Kevin Sorenson

[Canadian Wheat Board, June 13th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, it has been over a year since the government has promised a more commercial grain handling and transportation system. The plan required the Canadian Wheat Board to negotiate commercial agreements with the rest of the grain industry, but this has not happened.

Could the Minister of Transport tell the House why these commercial agreements have not been signed? What is he doing to end this impasse that is negatively affecting Canadian agriculture?

[Farm Credit Corporation Act, June 7th, 2001]

Competition is good. I hear the Liberals questioning and heckling about competition. We love competition and a competitive economy, but businesses do not want to compete with the federal government. They do not want to compete with their own tax dollars. They do not want to compete directly with a federal corporation or institution in which they have put tax dollars.

We are also concerned that the expanding powers of the FCC would simply duplicate the existing authority of other public financial institutions such as the Business Development Bank. The Business Development Bank, which realistically does not have a great track record, would then perhaps move out of areas dealing with agriculture.

It would appear that Farm Credit Corporation would simply deal with agriculture and not the farm. Its name is to be changed to Farm Credit Canada. Maybe it should just be changed to agriculture because they have forgotten the family farm.

Our amendment would ensure that FCC's new powers do not duplicate the authority problem that is currently present in the Business Development Bank. We are also very concerned about one aspect which we brought to committee and which the hon. member for Cypress Hills—Grasslands raised in the House on a number of occasions.

We are concerned that Bill C-25 will allow Farm Credit Corporation or Farm Credit Canada to become a significant land holder. The amendment is designed to ensure that the federal government does not become a major holder of Canadian farmland. By so doing it would not influence the market price of land.

I think we would agree on all sides of the House that we have seen places and times in Saskatchewan when there was a great land bank. The government owned land that had been turned back to it. We want to see changes that would prohibit the owning of farmland by the government, thus influencing the market value of land.

Our concerns on this subject were increased during the clause by clause debate in committee. The chairman of FCC indicated that it could consider taking possession of land in the government's yet to be announced plans to facilitate intergenerational transfer of farmland. FCC and the government should have no objections to this motion because the FCC has stated in testimony before the committee that it was not its intention to become land holders.

We have seen time and time again that intentions may be the best, but obviously sometimes legislation allows for loopholes or just the opposite. Farm Credit has also testified that it works to ensure that land is sold at prevailing market prices and that FCC does not influence land values. All members of the House, even those on the other side, believe that the longer a federal government corporation holds on to land it will not sell it for this price because it has money vested in it. As long as that happens it will influence the value of that land on the market.

Motion No. 3 is similar to an amendment we brought forward at committee. With the consideration and the wisdom of the House I believe that all three amendments and recommendations will be accepted.

[Farm Credit Corporation Act, June 7th, 2001]

moved:

Motion No. 1

That Bill C-25, in Clause 5, be amended by replacing lines 12 to 18 on page 2 with the following:

“services and products to farming operations and to those small and medium-sized businesses in rural Canada that are businesses related to farming. The primary focus of the activities of the Corporation shall be on farming operations.”

Motion No. 2

That Bill C-25, in Clause 5, be amended by replacing lines 32 and 33 on page 2 with the following:

“that complement but do not directly compete with those available from the private sector, or that complement but do not duplicate those provided by other publicly owned institutions;”

Motion No. 3

That Bill C-25, in Clause 5, be amended by adding after line 44 on page 2 the following: f .4.1) dispose of farmland acquired by it, provided that the disposal is at fair market value and is done as quickly as possible, and in any case no longer than five years, after the acquisition.”

Mr. Speaker, again it is a privilege to stand in the House to debate some amendments to Bill C-25, an act to amend the Farm Credit Corporation Act.

It was my privilege to attend committee meetings and to hear the witnesses. We were fairly apprehensive as we went into the exercise of looking at Bill C-25. After the committee meetings we were even more apprehensive and maybe more concerned about some of the legislation that was being brought forward in this change.

The first amendment is designed to address one of our party's most serious concerns about Bill C-25, that the corporation would lose its focus of providing service to farmers because of its involvement in off farm businesses.

One concern of the Canadian Alliance and other members is that the Farm Credit Corporation would move away from being directly involved to the extent it is now in the family farm into a new realm that is currently controlled or benefited by other corporations. Consequently we believe the legislation would allow the Farm Credit Corporation to fund, help and provide service to larger businesses.

According to the current wording of the bill, the FCC could loan money to any agricultural business no matter how large or lucrative. For example, if an application were made by the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool to the government, the government could conclude that the FCC could help with the financial requirements the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool would be after. The amendment would ensure that any services offered to non-farm operations would only be given to small and medium size businesses and not to large corporations.

In committee the FCC and government officials said they would have no reason to fund the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool. That would move beyond the FCC's mandate. However the legislation as it is would not limit or prevent that from happening. If that financing began to happen we would soon see that the family farm would be put on the back burner and would lose another opportunity for funding.

The second amendment is designed to ensure that the federal government does not actively compete with private financial institutions, banks or credit unions. One of the interesting facts that came out of our committee meeting was from representatives of Canadian credit unions. They made very clear that in a number of instances the Farm Credit Corporation was directly competing for business the credit unions had already had.

In one instance the Farm Credit Corporation after hearing what interest rate percentages the credit union was offering competed by lowering its interest rate.

[Farm Credit Corporation Act, June 7th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. There have been consultations among all parties present and I think that you would find unanimous consent of the House to have the report stage motions in the name of the member for Cypress Hills-Grasslands transferred to the name of the hon. member for Crowfoot.

[Agriculture, June 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, an overnight rain will not fill most of the dugouts that are parched and dry. In regard to water supply for livestock, PFRA supports community or group projects, but individual farmer and rancher projects will only be considered depending on the availability of funds.

This is cold comfort to people like Dale Fagin of Hardisty and Dale Bousquet of Consort who have repeatedly been denied assistance to drill water wells for their livestock. I ask the minister of livestock if he will immediately request additional assistance for the PFRA and ensure the funding goes to farmers—

[Agriculture, June 5th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, Alberta farmers are facing severe drought conditions which have not been experienced since the 1930s. Livestock cannot be pastured because of a lack of grass, and now they cannot be pastured because the water wells and the dugouts lack water.

The only thing drier than the water wells and the dugouts is the funding that is available through the PFRA. The PFRA ran out of money four days after the renewal of this year's budget.

Will the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food immediately request additional funding through the PFRA for western Canadian farmers to help them deal with these extreme drought conditions?

[Hockey, May 31st, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Camrose Kodiaks hockey team in winning the Royal Bank Cup national junior championship.

The Kodiaks became the second consecutive Alberta junior team to win the national championship. This was the fourth time in seven years Alberta has claimed the honour of having the best Junior A, tier II team in the country.

Camrose defeated the host Flin Flon Bombers 5 to 0 in the finals on May 13 and tonight they will celebrate their momentous victory.

When asked to explain why their team was victorious, the Kodiak players said that they had a great bunch of guys that were a tight knit group. Being friends and being close is what made them the better team. These guys know how to play hockey.

I take my hat off to the Kodiaks and to the great community of Camrose for its outstanding support. It has been a fantastic accomplishment and they have done us all proud.

[Citizenship, May 10th, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and congratulate three outstanding young people from my riding of Crowfoot: Darla Mohan of Camrose, Jackie Brown of Erskine, and Heather André of Drumheller.

These constituents were among the 220 young Canadians selected by their local Rotary associations to visit the national capital region as participants in the adventure in citizenship program, a program that focuses attention on the diversity of Canada and on the institutions and values that unite us.

Last week it was with extreme pleasure that I joined Darla, Jackie and Heather at the adventure in citizenship reception on the Hill. Even in the brief period I spent in their company it was very apparent why they were chosen to visit Ottawa representing their local communities. They were all exceptional teenagers who had made significant contributions to their communities. I say to Darla, Heather and Jackie, way to go.

[Canadian Wheat Board, May 3rd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, obviously the minister does not understand the issue because organic farmers were not part of the process that elected the board.

Arnold Schmidt has diversified into organic wheat production. Mr. Schmidt has gone further than just being an organic producer. He has developed markets for flour milled from his own grain. Unfortunately Mr. Schmidt cannot get an export permit for his organic flour from the Canadian Wheat Board. Why does the minister insist on stifling rural entrepreneurs and value added products such as Mr. Schmidt's?

[Canadian Wheat Board, May 3rd, 2001]

Mr. Speaker, on Tuesday the Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board stated that elected members of the board represented all western Canadian farmers. However it is clear that the Canadian Wheat Board does not represent organic farmers.

Organic growers want the right and responsibility of marketing outside the wheat board system. The minister is the only one who can give these farmers the freedom they are demanding.

When will the minister actually listen to farmers and give organic growers the ability to process and market their own grain?