44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 1, 2023 02:00PM
Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. You just instructed the member to stay on track per the discussion at hand, which is about ensuring that children do not go hungry in school. As soon as you gave that instruction, the member continued on with her speech as though it was not heard. I seek your advice for the member to have clear instructions on how to follow the rules in this House.
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- Nov/1/23 6:21:14 p.m.
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I want to remind members there is some flexibility when it comes to debate. The hon. member just brought it back to how it pertains to the debate, and so I will allow the hon. member to continue her speech.
The hon. member for Lambton—Kent—Middlesex has the floor.
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Madam Speaker, Governor Macklem said there are two separate questions. The governor said, “...how much are the increases in the carbon tax adding to inflation each year? That number is about .15 percentage points of inflation. That's the direct impact on those three components.”
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Madam Speaker, I rise on the same point of order. I am just trying to seek clarity from you on what the topic at hand is that we are supposed to be discussing and whether the member is actually following those rules.
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- Nov/1/23 6:22:14 p.m.
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Again, I want to indicate there is some flexibility as to what a member speaks about during her speech or his speech when they are showing the relevance to the bill. I am sure the hon. member will be mentioning the bill and will be adding to how this actually impacts the bill before the House.
The hon. member for Lambton—Kent—Middlesex has the floor, and I am sure she will be bringing it back around.
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Madam Speaker, the three components the governor referred were those raised by my colleague, which were gasoline, diesel fuel and natural gas. Governor Macklem continued—
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. With the kind of behaviour I have seen from the Conservative Party, first the leader of the Conservative Party refusing to sit down, there seems to be a total disregard for rules and for Speaker of the House. I am starting to get frustrated. This is an important matter: Kids are starving when they are going to school. For some respect for families and kids who are struggling, can we actually talk about children being hungry in schools and stay on topic?
Standing Order 11(2) is constantly being disregarded.
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- Nov/1/23 6:24:02 p.m.
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The hon. member is bringing up a point of debate as opposed to a point of order. There is some flexibility as to relevancy, so we just need to allow the hon. member to continue with her speech for a bit to make sure it does show relevancy.
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Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. Of course I would be surprised if the NDP was not embarrassed by its coalition with the Liberal Party because of the inflation that has been caused—
Some hon. members: Oh, oh!
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- Nov/1/23 6:24:40 p.m.
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I have already ruled on the point of order. This is now becoming more of a point of debate.
I will allow the hon. member to continue with her speech, and I know there is going to be some relevancy.
The hon. member for Lambton—Kent—Middlesex can continue.
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Madam Speaker, I will try again. At this rate, eliminating the carbon tax by the Bank of Canada—
An hon. member: Oh, oh!
Ms. Lianne Rood: Pardon me, Madam Speaker, can I please revert back to the page before and start my time, because I have been interrupted about five—
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- Nov/1/23 6:25:10 p.m.
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The time was stopped for the points of order, and so it has not impacted on the hon. member's time.
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Madam Speaker, Governor Macklem continued by responding to the second question, which was what the effect on inflation would be if the carbon tax were to be eliminated. He said that it would create a one-time drop in inflation of 0.6%.
If the carbon tax were eliminated, it would result in a drop in inflation of 0.6%. The overall inflation rate is currently at about 3.2%. At that rate, eliminating the carbon tax, by the Governor of the Bank of Canada's estimate, would reduce inflation by more than 18%.
The lead author of Canada's Food Price Report 2023, Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, has pointed out that the carbon tax has made business expenses go up. Dr. Charlebois points to “the compounding effect” up and down the food chain, as the supply chain is exposed to increased costs from the carbon tax. Let us take a look at that supply chain and why food is costing more.
The carbon tax increases costs for heating greenhouses, as well as dairy, poultry and hog barns. It increases costs for running the machinery necessary for production operations, especially the cost of electricity. In fact, in 2020, according to Statistics Canada, production costs for greenhouses were up 31.8% above the 10-year average. In 2021, the latest year for which facts are available from Statistics Canada, greenhouse costs were up 9.3% over those of 2020. Electricity costs for greenhouses were up in 2021 by 8.2% over 2020. Other fuel costs were up 7.7% over those of 2020.
In case anybody does not see that this is a problem, Statistics Canada reports that, as of 2021—
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- Nov/1/23 6:26:50 p.m.
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The hon. member for Rivière-du-Nord is rising on a point of order.
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Madam Speaker, you are incredibly patient. We first rose on a point of order about five minutes ago to ask members to be respectful enough to talk about our colleague's bill, which is an important bill that has nothing to do with the carbon tax. I think that, out of respect for this institution, we should have the member stop her speech. The Conservative party was mocking the Speaker this afternoon by remaining standing for several minutes without speaking, and we are getting pulled back into that same unacceptable thing. Out of respect for the Speaker, the member should be asked to stop.
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- Nov/1/23 6:27:45 p.m.
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It seems to me that all of these points of order are more a matter of debate. As I already mentioned, members have some latitude.
I would remind the hon. member that, throughout her speech, she should be mentioning how this is in reference to the bill itself. There is, again, some flexibility, as I have indicated, in the relevancy of how this impacts the bill, which is an act to develop a national framework to establish a school food program.
I just want to make sure that the hon. member is aware of that, and that hon. members recognize that there is some flexibility in how we get to the specific bill.
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Madam Speaker, I rise on another point of order. I do appreciate your ruling in that way.
I believe there is an additional point of order on the number of times that my colleague has been interrupted during her speech, which clearly has to do with the price of food in Canada today, one of the underlying reasons.
I would like the Speaker to rule on when it becomes harassment in the House to have constant points of orders interrupting a speech that is clearly on the subject at hand.
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- Nov/1/23 6:29:27 p.m.
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Hon. members who are rising on points of order are trying to see where the hon. member is going with her speech. As I indicated, there is some leniency on relevancy. If members remember correctly, it would be good to reference the bill every once in a while. I would ask the hon. member to maybe consider that.
Again, everybody has a right to rise on a point of order. I would just ask the member to bring it back to the bill.
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Madam Speaker, it impacts the bill because, every step along the way, families would not need a government program if they could afford to buy food. If it costs more to put inputs into food for farmers, it is going to cost more for families to buy food for their kids. Why are two million people going to a food bank in a month? They should not need to, and it is because of the policies of the government.
We would not need this kind of program if food inflation were not so high and if the carbon tax were not on everything. It is to the point where people cannot afford to live. Canadians cannot afford to buy food. If it costs overhead to heat greenhouses, and it costs farmers overhead to heat their barns, of course the price of food is going to go up. It is going to be hard for families to afford nutritious food because farmers need to make money too when they are trying to sell their crops. They have to pass that on to consumers.
If anybody does not see that the carbon tax increases the production cost of food, they are choosing not to see it. Again, if it costs the farmer more to grow food, and it costs truckers more to ship the food, then it costs families more to buy food. They should be able to buy food with the money in their pockets that they take home with their wages, but the government is making it unaffordable for families. We would not need this government program if families could afford to buy their food.
Families are seeing unaffordable price increases on the food they buy for their loved ones year over year. Almost daily I am hearing in my office from folks, young and old, who are having difficulty getting by. Many do not have enough to buy their groceries or pay their heating bill, their rent or their mortgages, and more families are visiting food banks. Food bank usage hit another record high in 2023 with two million people using a food bank in a single month. Two million people cannot eat and satisfy their hunger with fluff reports or studies.
Canadian consumers face inflation on food at 8% to 9% year over year. Again, 20% of Canadians report skipping a meal each day. What they need is lower grocery prices so they can afford to feed their families. Meanwhile, the government just wants to tax to the max with two carbon taxes plus HST. It is enough. Canadians deserve better than a Prime Minister and a government that just seems to be going through the motions.
The Prime Minister can deny all he wants, but Canadians know that inflation is real. The Governor of the Bank of Canada also said something last Monday at the finance committee about how government spending affects the ability of the Bank of Canada to bring inflation down. The Governor indicated that government spending makes it more difficult for the Bank of Canada to hold the line and bring the inflation rate down. As a result, monthly mortgage payments for Canadian families are rising when they renew their mortgages. Their mortgage interest rates are almost double or more to what the interest rate was to their previous renewal.
High taxes, increased red tape and bureaucracy have driven investment out of Canada, causing our economy to slide each year with a continued low Canadian dollar, making everything bought from our largest trading partner, the U.S., more expensive. Canada is on track to be one of the most unproductive and least prosperous countries in the OECD.
The International Monetary Fund listed Canada as having the sixth-worst misery index out of 35 industrialized countries. Simply put, the higher the score, the worst the economic situation. Canada scores the sixth highest, but the NDP and the Liberal Party do not want to talk about any of this. They want to make it appear as though they are helping, even though the NDP and the Liberals are the cause of unaffordable prices and people's misery.
That is why the Leader of the Opposition, along with those on this side of the House, have been holding the Prime Minister and his government to account for spending and inflation. Can there be any doubt? It is time for a real change from the inflationary, all-too-costly coalition of the NDP-Liberal government.
To sum up, Bill C-322 is better suited to be put forward in a provincial legislature than in the national Parliament. However, if the member for Acadie—Bathurst is truly serious about helping Canadian families afford nutritious food for their tables, he should persuade his colleagues to reduce food costs by axing the carbon tax.
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Madam Speaker, children are a national treasure; they are our greatest asset. They are the adults of tomorrow, and it is our duty to help them reach their full potential so that society is better off in the future than it is now. Every generation since the dawn of time has set itself the goal of ensuring that the next generation lives a better life. We must not fail in our duty.
This will come as a surprise to no one, but eating is an essential need. Once again, I am going to talk a bit about Maslow's pyramid. This pyramid explains many of the choices we make in life. It must also be an intrinsic element of our thinking when we have to make decisions like the one concerning this bill. It brings our focus back to what needs to be considered, what must be important. At the base of this pyramid are the basic needs of housing, clothing and food.
If any of these needs is not adequately met, a person cannot move on to the next level, which is safety. The other levels, belonging, esteem and self-actualization, will not be met either. A child who goes hungry in the morning cannot concentrate. A child who goes hungry in the morning is often sad, sometimes aggressive and sometimes apathetic. The effects of these emotions can make it hard for these children to make friends or socialize at school. Such difficulties directly undermine a child's self-esteem, as well as the goodwill of the people around them. Such feelings and difficulties can undermine a child's trust in the people around them, especially those whose job it is to protect them, like parents and teachers.
If a child feels unsafe at school, they cannot achieve their potential. It is very difficult. Becoming fully engaged in what we have to do is harder if we are hungry because that is all we can think of.
I was a teacher for 18 years. During those 18 years, I also coordinated the “Stratégie d'intervention agir autrement”, or new solutions intervention strategy.
Disadvantaged communities are communities that are economically or culturally disadvantaged. A culturally disadvantaged environment means that there are people in the family who have not reached the fifth year of high school. Studies show that when there are people in the family who have not reached the fifth year of high school, it is difficult for them to promote and value education. These people also often struggle financially, as the two often go hand in hand.
My colleague from Acadie—Bathurst asked why some schools did not have food support. As part of the “Stratégie d'intervention agir autrement”, or new solutions intervention strategy, we wanted to set up a kitchen in a small school so that young people could not only eat, but also learn to eat well. It cost tens of thousands of dollars to set up the kitchen, and there was no guarantee that anyone would be there to help the children.
The school was in a disadvantaged community, and its socio-economic index was 10 on a scale of one to 10. This gives an idea of the situation. A community is considered disadvantaged when it has a rating of eight, nine or 10. That one had a score of 10, and we could not even set up something as essential as a kitchen, because it would cost tens of thousands of dollars.
I have seen the consequences in the short, medium and long terms of children in our society going without food. In a society as wealthy as ours, a lack of food does not necessarily have the same consequences as it does in Yemen, but there are consequences nonetheless. We can talk about fatigue. It is simple, when we do not have enough fuel, we get tired. We can talk about irritability, impatience, troubles concentrating, dizziness and headaches. This can escalate to aggression or cardiac arrhythmia. In girls, it can lead to amenorrhea, or the absence of menstruation.
Some might say that some people do not need to go without food to feel these symptoms. That is true. However, all these symptoms combined are a big indicator. We see these symptoms often so we forget this exists. We dissociate, saying it is a fact that this causes fatigue, it is a fact that young people are aggressive.
Il will provide an example. This is a true story. I am not going to name names, but I am certain everyone will understand why. In my 18 years of teaching, I saw it all. How did I find out about what I am about to share? There came a point when I started to notice things and ask questions. Then, I listened. This person's family situation changed quite suddenly. Finances were getting very tight, and this person realized that there was not much food in the cupboard. She would skip meals to make sure the rest of the family she lived with could eat for the rest of the week. She either did not eat breakfast or had a piece of fruit. Lunches were non-existent, except for a piece of bread from the cafeteria, which I call “plastic bread” because it is packaged and not particularly fresh. She would eat small portions at supper so that other family members could use the leftovers the next day for their lunches.
At the same time, this person, a girl, was experiencing major physical changes. When she stopped eating nearly altogether, she was tired and emotionally fragile, on top of what she was going through with her family. When she was a teenager, certain individuals began insulting her. I am talking about kids with behavioural problems, who do not think before they speak. These people started calling her fat and “fatso” because she had a large frame. That is the kind of thing she was dealing with. Because of this problem, on top of thinking that she had to skip meals so her family could eat, she started to hate her own body.
If she had been able to eat, she probably would have had the strength to tell the others to mind their own business. She could have told them that she was growing up and had a woman's shape, while others were still little girls. She would have had that temperament. She did not have it, however, because she was not eating. In the end, this led to an anxiety disorder and even hospitalization. As an adult, her issues with body image worsened and would not go away. A problem as trivial as skipping a meal because there is not enough food at home to feed everyone can turn into a much more serious psychological problem in adulthood.
I want to reassure my colleagues that I still see this person and she is doing well. She has turned her life around. She has a family and a good job. Sometimes her demons rear their ugly head again and she does not like what she sees in the mirror, but she is proud of the progress that she has made and of the fact that she now has a family who does not have to go through what she did. However, there is always that part of her that fears that something will go wrong and her family will have to experience what she did.
My colleague's bill is a very good thing for young people across Canada who need food aid and support at school. School is a great place to get that help. In fact, healthy eating is part of education, socialization and even the school's mandate. However, there is the matter of the Constitution, and health and education fall under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. The bill is very worthwhile, but it is missing a sentence, a provision.
The bill's preamble recognizes that the bill affects areas under the jurisdiction of Quebec and the provinces. I am aware of that. It is written in the preamble. However, a provision is needed that gives Quebec and the provinces the right to opt out with full compensation if they want to run their own school food program.
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