Released on January 24, 2000
Premier Roy Romanow will focus attention on the income crisis facing prairiegrain farmers when he attends the premiers' meeting in Quebec City, February 3.
"I will be asking the premiers to join me in renewing our call for the federal
government to live up to its responsibility for trade," Romanow said. "Over
the long term that means negotiating an end to subsidies. In dealing with the
income crisis we have today, it means providing our farmers with support
similar to that provided to their competitors by the national governments of
the United States and the European Union."
The premiers will be developing a joint position on how Ottawa should spend a
budget surplus estimated to be $10 billion this year and $95 billion over the
next five years.
Romanow said the federal government balanced its budget and got into a surplus
position in part by cutting billions of dollars in funding to the provinces for
health, education and social programs.
"Another part of that federal surplus came from cutting subsidies to prairie
grain farmers including two-price wheat and the Crow Rate," Romanow said.
Romanow said wheat and barley producers in Saskatchewan would get an additional
$1 billion from the national government if we had the same programs as the
United States.
"The 'son of AIDA' program that the federal government has put on the table
would provide nothing for trade equalization."
Romanow said the European Union contributes $288 per capita for agriculture
programs, the United States $273, and the government of Canada $71.
"Our taxpayers here in Saskatchewan contribute $299 per capita – more than the
EU and the US and over four times what Ottawa puts in. We are also way ahead
of the other provinces. But we have only one million people and we can't fight
a subsidy war with the treasuries of Washington and Europe. That must be the
responsibility of our national government."
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