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Oct/6/22 12:47:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, our government has already made a commitment to some elements of this motion. We have already implemented some measures. My colleague asked me if I will support this motion. I will support it because it is important enough to be studied in committee. Is all of it current? I think not. I really think we will have to address it point by point and show how the government has already made progress on some of the demands.

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Ms. Lianne Rood (Lambton—Kent—Middlesex, CPC)

Oct/6/22 12:48:11 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, there are some things I can agree with the member on in his speech. I know that might be shocking, but he did say, and I agree 100%, that Canadian farmers grow the best food and produce in the world, not just in Canada. We need to be proud of what our farmers do, day in and day out. They do take the steps necessary for biosecurity, for ensuring the health of their animals and herds. These are families' livelihoods. This is what puts bread and butter on the tables of farmers: taking care of their land, being stewards of their land and caring for the health of their animals, and at the same time producing food to feed the world. Farmers face a lot of labour challenges. We have advanced technology, but what I find fascinating is that, while the member opposite will say some of the things he knows and thinks Canadians want to hear, the exact opposite is true with the policies of the government and how it is treating farmers. I was wondering if the member could speak to why the Liberals continue to not support our farmers, not believe they have the best tools to make decisions for their farms and not give them credit for the good things they are doing on their land to reduce emissions and to reduce—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Oct/6/22 12:49:27 p.m.
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The hon. parliamentary secretary.

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Secretary

Mr. Stéphane Lauzon

Oct/6/22 12:49:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am very pleased that my colleague is also singing the praises of farmers. We are seeing today that they do an excellent job. We must acknowledge that producers are dealing with a level of biodiversity unlike that of the past. They have to adapt. This new biodiversity is mainly the result of climate change. We are experiencing tornadoes. We are experiencing storms. There have been floods in my riding. Farms were surrounded by water. Thousands of litres of milk were dumped into the river because it could not be collected. Land was destroyed. We have to address climate change as quickly as possible. This side of the House is taking concrete action to address climate change.

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Mr. Lloyd Longfield (Guelph, Lib.)

Oct/6/22 12:50:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I thank the hon. member for bringing forward such a wide range of impacts on our food supply, and also highlighting Food Day Canada, which is hopefully coming through Parliament, and the work of innovation. The hon. member could maybe highlight the need to protect our water supply and climate, so that farmers can do the work they do so well. An elder from the indigenous community said that our climate crisis is actually a water crisis, and that impacts the cost of food we are debating today. Could the hon. member expand on that?

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Mr. Stéphane Lauzon

Oct/6/22 12:51:01 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague for his question. Of course, waterways are affected by climate crises, and they are an essential resource for farmers. Farmers use water to produce food and irrigate the land. With the changing climate, our government must take the necessary measures to deal with the climate crisis as quickly as possible.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux (Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons, Lib.)

Oct/6/22 12:51:33 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-31 Bill C-30

Madam Speaker, it almost goes without saying that we understand and appreciate what is taking place in the communities we represent. The Prime Minister often reminds us that as members of Parliament we want to bring the issues that are happening within our constituencies here to Ottawa and ultimately, whether in standing committees, on the floor of the House or within our caucus walls, express those feelings and the issues that are so important to our constituents. It is upsetting when one gets a call, or is communicating with someone in one form or another, and they are genuinely and justifiably concerned about the issue of inflation. Food is not an option, and we understand that. I understand that, as do all members of Parliament, I would think, and we are concerned about the price of food today, which is why it is quite encouraging that we are having this debate. I compliment the New Democrats for coming forward with this opposition day motion. Having this debate here on the floor of the House of Commons sends an important message to many of the individuals who might be exploiting the situation that is causing some of the inflation that we are seeing. That message is that we, as parliamentarians, are listening to our constituents. We are genuinely concerned about the issue of inflation and, for me personally and I know for many others, the issue of food prices. We owe a great deal of gratitude, whether it is to the lobster farms in Atlantic Canada, our cattle and pork industries in the prairies, our salmon and fishery industries out in B.C. or the Arctic char industry up north. From coast to coast to coast, we have some truly amazing people. Through their efforts, not only is Canada provided the necessary nutrition, but we help to feed the world with quality product that is second to none in the world. We recognize that, but we also see the difficulty and the level of effort our prairie farmers have to put in to produce our wheat, for example. It has to be a love, because often these individuals are receiving not much more than minimum wage, and some would argue even less than minimum wage. However, they understand the important role they have in our communities in many different ways, such as being primary in providing food. I do not believe for a moment that our producers are gouging in any way whatsoever. I believe they are sacrificing in many ways. The constituents I represent who are doing the shopping understand that, at times, inflation occurs. However, they are concerned, whether it is with what they hear in the news or about the price of a product, about being taken advantage of. Whether one is a federal or provincial politician, I think we all need to do what we can. We have recognized the importance of tax fairness from day one. We have a Prime Minister who, when we first came to office, said that we want to ensure that people are paying their fair share of taxes, which is the reason that one of the very first things we did was put a special tax on Canada's wealthiest 1%. The wealthiest 1% of Canadians received an additional tax rate hike from the government. At the same time, we reduced the tax rate for Canada's middle class. Not only did we introduce those measures, but all of our Liberal caucus voted in favour of them. From those two pieces of legislation, we have continued to support Canadians. We realize that we want an economy that works for everyone. It is important that we support Canada's middle class. It is important that we support those who have extra needs. That is why, if colleagues look at the budgetary and legislative action that we have taken over these years, including legislation we passed just yesterday, they will see that we have had a very progressive attitude in supporting Canadians. I can cite a number of examples, such as in the legislation we have before us. We just finished passing Bill C-30, which will enhance the GST rebate for 11 million Canadians. They will have more money in their pockets to assist in fighting inflation, because of that legislation. We have other legislation, like Bill C-31, which is going to help individuals through the housing benefit. I believe about two million households will have additional money to assist them in dealing with the issue of inflation. We are indexing the old age security and the guaranteed income supplement. In fact, on the OAS, because we know there is a difference of needs and abilities and additional costs for someone who is 75 or older, we are giving an additional 10% permanent increase. Looking at child care, we have the first-ever national child care program, with the objective of making it more affordable. We are talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars in our communities, hundreds of millions throughout the country, in order to support that program. We can talk about the dental program that we are bringing in through legislation, Bill C-31. That will again put money into individuals' pockets to ensure that young children under the age of 12 will be able to get dental services, which is not the case throughout Canada. These are all measures that I have listed, and there are more. When the NDP talks about taxes, the reality is that we have budgets now where we have literally spent hundreds of millions of dollars through CRA to go after those individuals who have not paid their taxes. We want to ensure that if someone has a business in Canada and is working in Canada, whoever they may be, they are paying their taxes. Everyone has an important role to play in terms of paying their fair share of taxes. We take that very seriously, as I have illustrated virtually from day one. Many aspects of the motion that the NDP has proposed today are already in progress. Some of it has already been done, but I believe it is a good motion. This motion could assist the agriculture committee. As parliamentarians, we want to do what we can for our constituents in ensuring that we are dealing with the issue of the cost of food. That is a good, solid commitment coming from the Government of Canada and, I would think, all members of the House.

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All Topics

Mr. James Bezan (Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman, CPC)

Oct/6/22 1:01:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, often I have to educate the member for Winnipeg North about how the aggressive policies that the Liberal government has brought forward are hurting Canadian farmers. The carbon tax, in itself, is escalating the price of food, increasing the price of production of that food and creating food insecurity. What the Liberals are doing on reducing the use of fertilizer in this country by 30% is actually going to reduce production by more than 30%. Why do the Liberals hate the Canadian farmer? Why are they creating food insecurity? Why are they going to force Canadian farmers out of business and move that production elsewhere in the world, where they actually encourage their agricultural producers to grow more food?

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Oct/6/22 1:02:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I can tell the member that I love the prairie farmers. I love our farmers. In fact, we are investing hundreds of millions of dollars to support our farmers in regard to the environment. We are spending more money in the Department of Agriculture than the Stephen Harper government ever did. When it comes to— Some hon. members: Oh, oh!

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Oct/6/22 1:02:54 p.m.
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Could members allow the hon. member to answer the question without heckling, please? The hon. parliamentary secretary.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Oct/6/22 1:02:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, when it comes to the issue of the price on pollution, less than a year ago, the member and all members of the Conservative Party were going around Canada saying they supported the price on pollution. It is flip-flop, a new leader and a new position.

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Mr. Taylor Bachrach (Skeena—Bulkley Valley, NDP)

Oct/6/22 1:03:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am trying to hear myself think over the din of heckling coming from the opposition. Earlier, we heard our friend from Kings—Hants talking about maybe going a little easier on our friends in the corporate sector, yet we see the CEO of Shell in the media saying they need the government to tax them more. My question is on the principle of excess profits. A principle that Canada once held is that during a time of national crisis, like, for instance, the Second World War, it was inappropriate and reprehensible for corporate entities to make excess profits. Is this a principle that the parliamentary secretary believes is valid? We are getting through an extraordinary crisis as a country that is unparalleled in recent memory, yet we see certain companies posting record profits and taking advantage of the situation. Does he—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Oct/6/22 1:04:27 p.m.
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I will give the hon. parliamentary secretary an opportunity to answer.

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Oct/6/22 1:04:31 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, actions speak louder than words. The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance has actually applied a special corporate tax for financial and insurance institutions. We have a Minister of Finance and a government that has now made a commitment, by the end of 2023, to end all oil subsidies in Canada. Understanding the issue of fair taxation is something that the Prime Minister himself highlighted when we brought in our first piece of legislation, which ensured that Canada's wealthiest 1% would pay more of their fair share through an increase in tax rates. By the way, the NDP voted against it, but that is okay. We—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Oct/6/22 1:05:18 p.m.
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The hon. member for Beauport—Limoilou.

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Mrs. Julie Vignola (Beauport—Limoilou, BQ)

Oct/6/22 1:05:23 p.m.
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Madam Speaker—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Oct/6/22 1:05:33 p.m.
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Can we have silence so the hon. member for Beauport—Limoilou can ask a question? The hon. member.

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Mrs. Julie Vignola

Oct/6/22 1:05:39 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, towards the end of his speech, my colleague talked about the measures put in place to combat tax havens and how much they cost. According to the Minister of National Revenue, those measures cost $1 billion. If a measure is to be cost-effective, it typically has to yield at least as much as it cost, if not more, within three to five years. To what extent have these measures paid for themselves so far, knowing that Quebec has managed to do better with a smaller investment?

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Mr. Kevin Lamoureux

Oct/6/22 1:06:22 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I believe it is over two budgets that well over $1 billion has been committed to CRA to look at how we can prosecute, investigate and so forth. One would have to look at it to see the actual breakdown in terms of how many prosecutions are under way. That is what is important. Sometimes prosecutions take a while to get through the court system, and hopefully there will be a lot of negotiated settlements. The point is that under this Prime Minister, for the first time, we are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in order to go after people—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Alexandra Mendès)

Oct/6/22 1:07:02 p.m.
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Resuming debate, the hon. member for North Island—Powell River.

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