44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 6, 2022 10:00AM
- 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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- 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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- Oct/6/22 1:18:44 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I hear from my constituents on a regular basis, too, that they are having difficulties making ends meet. It is not just Canadians right now; we are seeing food insecurity across this globe. If we do not have farms in Canada, we do not have food. If we do not have a viable area in Canada to produce food, if we do not have good policy to back our farmers up, we will not have food sovereignty in Canada. We will not be able to feed not only ourselves, we will not be feeding the world and we will have a global food shortage.
I am wondering if my colleague can comment on what supports she thinks we need to see from the government and what we could be doing to improve supports to our farmers to ensure we can continue to have food sovereignty in Canada and have food security for folks, so they have available and affordable nutritious food.
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- Oct/6/22 1:19:52 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, in the area I live, we have different farms of different sizes that do incredible work to feed our communities. One of the things that is unique in our area, as we live on Vancouver Island, is that we have three days of food for people, and that is it. If there is any emergency, there is a lot of concern about what we will do to address the fact that there is three days of food on the whole island for the people who live there. If we cannot get food into our communities, it will have a profound impact.
Part of the solution is that all levels of government need to work with farmers to ensure they have a robust ability to do their work. I went to visit a farmer not too long ago in my riding. On Vancouver Island, we are seeing draught like we have never ever seen before. One of the things the farmer showed me was that she had dug a significantly huge hole so that during the winter it filled up with water, which allowed her to keep all her produce watered even during the draught. She talked about how we needed to do more work on those sorts of innovative solutions.
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- Oct/6/22 1:49:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, here is my concern. In my riding of King—Vaughan, we have 41,000 acres of farming, nurseries and tree farms, which help with carbon capture. The region is also home to the Holland Marsh, which is a recognized producer of a significant percentage of vegetables grown in the province. Unfortunately, the high cost of the added carbon tax, which has increased operational costs for all our farmers, has impacted the cost of production.
When is the Liberal-NDP government going to recognize that punishing farmers is not the way to go? Without our farmers, we have no way of feeding not just our country but the world. The survival of humans depends on the survival of our farmers.
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- Oct/6/22 1:50:30 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is great to see the hon. member today.
I am a big supporter of the agri-food industry and the whole continuum of the agri-food industry in Canada. We must always put in place policies that support our farmers, whether they are grain farmers, chicken farmers, beef farmers or dairy farmers. We have been there. I visited many of these farms in the area that the hon. member has identified, and we need to be there to continue to listen, consult and work with Canadian farmers from coast to coast to coast.
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- Oct/6/22 3:59:43 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, we do agree with much of the bill. The big thing is competition, and that looks at how companies are acting and what choice is there for consumers.
The member talked about people being gouged and what they cannot afford. Our farmers provide food, and if we are looking at the competition, we see there are 189,000 farms in Canada. They are paying, on average, $45,000 each in carbon tax, and they are only getting back $862. We are talking about that end of the industry.
Of course, we are also going to look at competition for our grocery stores. We are going to look at farmers' markets and the other ways that people get nutritious, healthy food. That seems to be about gouging. They are not finding relief at a time when farmers cannot choose other sources. We want them to use hydrogen and want them to use better fossil fuels or no carbon, but when it comes to that idea, they do not have a choice.
Why is the member not pushing for relief for farmers to get better, nutritious food for Canadian families that need it right now?
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- Oct/6/22 4:00:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, one thing that always strikes me about the Conservatives when we are talking about people not being able to pay their bills is that they are very concerned that big oil is not getting enough of a free deal. Nine billion dollars is the figure for one year of climate damage in British Columbia. How many farms were wrecked by climate damage? We never hear the Conservatives worry about that, because they are focused on big oil. They believe that pollution should be free and that the big oil companies should be able to jack as much CO2 into the air as possible.
My issue with the carbon tax is that the Liberals do not seem to have a climate plan to go with it, so they are raising the money. I find it really concerning that when we are talking about price gouging and about bringing this forward so the producers are heard at the table, the Conservatives want to talk about the interests of big oil.
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- Oct/6/22 5:25:37 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is an honour to be able to rise following the great comments from my colleague for Prince Albert who was able to offer an education to some members on the government benches and their coalition partners on how the policies of this government are hurting Canadians and hurting farmers.
The member raised a very interesting question about affordability and the impact of this carbon tax as it affects food prices in Canada and as it affects the affordability crisis that Canadians are facing. The cost of this Liberal government is driving up the cost of living for all Canadians and at a time of year when demands on food banks are particularly high in a regular year. We are seeing, real time, the effects that the inflationary crisis, the made-in-Canada Liberal inflationary crisis, has on our food banks, which is that they do not have enough food to support the people who are there looking for their help. I will take a quick second to say to anyone who is watching and is able, who maybe has put off a donation to their local food bank, that now is the time to dig deep, because our neighbours, people in our communities, are hurting.
This affordability crisis is also being driven by the carbon tax, which is a tax on everything. We have heard, in recent days, what the effects are of that increase that is projected to come, the tripling of that carbon tax. It is going to raise the price on people's shelter costs. It is going to raise the prices on people's ability to clothe themselves. It is going to raise the prices on people's ability to feed themselves.
We know that when the input costs go up that it is going to raise the prices all the way from farm to table. I know that some members might be surprised to learn that food does not originate in the stockroom at the grocery store. It comes from Canadian farms.
We need to get serious about tackling this inflationary crisis, get serious about bringing down the food costs that Canadians are dealing with. The best way and the immediate way we can do that is for this government to commit to Canadians that it is not going to triple the taxes on Canadians.
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