December 22, 2005

The Editor
Regina Leader-Post
1964 Park Street
Regina, SK
S4P 3G4
Fax: (306)-565-2588

Re: You missed a few points from Stephen Harper’s Agriculture Platform

Considering how vital our farmers are to this province, I was very disappointed when I read the coverage of Stephen Harper’s Agriculture Platform in this morning’s Leader Post. For whatever reason, one of the most important aspects of replacing CAIS was left out of the article, and two other important planks of the platform were completely left out: namely, defending Canada’s agricultural sectors when negotiating international trade agreements and implementing a Green Cover Crop Program to protect prairie farmers (see additional details on missing items below).

Maybe your Christmas advertising limited the amount of space you had to cover the story. Maybe you were short of staff because the Christmas holiday season is upon us. Maybe it was a rush job to meet a deadline or maybe it was just a simple oversight. Some of your more cynical readers may even think that your publisher, editors or reporters are biased, but not me. Just to avoid any confusion, I’m hoping that you will print this letter.

CONSERVATIVE AG PLATFORM ITEMS MISSING FROM LEADER-POST ARTICLE

Replace CAIS with separate farm income stabilization and disaster relief programs. The new income stabilization program will be a simpler, more responsive program that properly addresses the cost of production, market revenue, and inventory evaluation. The federal government should be ready to pitch in when disaster strikes, funding disaster relief separately, above and beyond its income stabilization program;

Defend Canada’s agricultural sectors when negotiating international trade agreements. A Conservative government will seek better market access for Canadian agricultural and agri-food products in foreign markets. We will support the phased reduction of all trade-distorting barriers and the rapid elimination of all agriculture export subsidies. We will pursue strong, rules-based trade liberalization in conjunction with all other countries that are members of the World Trade Organization;

Implement a Green Cover Crop Program to protect prairie farmers. Severe flooding in both Saskatchewan and Manitoba has adversely affected the opportunity for farmers to harvest their normal crop. A Green Crop Cover Program will create a compensation fund for farmers facing crop damage caused by severe flooding; and

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOUR STAFF AND ALL THE BEST IN 2006

Garry Breitkreuz, MP
Yorkton-Melville

www.reelectgarrybreitkreuz.com