Legislative Report, 4 May, 2005

Agriculture Minister Mark Wartman should try to get out of the Legislature more often. If he did, he would have a better understanding of what’s going on in rural Saskatchewan. He doesn’t seem to understand the real hurt that farm families are experiencing.

Last week in question period, Wartman was asked what producers are supposed to do in the face of higher input costs. He was asked what he thought of lower fertilizer sales, dropping chemical sales and the reduction of car and equipment sales. Wartman said you have to remember that farms are businesses and producers are simply making “business decisions.”

The Saskatchewan Party believes that people who don’t have cash to put in a crop are not making a business decision. They want to do something, but they are broke. Lorne Calvert and his government just don’t seem to understand there are people with no money and nowhere to turn.

The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan offered one solution this week. They’re calling for an immediate cash injection into the rural economy. However, Lorne Calvert and his government rejected that call immediately. This is just another example of how Lorne Calvert is completely out of touch with what is going on in rural Saskatchewan.

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