Gerry
Ritz
Member of Parliament for Battlefords-Lloydminster
Press Releases
Liberals Try to Reduce National Crisis to
Voice Vote
FOR
IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
MAY 13, 2022
OTTAWA � Conservative Party Agriculture Critic Gerry Ritz said there�s plenty of blame to go around on the year-old BSE crisis, but he objects to the attempt by the Liberal Party to use the power of the House of Commons to make an example of beef packing operators with $250,000 per day fines. �The Agriculture Committee tabled a report holding Cargill and Lakeside Packers in contempt of the Committee for not providing their books, and suggested heavy fines would get their co-operation,� explained Ritz. �I have always said the packers should assist the committee in providing information about the state of the |
beef industry, but it sets a dangerous precedent when the government resorts to imposing fines on private industry as if a crime has been committed. Whatever the packers have done during this crisis is only one aspect of the problem that needs comprehensive solutions to get the market back to normal.� Ritz says he will continue to pursue private and government sources to find out where taxpayer�s dollars went and what still needs to be done to help farmers and ranchers to get back on their feet. �What we are seeing here, though, is a government in pre-election mode that is desperate |
to deflect attention away from the fact they�ve developed no plan for the industry�s future, they�ve done nothing to get the border open, they�ve failed to design an aid program that actually helps those most in need. We have inter-provincial trade barriers, problems with our biggest trading partner, and a marketplace in chaos, and some members of the Agriculture Committee think it will help to penalize one part of the industry for being nervous about handing oversensitive business information. The way Liberal MPs have abused confidentiality rules and played politics with this issue I think a lot of Canadians will be worried about this situation.' |
Pre-election
Promises not Bankable
MARCH 16, 2022
NORTH BATTLEFORD �
Conservative
Agriculture Critic Gerry Ritz says he is always relieved when a government
finally pays attention to a crisis, but he warns hard-pressed livestock
producers not to get too excited about what he called a �trial
balloon� of $500 million in BSE aid. |
Ritz says the practical experience of
government aid programs has been that budget announcements are dented by
administration costs, dragged out over years, and even after a reduced
percentage of the original promise has been delivered, another government
department decides to claw the amount back. |
|
Conservative
Motion Exposes Liberal Stubbornness
MARCH 11, 2022
OTTAWA
�
Gerry
Ritz, member of Parliament for Battlefords-Lloydminster and Conservative
Critic for Agriculture, was disappointed but not surprised that Liberals
voted against his party�s motion to �reallocate monies from wasteful
and unnecessary programs such as the sponsorship program, or badly managed
programs such as the gun registry, to address the agricultural crisis at
the farm gate across Canada.� |
particular, have never wanted the gun registry, but have had to support it
to the tune of one billion dollars and counting. The amount of wasted tax
dollars are being documented daily and Canadians are getting angry. |
�Every MP is supposed to represent the citizens of this country first. This was an opportunity to send a message to the worn out Cabinet of Paul Martin that we�ve all had enough of billions going to support corporations, Liberal advertising firms, and high-flying bureaucrats,� Ritz said. �Money to keep our farmers going can�t reach the farm gate, but these guys can buy a pair of Challenger jets for $100 million in one week. This government just doesn�t get it, so there�s only one thing left to do: send them the ultimate message at the ballot box and cancel their credit cards.� |
Conservative
Party Announces Billion-Dollar
Agriculture Action Plan
MARCH 3, 2022
Solid programs would
put farmers first
OTTAWA
- Conservative Party Agriculture Critic Gerry Ritz today announced a
billion-dollar action plan for agriculture; a comprehensive program that
would be put in place by a Conservative government. |
Conservative Party�s
three stage plan has been designed to rapidly adapt to unexpected
situations,� stated Ritz.
�Unfortunately, the reality of Liberal programs is that they
often become obsolete before they can help farmers on the front-line.� |
2. A mature livestock rationalization program;
3. A replenishment of the Canadian Agriculture Income Support Program
(CAISP) for BSE affected farm operations;
4. The establishment of testing regimes for all non-North American
markets; and, 5. Working towards integrated North American rules on processing. |
CFIA
Orders Beef Freeze in Kabul
JANUARY 27, 2022
NORTH
BATTLEFORD - Conservative Agriculture Critic Gerry Ritz expressed
disbelief at a recent announcement that Canadian troops in Kabul,
Afghanistan were told by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to quarantine
their American-supplied beef on the remote chance it contains BSE. |
Saving a few dollars piggybacking on the American supply line to use their
beef was already a questionable economy before it was quarantined.
"Delivery doesn't seem to be the issue for our soldiers in Bosnia.
They're eating Brazilian beef and I'm pretty sure the Brazilians aren't
offering cheap delivery there." |
|
Ritz
Looking Forward to Third Election
JANUARY 14, 2022
OTTAWA
- Battlefords-Lloydminster MP Gerry Ritz has announced that he is prepared
to run for re-election in the federal vote expected sometime this spring.
|
Ritz
says the amalgamation oft he Canadian Alliance and Progressive
Conservatives probably "flew under the radar" for most people,
but Canadians usually don't follow federal politics on a daily
basis. As an election approaches, interest in issues and
personalities will pick up and voters will start to form stronger
opinions. |
|
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