Mr. Speaker, I also want to join my colleagues in congratulating you on your appointment to your new position. I look forward to working with you.
The Prime Minister and the Liberal government members said when they were sworn in after they won the election that they were going to “hit the ground running”. Instead, they did a belly flop. It is most evident in their treatment of farmers as to how big a belly flop this was, with really no action on that front. In the speeches I am listening today from that side, they talk about fundamental Canadian values and all kinds of high sounding phrases. That is just like the throne speech. It sounded so good but it was complete fluff.
What are real people in this country experiencing? Let us take rural Canada, the west, Saskatchewan, rural Ontario, Quebec, or rural eastern Canadians. They are being devastated by the BSE crisis. We heard virtually nothing about that. In fact, we had cabinet ministers yesterday defending their backbenchers' bad-mouthing of our American neighbours. We need that trade. When that border was slapped shut--and it is still closed to live cattle exports--we were devastated.
Now for the west, we had a devastating frost in August, which has hurt the part of the sector that was maybe going to be the bright light this year. The government does not even seem to recognize that. We do not hear anything from those MPs opposite about what real Canadians are experiencing. I think the lack of action is just devastating. As I said when I began my remarks, they are making a belly flop. The people who need to have farm programs that work and who need to have government programs that work are not getting them. I think it is about time that all MPs over there recognize this.