Regina, SK – Tom Lukiwski, Member of Parliament for Regina – Lumsden – Lake Centre today took an extended aerial tour of the constituency’s rural areas in order to assess the impact of this spring’s heavy rains.

“In order to fully represent the needs and concerns of our rural constituents, I felt it was essential for me to have an in-depth assessment of the extent of the problem,” Lukiwski said.

The two-hour flight, which complemented Lukiwski’s on-the-ground investigations, covered every corner of the constituency from Nokomis to Marquis and from Tugaske to Earl Grey.

Lukiwski said he was moved by the experience.

“For anyone in Saskatchewan with any connection to our rural areas, the sight of those fields is just heart-breaking.  For a great many producers in our area and across the province, these rains have been a disaster in every sense of the word.”

Lukiwski emphasized that the federal government is working on an action plan to deal with this problem.

“As Minister Ritz has said, our first line of defence has to be the existing agricultural disaster relief programs because they can be put in motion the fastest.  After that, we’ll have to do a further assessment of the need and damage involved.  The bottom line is that all of us from Saskatchewan are well aware of how serious this situation is and what it means, not only for farmers, but for the province as a whole.