On a case by CAIS basis...

The Tory Guns & Buns platform committed to:

"Replace CAIS with separate farm income stabilization and disaster relief programs. The new income stabilization program must become 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."

Today Minister Strahl, a decent guy, decided to join the long list of adherents to the new Principles of Convenience when he decided to cancel yet another plank in the Tory platform by deciding the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization programme (CAIS) would not be scrapped.

CAIS represents about $1.7B in payments to about 170,000 Canadian farmers.

It's too bad really.

If Chuck read the transcript of the Ag Committee on this, he'd see that reworking CAIS isn't a bad idea.

The Ag sector in Canada needs a serious shake, and he might actually be the right guy to do it.

Agricultural subsidies are serious drain on the economy, and the taxpayers pocketbook. They are also a sticky subject with many of our trading partners who make our handouts look like pennies compared to their own subsidies.

But darn those principles of convenience, it's just not convenient I suppose.