The federal New Democratic Party says it is in the national interest to have Parliament recalled this summer to deal with the prairie farm income crisis.
On Aug. 20, party parliamentary whip John Solomon, a Regina MP, wrote speaker Gilbert Parent to argue that the House of Commons should be in session Aug. 30 when prairie farm protesters are planning to be in
Ottawa.
He said there is a public interest issue that justifies Parliament’s recall, even though MPs are not supposed to return to Parliament Hill until at least Sept. 20 and probably not until an expected new session begins in October.
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There is an agricultural crisis, he said, and it is hitting Saskatchewan particularly hard. Four out of 10 people in the province depend directly or indirectly on agriculture for a living.
“Saskatchewan farmers have planned a rally in Ottawa for Monday, Aug. 30,” wrote Solomon.
“I believe it is in the national interest to reconvene Parliament on that day to deal with the crisis facing this industry, whether in my province or across the country.”
Solomon also joined with NDP agriculture critic Dick Proctor to write an appeal for more aid from agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief.
They said the Liberal government has cut domestic subsidies while other governments have not, leaving Canadian farmers vulnerable to unfair competition in world markets.
Waiting for world trade talks to reduce subsidies elsewhere is not a good plan.
“If your strategy is to wait several years for subsidy rollbacks to be negotiated at the World Trade Organization, then all you’re doing is putting farmers out of business,” they wrote. “Farm historians will call it the ‘Liberal Farm Extermination Policy of 1999’.”
In an Aug. 20 interview from his Regina riding where he had been meeting with farmers, Proctor said the call for the recall of Parliament was not NDP grandstanding to make the Liberals look bad as the provincial NDP government heads into an election campaign.
“They have recalled Parliament into special session when the railways are on strike,” he said.
“This is as much of a crisis for farmers or more.”
Proctor said his discussions with farmers this summer have convinced him they still have faith that the government will intervene to offer more help.
“I really think farmers believe their government will come to their assistance,” he said.
“I think they will be beside themselves if at the end of the day, the government says we don’t have any more money to help you.”
