Liberal MPs have agreed that a Liberal government would offer a more generous package of aid to Canada’s hog industry, says party agriculture critic Wayne Easter.
The MPs met in Sudbury, Ont., to prepare for the autumn session of Parliament beginning Sept. 14 and to plot the defeat of the minority Conservative government as early as late September or October.
“I would say the number one issue this week in our agricultural discussions was the hog crisis and the lack of meaningful government response,” Easter said in a Sept. 3 interview.
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“We think the more appropriate response would be along the lines of the original Canadian Pork Council request.”
Originally, the CPC asked the government for up to $800 million in aid to compensate for losses and to help some producers leave the industry.
The government offered a limited package of buyout and market development money and a government-backed loan program.
Easter said the ailing industry does not need more debt. In addition, he said the loans require producers to pay back earlier advances received from the cash advance program.
“This is one of the biggest frauds in Canadian agricultural history,” said the veteran MP.
“Based on our discussion in Sudbury, I can say we would change it.”
Liberal MPs also plan to raise questions about problems in the cattle industry when Parliament resumes.
“We are losing droves of smaller producers who can’t cope with the prices, feed costs and other problems,” he said.
“The government needs to be there to support the industry. If there isn’t an announcement of some help within two or three weeks, producers will have to start moving more cattle onto the market and that will depress prices even more.”
Easter said the Conservative government’s record on agricultural issues and its response to the listeria outbreak last year were among the reasons the Liberal caucus agreed to stop supporting the government in parliamentary confidence votes.
Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff has said he will try to topple the government and force an election – the fourth in five years – this autumn.
“We just couldn’t continue to prop them up,” said Easter.
“(Prime minister Stephen) Harper and the whole bunch have set the country adrift. They sow discord and on the agriculture side, we have an unsurpassed record of failure.”
Ignatieff said his party will wage a vigorous election campaign in rural Canada. He has talked about the need for rural Canada to benefit more from Canadian prosperity and opportunity.
Harper also touched on the theme when he visited Sault St. Marie, Ont., Sept. 2 for an infrastructure investment announcement.
He said Canadian governments must have more than a cities’ agenda.
“We have put, as a government, a big emphasis on rural and regional development,” he said.
“We can’t have a Canada in the future where everybody just lives in three or four or five cities in this country.”
