These comments are direct quotations from the Hansard
documents.
From Bad to Worse
Ms.
Diane Finley (Haldimand—Norfolk, CPC): Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are
getting bogged down in the mad cow issue and leaving the dairy farmers to
fend for themselves.
Today they must resort to radical actions in order to get the attention of
the contemptuous Liberal government.
Why is the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food letting the situation go
from bad to worse and taking no action on the crisis?
[English]
Hon. Andy Mitchell (Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, quite to the contrary, as I said in answer to the many
questions that the Bloc has directed at us in the last couple of days, we
have provided some $366 million to Quebec producers under business risk
management and additional money in terms of BSE.
As I have said on many occasions, there is a specific issue with dairy
cull cows. We are dealing with that issue. There is a range of options on
how that could be done. Part of it could be through the pricing that is
about to be announced in respect of milk. Others have mentioned a minimum
price. There are other initiatives we may want to undertake. We are in
discussions at this moment, figuring out the best way to do it.
[Translation]
Ms. Diane Finley (Haldimand—Norfolk, CPC): Mr. Speaker, day after
day, the minister repeats the same refrain. The dairy producers of Quebec
have had enough of being held hostage by a single slaughterhouse. They are
forced to sell their animals at terrible prices to a virtual monopoly.
Is the minister dragging his feet in this file in order to protect the
interests of the Colbex-Levinoff group, because they contributed $45,000
to Liberal coffers?
[English]
Hon. Andy Mitchell (Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lib.):
Mr. Speaker, that is absolutely ludicrous. I would suggest that they stop
playing politics and start helping producers. The reality is that we put
forward a $38 million program that will assist in building new slaughter
capacity so that there can be a competitive environment that will allow
there to be a reasonable marketplace in Quebec and elsewhere in this
country.
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