canada’s largest ethanol plant. I especially want to thank Tim and Sheila Chinnick for opening up their family farm to us today, and for inviting so many of their friends and neighbours. I’m also pleased to be joined this morning by Bev Shipley, our candidate in Lampton-Kent-Middlesex; Dave Van Kesteren, from Chatham-Kent-Essex; and Diane Finley, our agriculture critic and the MP for Haldimand-Norfolk.
Canada needs change to a new government – a new government that will bring accountability to Ottawa, and will get on with addressing the real priorities of ordinary working people and their families. Priorities like cleaning up government, cutting the GST, and cracking down on crime. Priorities that will move Canada forward after 12 years of scandal and inaction.
Today, I would like to speak about another area where the Liberals have long failed to act, and that is supporting Canada’s agricultural sector. The Conservative party cares deeply about agriculture because this party has deep roots throughout rural Canada. In my own case, both my mother and my wife grew up on farms, and we still have family working in agriculture.
The Conservative vision of agriculture policy has been shaped by MPs in almost every region of the country who have been deeply involved in farming for their entire lives. We are stronger because of this representation, and frankly, Conservatives have a better understanding of the impact of the difficult times facing many farm families today. Every time there has been an issue related to agriculture in the House of Commons, it has been Conservatives who have been leading the charge with emergency debates, motions in the House, and questions in Question Period. We have been there, whether for our beef producers, our grains and oilseeds farmers, or our supply-managed sectors. We even had our MPs go to court in Montana to defend our beef industry in a case the Liberal government refused to intervene in. We do this because as Conservatives – as those who want to conserve what is great about this country and our traditions – we know that there is nothing more important than the family farm. The farm has always been a critical element in the formation of our nation, and you can’t really talk about sovereignty as a nation if we don’t have a strong role in the production of our own food.
Standing up for Canada means standing up for a strong, vibrant farm sector that provides security of income to families dependent on farming, and food security for all other Canadian families. Today I want to announce a few of the specific initiatives that a new Conservative government will take to ensure both short-term and long-term security for farming and agriculture.
Grains and Oilseeds
First of all, as everybody in this region knows well, record low grain and oilseed prices have left many farmers facing a crisis, and left them unsure as to whether they will be able to plant next spring. Only after the Liberals knew they were going to lose a confidence vote in the House did they bring in any program for hard-pressed grain and oilseed producers. They had a budget on November 14, from a Saskatchewan finance minister, but forgot to include a dime for agriculture, then they came up with a deathbed $755 million. Let me promise you, every dime of that $755 million is going to find its way into the hands of grain and oilseed producers as quickly as possible after a new Conservative government takes power. And we know that many of you think even this money was too little, too late, and even more short-term assistance may be needed.
CAIS
But farmers will not be able to build long-term security with short-term fixes. We must completely overhaul our farm income stabilization program and introduce a separate disaster relief program. Quite simply, the existing CAIS program is not working. Even the Liberal parliamentary secretary for agriculture called CAIS a “disaster” – and for once he was right. It has been too complex, too slow, and excludes too many legitimate expenses. A new Conservative government will scrap CAIS, and introduce a new, simpler, much more responsive program. The new program will properly address the costs of production, market revenue, and inventory evaluation.
Agriculture is an area of shared federal and provincial jurisdiction, and changes will be worked out cooperatively with the provincial governments to make sure that provinces pay their share as well. The federal government should also be ready to pitch in when disaster strikes. We will also create a new fund for disaster relief assistance separately, above and beyond the income stabilization program.
To fund a new long-term income stabilization program and other farm priorities, a new Conservative government will commit an additional $500 million every year to farm support programs. This will be new money on top of existing agriculture programs, not reallocation. And there still needs to be additional money made available when disaster strikes.
Research and Development: Ethanol and Biodiesel
In the longer run, farmers have to begin to look for new market opportunities. A new Conservative government will help our farmers to diversify their industry. A crucial emerging market for agriculture products is the area of renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel. Converting part of Canada’s fuel supply to renewables will be part of the Conservative strategy to preserve non-renewable resources and clean up the environment.
Today I am announcing that a new Conservative government will require an average of 5% renewable fuel content by 2010. Blending renewable fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel helps to lower emissions and reduce greenhouse gases, and gives consumers a hedge against rising petroleum prices. By encouraging these fuels we will create new incentives for investment in rural Canada. This measure alone could create a new demand for approximately 200 million bushels of agricultural commodities such as wheat, corn, and canola. We will work with the fuel, automotive and agricultural industries to ensure Canadians benefit from these new energy technologies. This is a win for drivers, a win for farmers, and a win for our environment.
Supply Management and Marketing Boards
While renewable fuel requirements will help our grain and oilseed producers, we also have to consider how we can help our supply managed sectors. A new Conservative government will ensure that agricultural industries that choose to operate under domestic supply-management remain viable. We will always support the goal of supply management to deliver a high quality product to consumers for a fair price with a reasonable return to the producer. Canada needs a supply management system based on the three pillars of efficient production planning, market-based returns to producers, and predictable imports. Now when it comes to non-supply managed industries, such as grains and oilseeds, our policies remain the same. We want to give grain farmers the freedom to make their own marketing and transportation decisions and to participate voluntarily in producer associations, including the Canadian Wheat Board.
International Trade Rules
We believe that all of our agriculture sector must be protected by strong international rules that support free and fair trade. We will support rules-based trading systems like the WTO, which we believe are especially in the interest of countries like Canada that depend on exports. We need enhanced market access for Canadian agriculture and agri-food products into foreign markets. To that end, we support the phased reduction of all trade-distorting barriers and the elimination of all agriculture export subsidies. I note the incremental progress to that end made in Hong Kong this week, but frankly the Liberals have not been engaged on this file. Canada said little during the latest round of trade talks, while countries like Australia and New Zealand have taken the lead in bringing the U.S. and E.U. to the table. Paul Martin talks about standing up to the U.S. on trade, but their government has been almost an empty chair when it comes to agriculture talks at the WTO.
Real Change
It is time for change to a new government that understands agriculture and understands rural Canada. Rural Canada contributes approximately 15 per cent of Canada’s economy and 40 per cent of our exports. That is why agriculture and agri-food, fisheries, mining, and forestry – economic sectors that sustain so many of our communities – will be a priority in a Conservative government. Your communities and your industries have earned the admiration and gratefulness of Canadians. The values of farm families and of rural Canadians – values of solidarity, community, family, hard work – are Conservative values and Canadian values. That’s why you deserve a new federal government that respects and supports you.
On January 23rd, the choice is clear. Canadians will choose between a Conservative plan for committed support for farming and farm families and Liberal indifference to rural Canada. On January 23rd, stand up for Canada’s farmers, stand up for change, and stand up for Canada.
-30-
For further information: Conservative Party Press Office (613) 755-2191.
