SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 235 - Oct/19/23

Oct/19/23 6:52:09 p.m.
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I know the member is relatively new to politics, but he is still an experienced member. I hope he could rephrase his question.

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Mr. Kevin Vuong

Oct/19/23 6:52:23 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, it is as if the Liberal government thinks Canadians do not know any better and that, if its members repeat something enough times, Canadians will just believe it. The reality is that there are Canadians, whether of Iranian heritage, of Chinese heritage or of a number of diaspora communities, who are at risk, have been intimidated or are being threatened. They have raised those concerns, and all they have been met with is a lot of rhetoric, a lot of good talk and no action.

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Mr. Francis Drouin

Oct/19/23 6:52:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously the Government of Canada will always defend Canadian citizens. This is not partisan. This is its job. Foreign interference is an issue. It is not unique to Canada but happening in a superpower such as the U.S., in France and in the U.K. We must always work with our allies to ensure that foreign influence, whether from China, Russia or Iran, is combatted among and with our allies. That is the only way we will be successful in making sure that foreign interference is gone from Canada.

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

Oct/19/23 6:53:46 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I rose on September 20 on behalf of farmers in northwest British Columbia in an appeal to the Minister of Agriculture to come to their aid immediately after a disastrous summer that had affected many family farms. This goes back to the spring. Farmers knew very early on that there was a problem, because their crops of hay were not growing. By July, they knew how bad this problem was. In fact, after months of a class-five drought, farmers were in a situation where they were getting as little as 10% of their normal hay harvests. We have seen this across all the western provinces. I wrote to the former minister of agriculture back in July, appealed to her, raised this issue and asked for immediate help for farmers who were in a crisis. We were losing family farms. We were seeing farmers have to sell off their herds. We did not hear back from the minister. Then I met with the current Minister of Agriculture on September 19, told him about the situation and asked where the help was. He said that he had not even heard about the crisis and was not aware of any application from British Columbia. Of course, that application had been sitting on his desk for months. I do not want to hear that help will be coming soon or that the government is working on it. My question for my hon. colleague across the way is this: On what day will farmers in northwest British Columbia finally get the support from the federal government that they deserve?

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Mr. Francis Drouin (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lib.)

Oct/19/23 6:55:36 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, obviously, when farmers go through droughts or climate change events, it is serious. Unfortunately, they are going through this too often. The good news, although it is unfortunate, is that whether provincial or federal assessors, they are getting too used to assessing climate change events through the AgriRecovery programs. As my hon. colleague would know, with respect to AgriRecovery, when a request is made, the province will send a letter to the federal government asking for an assessment. The province and the federal government will do the assessment together and assess whether it fits into the framework. The hon. member knows that there are business risk management programs. Farmers already have access to that through the sustainable Canadian agricultural partnership program. I know he knows that. Whether farmers go through a climate change event, have a bad year or have a bad crop, whatever the reason for it, they already have access to the business risk management program. After that, when the risk gets higher, if it is shared among other farmers, then the province gets access to the AgriRecovery framework. As I explained, the province would write a letter to the federal government requesting an assessment that they would do jointly as to whether it does respect the framework they have assigned. For instance, I know the hon. member would know about the B.C. floods a few years ago. Many farmers went through hardships. I know many dairy farmers did. I was in the Fraser Valley, which was flooded, where farmers were growing fruits and vegetables. Some were raising livestock, which unfortunately had to be killed because of the major floods that happened. With respect to public safety, the province and the federal government worked together, and then AgriRecovery kicked in to ensure that the other losses that were not covered by the regular programs would have covered the existent losses that farmers were not eligible for through existing programs. I can assure the member that, whether it is with respect to the B.C. floods or the hurricane in P.E.I. and Nova Scotia, the timeline will be respected. I know that when farmers are facing a crisis, it can never be fast enough. It is the same thing with insurance; when we are facing a crisis, it can never be fast enough. However, I assure you that the federal government and the B.C. government take to heart the fact that farmers are facing a crisis and will be there with good news to tell B.C. farmers in the northern part of the province. Farmers will be happy with the results.

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The Speaker

Oct/19/23 6:58:49 p.m.
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I would like to take this opportunity to remind members that when comments are made, they are addressed through the Chair. It was just a small comment the member made. The hon. member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley.

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Mr. Taylor Bachrach

Oct/19/23 6:59:01 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I do not think the three dairy farmers who had to sell their farms are going to be happy with the results. I do not think the many beef farmers who had to sell off their herds are going to be happy with the results. I will tell members a couple of characteristics of a government that takes a crisis seriously. First of all, when a member of Parliament writes to a minister, they write back. Second, when the provincial government and the farmers of the region come to the federal government and say there is a crisis, it does not take three months to make something happen. It is October, and we still do not have help. Farmers do not have feed. They have sold off their animals, and we are losing a significant amount of our regional food security because the government, 4,000 kilometres away, is dragging its feet. What is his message? I want to know what the parliamentary secretary's message is to the farmers in my region who have lost their family farms. Tell me.

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Mr. Francis Drouin

Oct/19/23 6:59:59 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I know where the hon. member comes from, and I know he is doing a good job of representing his constituents and his farmers. As I have said before, no response is fast enough when someone is going through a crisis. However, I can assure the hon. member that the B.C. government and the federal government are working hand in hand to respond as quickly as possible to farmers in order to ensure that they get the proper response. I can assure the hon. member's farmers, as they have gone through the B.C. floods in 2021, that they will be compensated with the program, through AgriRecovery. We will respond in due time. All I am asking for is patience for a few more days. I know they will get a proper response in a short few days.

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The Speaker

Oct/19/23 7:00:51 p.m.
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The motion that the House do now adjourn is deemed to have been adopted. Accordingly, the House stands adjourned until tomorrow at 10 a.m. pursuant to Standing Order 24(1). (The House adjourned at 7 p.m.)

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