Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Wednesday his government will "deliver the money" to hard-pressed farmers, but didn't say when or how much.
As thousands of angry farmers rallied on Parliament Hill to protest rock-bottom agricultural prices that are driving many from the land, Harper blamed the crisis on the Liberals.
"The previous Liberal government . . . promised to do a great number of things but this government intends to deliver the goods and we will deliver the money," Harper said.
"The problems of agriculture in this country are very serious. We would not be in this state today had we not had 13 years of neglect."
Some farm groups say the real causes of the crisis are U.S. and European farm subsidies which have driven down the prices for agricultural products to historic lows.
"Canadian farmers are coming out of the absolute worst years for net income in history," said Bob Friesen, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.
"Yet they continue to compete with U.S. farmers who are coming out of their three best years in history."
Friesen said Canadian farmers need $6.1 billion now before they can even begin to think of long-term solutions.
In Winnipeg, Manitoba Premier Gary Doer said farmers are "being blown out of the water in terms of their income by the U.S. farm bill and the European subsidies and I think we've got to come to grips with it.The Guardian (Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island)
