The fight for increased government support for prairie farmers will move to the floor of Parliament soon after opposition MPs return from a summer of listening to the woes of their farm constituents.
They say they will use the re-opening of Parliament Sept. 21 to try to convince the Liberals the farm economy is much worse than the government has recognized.
And agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief says he is prepared to argue that the safety net system in place is better than its critics are willing to concede.
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federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
He said the Liberal government will not promise new money.
“I’ve made it very clear in the past and I will continue to, that ad hocery is not the way to go,” he said Sept. 4. “Governments went that way a number of years ago and I think everyone is agreed that is not the way to go.”
Reform agriculture critic Howard Hilstrom said last week he will demand the government recognize the existing safety net is inadequate for this year’s low prices.
He will try to win his party’s support to devote a full day of opposition time in the House of Commons to agricultural issues.
And despite Reform’s anti-subsidy stance, he would even be willing to listen to arguments that the Liberals should come to farmers’ aid with a subsidy package.
“Our competitors have governments committed to the farm economy, committed with support dollars,” he said. “We can’t let our farm economy go into a gigantic economic recession and lose our ability to export. When we have a year like this, we have to be prepared to help our farmers ride it out.”
New Democratic Party critic Dick Proctor said it was the primary message he heard from farmers during his summer on the Prairies.
“I think a lot of people are just hanging on out there,” he said. “A lot of people I talked to say they feel abandoned by their governments.”
He said pressure will grow as farmers start to market this year’s crop.
“The cheques they get will be disappointing,” he said. “I think the real crisis will come in the spring when some of these farmers may not have enough to put a crop in.”
But Vanclief said while federal and provincial ministers have promised to review safety nets, he thinks the $1 billion system now in place is a good one.
