SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 257 - Nov/28/23

Nov/28/23 3:28:45 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, for Conservatives to do this is absolutely appalling. We do not have senators sitting in our caucus. I have been here since 2015—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Nov/28/23 3:28:59 p.m.
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There is a point of order from the official opposition House leader.

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Point

Hon. Andrew Scheer

Nov/28/23 3:29:02 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the Liberals are desperately trying to make up a phony issue where there is none. I would like to seek unanimous consent to table this tweet that contains pictures—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Nov/28/23 3:29:15 p.m.
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That is a prop. I want to remind the member that he is not to point to a document. He knows that full well, having been the Speaker of the House in the past. I would just ask members to please get to their point.

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Hon. Andrew Scheer

Nov/28/23 3:29:34 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am sorry. I was just looking it over, but it contains pictures of dozens—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Nov/28/23 3:29:40 p.m.
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The member did it during his speech. The point of order is about tabling what document?

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Hon. Andrew Scheer

Nov/28/23 3:29:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is a printout of a Liberal tweet containing images— Some hon. members: No.

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Nov/28/23 3:29:55 p.m.
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Order. Again, I want to remind members that in order for the House to function properly, members need to be respectful of the rules of order. Most of the members here, I know, have been here for quite some time and are very well aware of those rules. I would just ask members to please respect those who are speaking as they would like to be respected when they are speaking. The hon. deputy government House leader.

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen

Nov/28/23 3:30:33 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am actually more than willing to talk about what the House leader for the Conservatives just held up. That was a tweet that I put out, which had pictures of everybody who voted against Ukraine. That was the end of it; that is all I did. I did not then go on—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Nov/28/23 3:30:54 p.m.
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The hon. member is showing a document after I just told another hon. member that he could not use one. The hon. deputy government House leader.

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen

Nov/28/23 3:31:01 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the difference between that and this is that they started to granulate the pictures to make them look like a “wanted” ad with imaging around it. They actually have a call-in action here. They put the names, telephone numbers and email addresses of each particular member. That is the difference, and it is a huge difference. I know that Conservatives are really upset right now about the turmoil they have been experiencing over the last week and a half, but it is a reality of the decisions that they have been making. I will remind the House that earlier today, I asked the Leader of the Opposition, when he stood up to speak to this, whether he condoned or condemned the actions of his House leader, who had tweeted that picture. I did not call him out by name, but now that we appear to be doing that, I will; the House leader, the member for Regina—Qu'Appelle, is the one who tweeted out the “wanted” picture. I asked the leader if he was okay with that, and he did not condemn it for one second— Some hon. members: Oh, oh! Mr. Mark Gerretsen: Madam Speaker, now his members are clapping at that. It is good to know that his members not only encourage this activity but also actually clap and applaud. Some hon. members: Oh, oh! Mr. Mark Gerretsen: I am holding the back of it—

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The Assistant Deputy Speaker (Mrs. Carol Hughes)

Nov/28/23 3:32:29 p.m.
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I would ask members not to point to documentation and not to show the documentation they are referring to. I was actually just looking for the wording of the official opposition's motion to make sure, because I do want to remind the hon. member that he is to speak to the motion. There is some flexibility, but the debate should be on the motion itself. The hon. deputy Government House leader.

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen

Nov/28/23 3:32:58 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am speaking to the motion. The motion is calling on the House to do something and is calling on the Senate to do something, when Conservatives are actually also calling on the Senate to do something but by using intimidating tactics. That is what we have seen, and I think I have demonstrated it well. We have heard from the other side as to how much they are willing to embrace it. At the end of the day, it is really important to reflect on the fact that while Conservatives will use issue after issue to try to pivot themselves out of the corner they have boxed themselves into over the last week and a half, the reality is that Canadians are starting to wake up to the politics of the Conservatives. Canadians are starting to realize exactly what the Conservatives are up to, what they are willing to do and the lengths they will go to, which include making “wanted” posters of senators and distributing them online, through social media forums in order to elicit and generate a reaction, which clearly has occurred. Perhaps it is not the reaction they were thinking of, but it is not a stretch in today's political environment to assume that it is extremely possible for that to occur, which is exactly what happened. The motion is about a bill that is currently at the Senate. We are waiting for it to be voted on there. It is a bill that, once again, deals with an issue on carbon pricing that Conservatives have completely blown out of proportion. Ninety-seven per cent of farmers are already exempt from the carbon pricing system; we heard that earlier today. It continues to be the case, despite the fact that Conservatives want to create a false narrative for the Canadian population.

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Mr. Dave Epp (Chatham-Kent—Leamington, CPC)

Nov/28/23 3:34:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like to ask a question about the substance of the matter. I asked it during question period and did not get a satisfactory answer. Greenfield Global operates in Chatham. It converts corn into alcohols, everything from the special ingredient in White Claw to biofuels and hospital-grade pharmaceutical alcohols. It buys Canadian corn and American corn. The American farmers do not pay the carbon tax, and they truck right into Chatham and compete with Canadian corn. What does the member say to the Canadian farmers trying to compete against American corn in that market in our own backyard?

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen

Nov/28/23 3:35:32 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am unaware of or unfamiliar with exactly what is going on in the member's riding. I understand and appreciate what he has just said. The reality is that 97% of farmers are exempt from the price on pollution. I am not sure whether what he is referring to falls into the 3% or not. Conservatives need to stop overreacting to the issue and trying to generate more attention out of it. The reality is that they are blowing this up into something it is not.

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Ms. Andréanne Larouche (Shefford, BQ)

Nov/28/23 3:36:12 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-234

Madam Speaker, the Bloc Québécois voted for Bill C‑234 because we are big believers in a just transition. We think it is important to support sectors that are disproportionately affected by climate change. This morning, I met with representatives of the Canadian Labour Congress. They are appalled by all the money this government is investing in oil companies and the western Canadian oil industry. When it comes to sending a meaningful message about the just transition, what are my colleague's thoughts on the importance of funding programs that will really contribute to that?

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen

Nov/28/23 3:37:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, toward the end of her intervention, the member commented on fossil fuel subsidies and government investment. I would like to remind the member that, over the time of the current Liberal government, we have seen those go down significantly. They are on track to be completely removed, I believe it is by the end of this year or next year. The problem is that there are still certain investments that have to occur in the oil and gas sector, such as cleaning up orphaned oil wells, for example. Unfortunately, the programs were not in place 30 or 40 years, or more, ago, when these wells were created, to ensure that there was a fund to deal with them afterwards. We cannot just totally turn our back on that now. I see, every once in a while, the conflation of government investment with doing the right thing, in my opinion, which is to deal with the orphaned wells, because we allowed people to get away with leaving them like that, but it is a reality of the situation. In terms of investing and providing fossil fuel subsidies that direct investments to those companies, that is certainly almost completely eliminated at this point, and it will be within the next year or so.

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Mr. Richard Cannings (South Okanagan—West Kootenay, NDP)

Nov/28/23 3:38:16 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, here we are, debating a Conservative motion to send a message to the Senate for delaying a bill, or blocking a bill. In 2019, a handful of Conservative senators blocked 15 or 20 private members' bills that had been passed by the House of Commons. It was all to make sure they blocked the bill on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples put forward by Romeo Saganash. These five or six senators were able to block that bill and 15 or 20 others, including my private member's bill. I am just wondering whether the member could comment on that, and whether we should encourage the Senate to change its rules so its members could not do that?

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Mr. Mark Gerretsen

Nov/28/23 3:39:12 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I know that all too well, because I had a private member's bill that had passed the House of Commons and gone over to the Senate. It was just before the election, and those Conservative senators stalled it to the point where my bill as well ended up dying on the Order Paper as a result. Conservatives will meet tomorrow morning at their caucus meeting with senators, and I do not even know what that is like. I have been here since 2015, and I have never sat in a caucus room with senators. The concept is foreign to me. When Conservatives start pointing the finger at us like we are somehow able to control what happens in the Senate because we control the senators is ludicrous. They literally sit in the same caucus room once a week with Conservative senators.

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Caucus

Mr. Ryan Turnbull (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, Lib.)

Nov/28/23 3:40:03 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am thankful to the member for Kingston and the Islands for sharing his time with me, which is very generous of him, and for the opportunity to talk about our commitment to strong, profitable and sustainable farm businesses across this great country. With respect to carbon pollution pricing, we recognize the special role our farmers play in Canada. I would remind members opposite that much of the agriculture sector is already exempt from pollution pricing. In fact, 97% of emissions are already exempt. We also provide exemptions for gasoline and diesel fuels used by farmers for agricultural activities. There is a partial rebate for commercial greenhouse operations. We will also be returning a portion of the proceeds from the price on pollution directly to farmers in backstop jurisdictions through a refundable tax credit. This would apply to farmers in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. We are standing by our farmers, who are on the front lines of climate change. No one can deny that their crops, businesses and properties are dramatically impacted by the extreme weather events we are seeing at unprecedented levels and more frequently than ever before. Extreme weather events are adding more stress and unpredictability to farm businesses. We have all seen how recent climate disasters across our country have taken a heavy toll on Canadian farmers over the past couple of years. In the summer of 2021, the worst drought in 60 years on the Prairies slashed Canadian grain production by 30% and forced many livestock producers to sell off their cattle. In November 2021, mudslides caused by historic flooding in British Columbia took out key rail and road arteries used to transport food and other critical supplies. Hurricane Fiona destroyed crops, buildings and livestock across Atlantic Canada. Just this past year, Canadian farmers have had to cope with extreme weather, from droughts, wildfires and flooding to extreme cold. While helping these farmers get back on their feet again, we are also helping them to be more resilient to future extreme weather. The point is that our farmers are doing their part, but if they are going to increase their resilience in the years to come, they cannot do it alone. Doing the right thing for the environment takes investment and time. That is why, over the coming decade, the government is making historic investments of $1.5 billion to help Canadian farmers boost their climate resiliency through sustainable practices and technologies. For example, the $670-million on-farm climate action fund helps farmers adopt practices that will store more carbon and reduce greenhouse gases. The first phase of the program focuses on three priority areas: nitrogen management, cover cropping and rotational grazing practices for livestock. These practices also substantially improve soil health and strengthen the farmer's bottom line. The fund is designed to take down the barriers and support wider and faster adoption of these beneficial management practices. From British Columbia to Atlantic Canada, 12 different agricultural organizations are distributing funding to help farmers take immediate action on their farms in the three target areas. Since it was launched last year, the OFCAF has made available almost $100 million in direct support to help more than 4,300 farmers across Canada take real action on their farms to reduce their carbon footprint. Another 14,000 farmers have participated in knowledge transfer and peer-to-peer learning activities aimed to scale on-farm implementation of beneficial management practices. My message is that farm families across our country can rest assured that we will stand shoulder to shoulder with them to support their growth, their resiliency and the sustainability of their agricultural businesses. The OFCAF is also helping producers with the agricultural clean technology program, which is backed by a federal investment of almost $500 million. The goal is to help farmers and agribusinesses continue to move toward a low-carbon economy by focusing on three priority areas: green energy and energy efficiency, precision agriculture and the bioeconomy. Hundreds of farmers across the country have already used the program for clean technologies, for example, more efficient grain dryers, solar panels and precision agricultural tools. Under the fall economic statement, we will extend the clean technology investment tax credit to include electricity and heat from waste biomass. That includes agricultural by-products, such as corn stubble and manure. Our investments in climate resilience also include research and innovation. Science is a powerful tool for building climate resilience, helping farmers make incredible strides in productivity over the past few decades. Scientists at our 20 agriculture and food research centres across Canada are working hard to help farmers strengthen their resilience to climate. My message today is that Canadian farmers are and will continue to be part of the climate change solution. As responsible stewards of the land, Canadian producers can lead the way in our transition to a low-carbon economy while supporting food security and environmental sustainability. Just as important, they can also benefit from the economic impacts of adopting those practices on their farms. It is a win for farmers, and it is a win for the environment. We will continue to support the sector to maximize and accelerate the efforts of our farmers, our scientists and the industry. Our programs will help farmers care for their land and strengthen their businesses. These efforts will bring enormous value to our Canadian brand, which is already renowned in global markets for quality and for respect for the environment. Today, climate resilience is perhaps the biggest challenge of our sector for our government and for the world. Agriculture has a vital role to play, and we know that farmers are strong partners. After all, they have the greatest stake in the fight against climate change. Once again, I thank the hon. members for this opportunity. I look forward to answering any questions that members have.

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