AGRI Committee News Release

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS STANDING COMMITTEE
ON AGRICULTURE AND AGRI-FOOD WILL HOLD HEARINGS IN
MANITOBA, SASKATCHEWAN, AND ALBERTA

Ottawa, 1 December 1999 – The House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food today received the authorization to travel to Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta pursuant to its order of reference to study "the effectiveness of long-term safety nets and other national initiatives to provide stability and environment necessary for stable growth in the agricultural industry".

"While representatives of WTO members meet in Seattle to launch a new round of multilateral trade negotiations, agricultural export subsidies are still used and continue to distort agricultural commodity prices. Canadian farm income safety net programs are risk management tools allowing farmers to alleviate normal downturns in market conditions, but export subsidies exacerbate these conditions to a point that it is impossible to any risk management tools to counter their negative impact. Farmers are at risk, and so are many agriculture-based rural communities," said John Harvard, Chairman of the Standing Committee.

The Standing Committee will hold hearings in rural communities to discuss with farmers and interested members of the public the best solutions for ensuring the agricultural sector and rural communities in Western Canada will remain sustainable. The Standing Committee will visit the following communities: Portage La Prairie, Dauphin, and Brandon (Manitoba); Estevan, Regina, and Prince Albert (Saskatchewan); Grande Prairie, Vegreville, and Airdrie (Alberta).

Stakeholders who would like to appear and/or present a submission should contact the Clerk of the Committee at the following address: