SoVote

Dec/7/23 1:52:24 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, as a daughter of a farmer, a niece of a farmer and a member of my community, I am absolutely disgusted that we would ever try to question farmers on putting money in their pockets. They, like any other business person, have the right to make a profit. They are working hard to make sure there is food on the table. I very much question questioning farmers. We have a program that is not working. At the end of the day, we need to axe the tax. It is on the entire cost of food production, from the input to the consumer. We know it goes along the entire way.

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Context: House Hansard - 264 - Dec/7/23

Hon. Lawrence MacAulay (Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lib.)

Dec/7/23 3:01:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, being a farmer and part of a government that understands there is a problem with the climate, I know we have climate change. Climate affects the weather. Destructive weather destroys farms and destroys farm crops. Quite simply, we have a program in place. Unfortunately, the Conservative Party of Canada does not have a plan to deal with the environment. With our plan, we are able to deal with the agricultural sector in clusters and with provincial governments right across the country to help farmers deal with climate change and become innovative. We have more to do and we will continue to do it.

105 words

Context: House Hansard - 264 - Dec/7/23

Mr. Earl Dreeshen (Red Deer—Mountain View, CPC)

Dec/7/23 5:08:19 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am honoured to rise today, especially to speak on behalf of farmers, first nations and families. The members of the Liberal-NDP government are completely out of touch with the real needs of Canadians. Their blind, ideological obsession has increased the price of groceries for a family of four by over $700, bringing the total family cost to over $16,000. Ontario first nations are seeking a judicial review of the federal government's carbon pricing regime, arguing that Ottawa's pollution pricing policy unjustly and disproportionately burdens their communities. Farmers continue to be handcuffed by an embedded carbon tax on farm inputs that unfairly affects their bottom line and affects their competitiveness within the global agricultural market. Farming and farmers across this country have unique obstacles through which they must navigate. Those farmers who do not face competition from foreign food suppliers tend to be able to pass some of the added expenses onto the consumer but costs like fuel, fertilizer, herbicides, seed, labour, transportation, capital costs, interest and property taxes cause many sleepless nights for farmers. Another item that many businesses would factor in is profit; however, that is never guaranteed in farming. While we are discussing competitiveness, if we look to our friends in Australia, who have axed the tax in favour of a direct action policy, where investment dollars are available, the competitiveness is creating new technology and achieving targets without taxing citizens and businesses. Canadian farmers, first nations, and small and medium-sized businesses in Canada are grappling with a competitiveness problem because of these restrictive and harmful Liberal-NDP coalition policies. We see this competitive disadvantage compared to our international allies that do not have a carbon tax, like the United States. We see Canadian companies that have developed clean technology or telecommunications achievements leaving Canada because they cannot gain funding to scale business for American investors who are backed by more flexible government policies. Canadian competitiveness is also hampered by the government's lack of cohesive policies to counter China and the supply chain issue. We have heard over and over how the Liberal-NDP coalition believes Canada needs to produce domestic critical minerals, but the action lags behind their desire in this area. We are ever more reliant on China and its network of critical mineral mines around the world to produce things like EV batteries. We are seeing the highest level of food bank use. We are seeing food report after food report showing grocery prices on the rise. The increasing input costs for products, global events and rising production costs have contributed to these price increases. Something that I want to come back to is the fact that first nations in Ontario are seeking a judicial review of the Liberal-NDP carbon pricing regime. They disclosed in court documents the adverse effect that carbon taxes had on their communities. In a Globe and Mail article, they noted that the carbon price violates the principles of reconciliation and their constitutional rights. They also disclosed that they tried to negotiate with the coalition government. Why were they not able to reach an agreement? It is no secret that the carbon price rebate is tied to one's income. As the Ontario chiefs noted, “many First Nations members living on reserves do not pay income tax and cannot access the rebates”. That is another example of the coalition government developing policy that is restrictive and built in a box, instead of something that is adaptive and that would consider the challenges that first nations face on reserve. There is a pan-Canadian ripple effect of the carbon pricing regime the Liberal-NDP coalition is pushing. The cost is downloaded onto consumers, products and services, but now the government wants Canadians to dig a little deeper and really give up their last red cent. These destructive policies are having a profound impact on Canadians' ability to balance their budget, make ends meet and put food on their tables. Coming back to the food price report released today, it paints a bleak picture of struggling Canadians. Food costs will rise anywhere from 2.5% to 4.5% this year. The average family of four is expected to spend $16,297 on groceries in 2024. Canadians are reducing the amount they are spending on groceries. Between 2022 and 2023, Canadians reduced the amount they spent in food and beverage retail by 3.26%. The reason is they have a lot of other bills they have to pay. Canadians are being forced to supplement or totally use food banks, and the government has failed to realize that its destructive policies directly impact the struggles of Canadians, first nations and farmers. Speaking of farmers, right now I am farmer and have a lot experience in this regard. I am very concerned about what happened in the Senate, as we know that farmers feed communities and provide the commodities we need to advance our food security at times when they are needed.

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