NEWS RELEASE

April 14, 2000                                                                                                                   For Immediate Release

LIBERALS JOB DESTRUCTION GRANTS HURTING CANADIAN FARMERS      

"HRDC gives billions to million dollar companies while farmers suffer through AIDA"

Ottawa - The Liberal's billion dollar boondoggle at Human Resources Development Canada and the lack of money getting out to farmers through AIDA was the focus of a speech given Thursday night by Garry Breitkreuz, MP for Yorkton - Melville and Official Opposition Agriculture Critic. Breitkreuz was commenting on the billion dollars in the HRDC job creations program that was unaccounted for. "Here we have money freely flowing to individuals and businesses without being properly accounted for, but our farmers basically have to walk through fire to access money set aside for them in another government-managed program," stated Breitkreuz.

Breitkreuz was very concerned about what appears to be a double standard between the two government programs. "Some farmers have waited almost a year to get their AIDA application approved and others have seen their AIDA form move from desk to desk only to find out each time their payment had been severely reduced. We know this government doesn't value agriculture very highly, but this appears to be a deliberate scheme to deter farmers and to shovel taxpayers dollars to the patrons of HRDC. In fact 49 of Canada's top 100 companies, each earning a profit of at least $70 million, received grants from the HRDC office in the last three years. Maybe I should be telling farmers to skip the AIDA procedure and go to the Human Resources Office for assistance," suggested Breitkreuz.

With so much money flowing out of the Human Resources Department, Breitkreuz wonders if that is one of the main reasons farmers taxes are so high. "Taxes kill jobs! The grants from HRDC use tax dollars that come directly from farmers and all Canadians. All these funds have been channeled through a so-called 'job creation fund' which probably should be called a 'job destruction fund'. Farmers are being driven off the land and many other Canadian don't have jobs because of the high taxes needed to support the Liberal 'job destruction program'," declared Breitkreuz.

"It shouldn't be easy for anyone to access public funds but there is obviously a double standard here. On one hand, farmers can't access money set aside for them during this time of economic crisis, and on the other hand you have multi-million dollar businesses receiving money from a government program that has no checks or balances. Wouldn't we all be better off if we were allowed to keep our money and get rid of big government and their 'job destruction programs'?" questioned Breitkreuz.

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For more information or a copy of Garry's speech please call:

Yorkton: 1-800-667-6606

Ottawa: (613) 992-4394

E-mail: breitg2@sk.sympatico.ca