SoVote

Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 258

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
November 29, 2023 02:00PM
Context: House Hansard - 258 - Nov/29/23
Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)
  • Nov/29/23 2:30:28 p.m.
  • Watch
Mr. Speaker, the opposition leader is not being completely logical. He is right that Canadians are struggling because of high grocery prices, but he is proposing government austerity as a solution to help those families. It is completely ridiculous. We are here to help families with investments in housing and investments to lower and stabilize grocery prices. We are here to invest in careers and jobs for the future. Meanwhile, the Conservative Party is against dental care for seniors and against help for businesses that will increase the employment rate.
90 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 258 - Nov/29/23
Right Hon. Justin Trudeau (Prime Minister, Lib.)
  • Nov/29/23 2:59:01 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-56 
Mr. Speaker, that might have been a more credible question if it had not been for the fact that the Conservative Party delayed the implementation of our affordability act, which would bring in more competition on groceries. It is moving forward to stabilize grocery prices and support Canadians through this difficult time. The Conservatives have also stood against other initiatives we are supporting Canadians with, like dental care for young Canadians and for seniors, which is coming in the coming months. They have stood against supports like our grocery rebate. They have stood against the investments we are busy making to support Canadians right across the country because they stand for austerity and cuts.
114 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 258 - Nov/29/23
Mr. Alistair MacGregor (Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, NDP)
  • Nov/29/23 4:59:03 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Speaker, my colleague is another member of the agriculture committee. It is nice to see us bringing an agriculture report to the House for deliberation. In my time working with my colleague, she has been very outspoken on the grocery code of conduct. We have it here in the report as part of recommendation 16, and we did hear recently that Loblaw in particular has some problems with the code. I am wondering if she could give her thoughts to the House on why such a code is important and why it should be mandatory, considering the power imbalance that exists between grocery chains and the hard-working producers and processors, who have been dinged with all of these hidden fees. Could she explain to other members of the House, who may not be familiar with this issue, why it is important and why it is so central to really strengthening Canada's processing capacity?
156 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border
Context: House Hansard - 258 - Nov/29/23
Ms. Lianne Rood
  • Nov/29/23 5:00:08 p.m.
  • Watch
Madam Speaker, I have been asking for the grocery code of conduct for over three years. Three years ago, I started talking about that. As a farmer who used to supply three of the five major grocery chains with potatoes, I know the grocery chains were imposing ridiculous fees on farmers and suppliers. They were constantly nickel-and-diming farmers and suppliers. Because farmers are price-takers, and because there are so few options because of the consolidation in the grocery industry, where we only have five major players in this country owning over 80% of the grocery chains, we see the need to keep them accountable. If the grocery giants and the grocery stores are kept accountable through this code of conduct, it will ultimately help to reduce prices for consumers.
132 words
  • Hear!
  • Rabble!
  • star_border