Speech
Minister Strahl Speaks at the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) annual convention
Regina, Saskatchewan
March 8, 2006.
Hon. CHUCK STRAHL (Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and the Canadian Wheat Board): Well, thank you very much, Neal. That was a very nice introduction. I just want to start by acknowledging first of all the work that Neal has done over the past decade, first as Vice-President and then as President of this organization.
What I appreciate though is I know the kind of effort it takes not only to represent all the diverse views that would be in an organization like this, but the time and commitment to come in from the bush country, drive in every week for eight or nine hours on a round trip and do that week in, week out and for many other special meetings, is just a tribute to the quality of the organization and the quality of your president and I just want to salute you for the work that you've done.
It's always a pleasure to be here and it is true that you get a warm Saskatchewan welcome here any time of the year and it's been no different here for me again today.
I do want to congratulate you again on your organization. It's over 100 years old and there's not many organizations in the country that are still going strong into their second century and still not only meeting needs but continuing to grow and represent in your case over 300 rural communities in a province as vast and as diverse as this. It's a real testament to your value, the work that you do and the value you are not only to Saskatchewan but to the strength of the country.
I am the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food and Minister of the Wheat Board, but in a province like Saskatchewan that is so heavily involved not only in the agriculture, but also has such an affinity for the rural culture, your organization is a key one in keeping me focused and helping us all get the job that all of us want to get done.
We all know that Saskatchewan, and even rural Saskatchewan, is an awful lot more than just agriculture, however, and when you add in things like forestry, the bush country, mining, energy, and the rural-based economic sectors, more than 20 per cent of your province's GDP is rural related.
Over 40 per cent of your residents live in rural areas and small towns and it's just very easy to see when you're travelling in Saskatchewan how important rural Saskatchewan is, not only to this province but to the entire country.
I know that SARM has been doing some very important work on the issues that impact economic development here. The "Clearing the Path" final report that you initiated shows real leadership on the rural file and it also gives all levels of government valuable information about their respective roles in rural community development.
We have something federally called The Rural Secretariat, which is the rural policy arm of the federal government and which also comes under my portfolio as Minister, so all of us see the value of the "Clearing the Path" process.
I am pleased to announce that we will be contributing to this SARM initiative as you get underway with Phase Two of your work and I'm gratified also to learn that the urban municipalities will also be full partners in this effort because although we have an emphasis on rural development and rural initiatives, we can't do it without dovetailing our efforts with what's going on in the cities.
The Government of Canada believes in a grassroots approach to rural development. By working together with the larger centres, you will be able to bring neighbouring municipalities together to develop a vision and a plan for the future that includes the tools that they need and that you need to improve the business climate in each of your areas.
I'm sure you'll be happy to know that while you are working with your urban neighbours on Phase Two of the initiative, that the Government of Canada will continue to work in close collaboration with the Province of Saskatchewan in developing our rural communities.
This work must continue so that we can provide the strategic investments necessary to clear some of the barriers to moving rural Saskatchewan, and indeed all of rural Canada because the problems are similar elsewhere, to move them forward in the years to come.
Our Government has some real specific plans to help with the economic development of rural Canada and I'd like to talk to you for a few minutes about those plans, as well as some of the plans we have for moving forward specifically in the agricultural sector.
What we want to do is to create an opportunity for all Canadians, and that includes opportunities for you folks in rural communities who sometimes feel like the big cities are getting all of the Government's attention.
We plan to move ahead, for example, step-by-step in maintaining the existing infrastructure agreements between the federal government, the provinces and the municipalities, as well as negotiating a new infrastructure agreement with the provinces to provide a stable and permanent highways and border infrastructure fund. Rural municipalities are also receiving their share of the $5 billion federal gas tax and that will continue.
We are now funding projects through a $1 billion fund for infrastructure in rural and smaller communities through the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund and partnering provide broadband internet access to rural and remote communities through our strategic infrastructure fund.
But no one level of government can tackle alone the issues facing our communities. Our government is working with our partners to build strong communities because we believe that strong communities build a strong Canada and while we're going to be respectful of course of provincial jurisdiction, obviously as we see from the presence of the Premier here this morning, we all understand that it's going to come from the grassroots and it has to be done in partnership with local rural communities.
We're also committed on a broader scale to cutting the GST and reducing the small business tax rate, which is going to save both rural and urban Canadians money nearly every time they buy something and which will bring relief in the long term to entrepreneurs across the country.
Other commitments, such as implementing our childcare program, will put some extra, much-needed dollars into the hands of Canadian farm families.
And we are committed to supporting Canada's traditional industries such as agriculture, forestry, and mining. Developing regional economies across the country and creating job opportunities for all Canadians, no matter where they live, is critical to enabling Canadians, especially those in rural communities, to taking advantage of the opportunities of this new global economy.
Now before I talk about my own portfolio, I want to say a few words about our Government's commitment to innovative, responsible and sustainable development in the natural resource sectors generally.
The mining industry, for example, sustains about 400,000 Canadians living in just about every province, including a fair share here, in Saskatchewan, and it offers some of the highest weekly earnings in the Canadian economy. I happen to believe that high weekly earnings are a good thing and the mine industry has provided that.
Mining exploration provides more than just jobs and economic activity for today. These discoveries strengthen communities and create a wide range of opportunities for the future and this potential is particularly true for the more than 1,200 aboriginal communities located near mining and exploration sites across the country.
Forestry, which is kind of my old alma mater, forestry is also one of the mainstays of our national economy with about 360,000 people working in that industry. Most of them live and work in rural communities and the forest and timber industry is the economic lifeblood of over 300 towns and cities in Canada.
We recognize that the forestry industry has faced some difficult challenges as well, including the softwood lumber dispute with the U.S. but our Government is committed to the forestry industry and working closely with industry stakeholders to address the long-term competitiveness challenges that are out there.
Now turning more specifically to agriculture, it's obvious we've been going through some tough times of late. That's no secret to anybody here, in this room. The Farm Income Forecast for the 2005 and 2006 calendar years released in January shows that we can expect net cash income to decline yet again in 2006 due mainly to lower program payments and higher operating expenses.
Some of those lower program payments are due to earlier BSE support programs that are scheduled to come to an end; but of course the good news in that is that the situation is improving for beef and cattle producers. Last year, with the reopening of the U.S. border to live cattle under 30 months of age, there have been significant improvements. But you can be sure again that we will be working, I've already spoken with Secretary Johanns and others, talking about getting the border open to all beef products as soon as possible. Well, I'm a little partial here, but I think we have the best beef products in the world and I think the world acknowledges that. We just need to get it to them.
But especially in the grains and oilseeds sector, the farm income numbers are sobering. And it's not just about numbers, statistics or cash flow projections. When a farmer is in trouble, he or she isn't simply in danger of losing a business, they're in danger of losing their home. That's the difference with the farm business.
Now, we're working to reverse those unfortunate trends of the last few years, and to implement programs that will address the income declines that our farmers have been experiencing over the past number of years.
We've already taken some immediate action. The very first day that I was sworn in, I was able to announce an accelerated payout on the $755 million Grains and Oilseeds Payment. We not only accelerated it, we made sure that 90 per cent of that money went out of the initial payment so that farmers didn't have to wait for this fall to get the rest of that money.
So far, we've cut about 50,000 cheques for $274 million of that. It was about 21,000 cheques coming to Saskatchewan so far totalling about $150 million in this province. And I realize it doesn't solve the cash crisis here, in the province, but at least there's some good news for producers and some good news for rural communities across the province. And as you know, the government is also committed to an additional $500 million annual investment in agriculture.
In my first four weeks on the job, I made it a priority to sit down with producers and with many of the lead farm organizations across the country to talk about the major challenges and opportunities facing us. I'm very happy that we'll have a large number of them joining Trade Minister Emerson and myself in Ottawa next Tuesday to discuss the next round of World Trade Organization negotiations which are coming up at the end of this next month.
I've had eight now, eight face-to-face meetings with provincial agriculture ministers, including a breakfast this morning with Minister Wartman. I will be meeting with all of my provincial and territorial colleagues on March 20 when I hold my first formal federal/provincial/territorial meeting in British Columbia.
We're going to sit down at that meeting to discuss some broad policy discussions on issues of concern to both federal and provincial governments and we'll focus both on the short-term problems which we are all aware of, and on long-term issues that face the industry generally.
Now, these kinds of face-to-face meetings are critical in this four- or five-week period to developing a rapport with the industry and with provincial counterparts in a collaborative effort that we're going to need between the different levels of government and the industry to move forward in developing the strategy and programs that we need to ensure a prosperous future.
As well, I've also been consulting closely with other federal cabinet colleagues - the Ministers of Environment, Health, Transport and Industry, for example, because in agriculture, it just seems that whenever you touch one part of agriculture, it's one of those multi-ministerial things that for example, if you touch one part of agriculture and then right away, Transport is involved. If you want to change a product line and you've got Health Canada involved. It's just necessary to bring all the sectors together.
I mention as an example, discussions I've had with the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities about an issue that is of considerable importance to you and especially to you, Sinclair, you told me earlier, about the sale of the government hopper cars to the Farm Rail Car Committee.
He's going to be at an industry meeting with me here, so I may get a full earful.
But anyway, it's an agricultural issue but it's also a transport issue. Transport Canada has the lead on that file, but it has huge agricultural implications. So Minister Cannon, Minister of Transport, and myself have been working closely together and of course the outcome that we all want is that whatever we do contributes to the efficiency of the grain transportation system and which responds to the needs of shippers and farmers.
Now, I'm not going to pretend that these meetings alone would do it, or the problems would already be solved. Meetings alone aren't going to be the long-term solution to the challenges facing us. What they are meant to be is a quick and immediate consultation process with farmers, with industry and with political leadership across the country before the House of Commons resumes on April 3 because I believe we need to move forward quickly on a strategy and a vision that not only addresses the short-term problems - and there are those in the industry right now - but whenever possible, we need to find a way forward that has an agreement between the federal government, the provincial government and the industry itself, a tripartite vision on where we move forward because if we can't get that together in our meetings and in a hurry, then the problems that we see year after year, and getting worse in the grains and oilseeds sector, are going to come back to haunt us in the future.
I mention it here because it's not just a style of leadership that the federal government wants go bring forward. It is a real desire to work together with the provinces, of whatever political stripe. It's not my job, it's your job to elect the provincial government of your choice, it's my job to work with whatever provincial ministers are put forward, to work with the leadership that you put in your industry associations and to bring my cabinet colleagues to the table so that we all move forward together.
Now, one of the things that has been getting quite a bit of attention during the election campaign is the Canadian Wheat Board. That's the end of my speech. I'm leaving now.
During the campaign, we were quite clear on the Canadian Wheat Board. We are committed. In our platform document, we talked about a commitment to the idea of being a dual marketing system. And that is the commitment of the party.
But also, some people have been very clear as well that as we move forward in any changes to the Canadian Wheat Board, we're going to do it in a very deliberate way, a very transparent way and mindful of the other issues that impact the grain sector.
Making changes, and this has been my argument with my colleagues and with the industry, that making changes in the grains and oilseeds sector is going to require a holistic approach. You can't simply move in, whether you're talking grain cars or the Wheat Board or the Grains Commission or changes to the Grain Act, in isolation. That's again another reason why the industry, the provinces and the federal government have to work closely, I believe especially in the grains and oilseeds sector, so that changes that do come forward, and there have been changes already in the Wheat Board, as we know, but the changes that we do work together on match the overarching goal of allowing and promoting maximum return to Canadian farmers in a way that is orderly and organized and is transparent and open.
That is how I'm going to approach that issue. This is a campaign commitment, but again I've been talking about changes to the Wheat Board in terms of evolution and not of revolution.
We are also committed to replacing CAIS with distinct programs for agricultural income stabilization and disaster relief. We are planning an income stabilization program that is simpler and more appropriate to producers' needs. And again, because of the Agricultural Policy Framework, it's again something I need to work with the provinces and territories who are also responsible for the funding and the agreement and seeking input from stakeholders on the best way forward.
Again, it is a campaign promise, and those changes are coming - but in the meantime, CAIS will continue to function for the 2006 crop year. And I don't want to leave any uncertainty about that. In my opinion, it is a program that I have inherited, it's a program that we have not been very happy with, it doesn't address especially the systemic, long-term decline in commodity prices. So it needs to be changed, but it's a program that we inherited and I don't think it's in the best interests of farmers or of the industry to try to make that change right now, in the middle of a crop year, when people are still trying to wrap their heads around the CAIS program itself.
We've just come into town and to slap down a whole new program, try to get it up and running, try to get people to understand it. The wiser thing to do, I believe, is to do that consultation, we'll work together, have another federal-provincial ag ministers meeting in June and we're going to set the stage for a series of changes that people will be fully involved in in the development of an alternative as we move forward.
But for this crop year, we're going to work with CAIS.
As I mentioned earlier and as we talked about in the campaign, we do plan to add another $500 million annually to the agricultural budget. I'm currently developing proposals with my caucus colleagues and with cabinet as well. Key to these discussions will be how to address the critical challenges facing the industry and the most effective way to improve profitability. And again, I'm working closely with the Minister of Finance to secure funding for this, a campaign promise, and we're going to deliver on another $500 million per year.
Now, as I said earlier, developing opportunities is essential, and I always like to talk in terms of opportunities. I find if I go to the cabinet table and say, you know, we've got a real problem, everybody is kind of looking out the window and scratching their ear, so I talk about opportunities.
I was out at the pulse plant out here earlier today and they said the same thing. I can talk about opportunities. Instead of saying there's not enough container cars, he likes to talk about the opportunities that he's going to give to the rail companies to ship something back in a car rather than ship it back empty. So if we express it in terms of opportunities, generally at the cabinet table, I find that I get a better listening audience.
One of the things I've been talking about when I talk about Saskatchewan, I talk about the opportunities that we have ahead, not just the problems, because I think that not only is it a wise political decision but it's also the way to get a listening ear.
One of the things we've talked about during the campaign was a plan to ensure that all motor vehicle fuel in Canada contains an average of five-per-cent renewable fuel content such as ethanol or biodiesel by 2010. This one project has the potential to increase grain and canola sales by millions of bushels a year.
And I want to be clear on the development of this. I know your provincial minister is keen on this and has some ideas to move forward and they're coming also from the grassroots. But I want to be clear, that the Government of Canada will be a stakeholder in the continued development of this exciting industry of renewable fuels and we will make sure that our primary producers get a fair share of the potential profits from it because farmers deserve a decent return on their investment and the Government of Canada will insist on that when it comes to bio-diesel and ethanol production, it is the farmers who are going to profit from an environmentally sensitive alternative grown right here, at home.
Now, I know there's a busy schedule coming up and in fact, I think there is a presentation on ethanol, right? And so I only have a couple more minutes.
I want to emphasize that I think our government has a good understanding of rural Canada. In fact, in our caucus, we have over 20 people that are farmers. It's a real culture change in Ottawa right now. Having that many professional farmers in caucus is going to shake things up on the government side but it's also going to shake up the sleepy, old town of Ottawa.
I have two parliamentary secretaries, both of whom are farmers: David Anderson from Cypress Hills, and Jacques Gourde, from Lotbinière Chutes de la Chaudière.
We believe, and the farmers in our caucus believe and the Prime Minister believes that a strong and vibrant farm sector that provides security of income for farm families and a strong economic foundation for rural communities will in turn provide the security of food supply for Canadians and others around the world.
The Canadian agriculture and agri-food sector is vital, it is the backbone of Canada's economy. It is responsible for eight per cent of our gross domestic product and one in eight jobs in our entire country.
Our country's farmers are world leaders in the efficient production of high-quality agricultural and food products. They deserve our support in helping to make sure that the industry - and by extension, rural communities - have a viable and sustainable future.
And another thing that I always keep in mind is that even with all the natural resources in this province and across the country, your number-one asset and our number-one asset is the people of Saskatchewan and the people of Canada. People like you, here in this room that have kept SARM active and important since 1905 are the backbone of this country.
And I just encourage you to keep developing community leaders. People like yourselves who mobilize the communities and truly make a difference as you go through this grassroots change in agricultural policy. We must continue to press home the message that some of Canada's best opportunities for the future are found in rural communities and it's a matter simply of making it happen and I aim to work hard to make sure it happens.
I am behind you, folks. The government is behind you. We're committed to rural Saskatchewan and to all of rural Canada.
I congratulate you again on your organization for the longevity of it, for the practical application of your knowledge and leadership. I want to thank you for inviting me today and I look forward to working with your leadership and with many of you in the coming months and years.
Thank you very much.