On my daily read in the Hansard, I picked up on this bit of a dialogue....
Wayne Easter
Mr. Speaker, last Friday, 900 beef and hog farmers attended an urgent meeting in Stratford entitled “Farmers Matter”. Farmer after farmer stated that the government's farm safety nets are not working. Farmers made it clear that they cannot pay back the targeted advance loans under the terms the minister announced.
Why does the government impose loans on farmers while wasting billions of dollars elsewhere: waste on fancy photo ops, waste on cabinet ministers' expenses, waste on planes and prisons? Do farmers just not matter to this government?
Pierre Lemieux
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned yesterday, our government puts farmers first. We have taken action for livestock producers by giving them more time to pay their loans. Livestock producers now have breathing room to seize market opportunities and to get black ink on the bottom line. We have given tax deferrals for producers in these areas to help them manage their breeding stock.
Wayne Easter
Mr. Speaker, this government puts farmers first only when it comes to debt. That is when it puts them first.
A headline in The Globe and Mail reads in part, “Canada slips from agricultural superpower status”. It is no wonder. While the United States supports farmers with billions, Canadian farmers are being forced to live off loans. While the government is squandering billions of borrowed money on fake lakes and billboards, Ontario farmers' incomes fall.
When will the government get its priorities straight and support farmers in Canada?
Pierre Lemieux
Mr. Speaker, I am so glad the member agrees that we put farmers first.
We are delivering significant programming to our farmers. Since 2007, we have delivered $6.8 billion to our farm sector through key and critical programs such as agri-invest, agri-stability, agri-insurance and agri-recovery. Just to give an example, when we speak about agri-invest, $650 million has been paid out. This is in addition to $600 million that has gone into farmers' bank accounts.
end of discussion
Wayne Easter
Mr. Speaker, last Friday, 900 beef and hog farmers attended an urgent meeting in Stratford entitled “Farmers Matter”. Farmer after farmer stated that the government's farm safety nets are not working. Farmers made it clear that they cannot pay back the targeted advance loans under the terms the minister announced.
Why does the government impose loans on farmers while wasting billions of dollars elsewhere: waste on fancy photo ops, waste on cabinet ministers' expenses, waste on planes and prisons? Do farmers just not matter to this government?
Pierre Lemieux
Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned yesterday, our government puts farmers first. We have taken action for livestock producers by giving them more time to pay their loans. Livestock producers now have breathing room to seize market opportunities and to get black ink on the bottom line. We have given tax deferrals for producers in these areas to help them manage their breeding stock.
Wayne Easter
Mr. Speaker, this government puts farmers first only when it comes to debt. That is when it puts them first.
A headline in The Globe and Mail reads in part, “Canada slips from agricultural superpower status”. It is no wonder. While the United States supports farmers with billions, Canadian farmers are being forced to live off loans. While the government is squandering billions of borrowed money on fake lakes and billboards, Ontario farmers' incomes fall.
When will the government get its priorities straight and support farmers in Canada?
Pierre Lemieux
Mr. Speaker, I am so glad the member agrees that we put farmers first.
We are delivering significant programming to our farmers. Since 2007, we have delivered $6.8 billion to our farm sector through key and critical programs such as agri-invest, agri-stability, agri-insurance and agri-recovery. Just to give an example, when we speak about agri-invest, $650 million has been paid out. This is in addition to $600 million that has gone into farmers' bank accounts.
end of discussion
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