44th Parl. 1st Sess.
February 15, 2023 02:00PM
- Feb/15/23 2:35:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, it has never been more expensive to grow or buy food.
A Saskatchewan farmer told me yesterday that his carbon tax bill just to dry his grain was $2,000 in one month. The Liberal tariff on fertilizer costs eastern Canadian farmers more than $34 million. Under the Prime Minister's watch, we have lost hundreds of farms to bankruptcy, and food prices are up 12%.
Will the Prime Minister help Canadians put food on the table and axe his farm-killing carbon tax?
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- Feb/15/23 2:36:29 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind the House of the facts: 70% of the prices we are seeing at the pump are related to crude oil prices going up, largely because of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
Hon. Steven Guilbeault: Mr. Speaker, I am getting there. Another 25% is a result of provincial taxes and refining margins. We recycle 100% of the revenues to Canadians, with 10% specifically to small businesses and agricultural industries in Canada.
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- Feb/15/23 2:37:04 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I guess the minister did not understand I was asking a question about agriculture, not about oil prices.
What the Liberals have to understand is their carbon tax has very real consequences. What it is doing is suffocating Canadian farm families and giving Canadian families sticker shock when they go to the grocery store.
It is only going to get worse. When the Liberal-NDP carbon tax coalition triples its carbon tax, a farmer will be paying $150,000 a year in carbon tax. There are consequences. The consequences are that produce is up 13%, bread is up 16% and pasta is up more than 20%.
Will the Prime Minister take responsibility for this food crisis and axe this farm-killing carbon tax?
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- Feb/15/23 2:37:50 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as usual, the Conservatives are twisting the information, misquoting the research and talking about a typical farm of 5,000 or 6,000 acres, which is a—
An hon. member: Oh, oh!
Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau: Mr. Speaker, he does not want to hear about everything we do for farmers. We are investing $1.5 billion in environmental farming.
Yesterday we announced $150 million to support the supercluster on protein. We are working with farmers for farmers.
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- Feb/15/23 2:38:26 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, that Liberal minister is completely out of touch with reality. The reality is that after eight years of the Prime Minister, Canadians are struggling to eat and our food sovereignty is in jeopardy.
The Liberal plan to triple the carbon tax is going to price our farm families right out of business. The carbon tax and fertilizer reductions are going to make it more difficult for Canadian farmers. The government is making it more difficult. Here is a news flash: no farms, no food.
Will the Prime Minister take responsibility for empty cupboards and empty stomachs, give Canadian farm families a break and axe the carbon tax?
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- Feb/15/23 2:39:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, once again, my Conservative colleagues missed the point that over eight out of 10 Canadian families actually get more money back than they pay in the context of the carbon tax—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Feb/15/23 2:39:16 p.m.
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I am sorry. Members started off with a little rumbling, but now there is shouting at the top of their lungs. That is really not acceptable in the House. We can tolerate a bit, but once it starts becoming shouting, it almost becomes bullying and is like members are in a schoolyard trying to bully someone into stopping. I am going to ask everyone to take it down a notch.
We will let the hon. minister continue, please.
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- Feb/15/23 2:39:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as I was saying, the Conservatives conveniently ignore that eight out of 10 Canadian families actually get more money back than they pay with respect to the price on pollution.
In the modern age, it is not a responsible position for a political party in this country to take to simply ignore the reality of climate change, which the Conservatives do, conveniently, every day in this House. To have a relevant economic plan for this country, we need to have a plan to fight climate change. That is exactly what we are doing—
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- Feb/15/23 2:40:14 p.m.
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The hon. member for Lambton—Kent—Middlesex.
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- Feb/15/23 2:40:16 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are the kings of misinformation. Farmers do not get a rebate, and the government has not even hit a single climate target.
After eight years of the Prime Minister, the carbon tax is making food too expensive for Canadians. Fertilizer restrictions are making it harder for farmers to grow food. Big grocery chains are nickel-and-diming our produce farmers with high fees while they are raking in record high profits, and the government has done nothing.
Will the Prime Minister take responsibility for his mounting failures, give Canadian farm families a break and axe the carbon tax?
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- Feb/15/23 2:40:52 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today is Canada's Agriculture Day, and I am very proud of everything we have done for our farmers over the years. We have provided the most funding to this sector to support farmers, with a focus on investments in green technology. We have provided nearly half a billion dollars for green technology alone.
Yesterday we announced an additional $150 million for the protein industries supercluster. We are there for farmers. We have increased our budgets for risk management programs, because we know that our farmers are having to face extreme weather events. We also increased the budget for the Canadian agricultural partnership, something the Conservatives never did.
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- Feb/15/23 2:41:37 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years under this Prime Minister, Canadians can no longer afford to put food on the table, and this is a direct consequence of his government's policies. Canadian farmers are being crushed by the carbon tax. The government has also imposed a 35% tariff on fertilizer. Incidentally, Canada is the only G7 country doing this. This is further driving up the price of all food.
When will the government finally scrap these taxes so that farmers can feed our families?
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- Feb/15/23 2:42:14 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to remind my colleague from Quebec that the price on pollution is not applied in the same way in Quebec. It is administered by Quebec.
I would also like to take this opportunity to remind all of our farmers that we have improved the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada advance payments program, which provides short-term loans of up to $1 million. The advantage of this loan is that the first $250,000 is interest free. I encourage farmers to take advantage of this interest-free loan.
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- Feb/15/23 2:42:45 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague opposite seems to be living on another planet. The carbon tax certainly does affect Quebec because we are not self-sufficient. For example, the propane and natural gas needed to dry grain and heat buildings has an impact. We also import many products from other provinces and territories, so I will take no lessons from my colleague.
Things are only going to get worse on April 1 when the government plans to triple the carbon tax. The Conservatives will continue to defend Canadian farmers.
When will the Liberals be courageous enough to do the same?
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- Feb/15/23 2:43:25 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what my hon. colleague just said in the House is simply not true. Federal carbon pricing does not apply in Quebec because Quebec has its own cap-and-trade system, which was implemented before the federal government introduced carbon pricing.
I would also like to remind my colleague and all of the Conservatives across the way that climate change affects farmers across the country just as it affects all Canadians.
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- Feb/15/23 2:44:02 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, for six years now the federal government has repeatedly said that it is negotiating with the Americans on Roxham Road, but no one has heard anything about it.
Who is negotiating on behalf of Canada and with whom? What are the objectives of the negotiation? How often are discussions held? When did the negotiations begin? What is the target date for seeing some results? Who does the negotiator report the hits and misses to?
We want answers.
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- Feb/15/23 2:44:34 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member for his passion and his work on this file. I know he works very hard at committee. Certainly, our government is working to modernize the agreement. That is exactly what we are committed to doing. I thank my colleague for the question. Our government will continue to take appropriate action and modernize the agreement.
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- Feb/15/23 2:45:05 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is nice to hear the Bloc Québécois's work on the refugee file being recognized, for once. This government just admitted how hard we are working and how much we care about the future of migrants and of Quebec. I thank my colleague.
Now, that does not change the facts. We still do not have an answer about the negotiations. People advocating for asylum seekers have the right to know. If the negotiations were truly moving forward, the government would be able to tell us who the negotiator is, with whom that individual is speaking, and how many meetings have taken place.
It is not complicated. We want transparency and answers.
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- Feb/15/23 2:45:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I just want to say that the migrant crisis is not happening only in Canada. It is happening everywhere. This is a global challenge. I know my colleague is well aware of that; I am convinced of that.
Now more than ever, we must continue to work with our international partners, with the provinces and territories. Our government has committed to updating this agreement. That is what we are doing.
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- Feb/15/23 2:46:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister, Canadians have never struggled more with paying for groceries, paying for rent and paying to put gas in their cars. Everything is more expensive, and the government still plans to increase its ideological carbon tax. This tax has done nothing to reduce emissions and has made everything more expensive. When will the Liberals abandon their cruel carbon tax, and let Conservatives fix what they broke?
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