Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food: Indeed, the labour shortage is a blow to the agriculture and agri-food sector and many other sectors, but especially agriculture. It is absolutely true. Roughly a month ago, the Minister of Employment, Carla Qualtrough, announced important changes that affect processing plants in particular.

We have increased the maximum limit, and the number of foreign workers at processing plants can go from 10% to 30%, which provides more flexibility to our businesses. We extended the duration of the labour market impact assessment to 18 months, which is something the sector asked for. We also extended the work permits from two years to three years in some sectors for skilled workers, among others. A certain number of measures have already been brought in this past month to primarily help the processing plants.

As for farmers, the reform of the Temporary Foreign Worker Program is making progress. We are implementing a program for what is referred to as “trusted employers,” who are the vast majority of employers. Unfortunately, some are not, but for the trusted employers who treat their employees well, who provide them with housing in good condition, who respect the salary rules and meet health care and other requirements, we will ensure that they do not have to go through the entire process every year. I very much look forward to making the announcement.

[English]

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Is it your pleasure, honourable senators, to adopt the motion?

Hon. Peter Harder: My question, Minister Bibeau, is a bit of a follow-up to Senator Boisvenu’s question. I seem to be following up everyone else’s questions. It is with respect to canola and the export market in China. First of all, congratulations to you and the officials who have worked for so many years now on this issue. My concern is that as the market in China now opens, we take advantage of the enhanced value that production facilities that have been added since the market closed, and that we export an upgraded product and not low-grade, unprocessed canola to China.

Are you working with the Canola Council of Canada to ensure that while the market opens, we not revert to a low end of the market but persist at the high end?

Hon. Donald Neil Plett (Leader of the Opposition): Minister, during the 2019 federal election campaign, your government promised food producers that they would replace Farm Credit Canada with a new entity called Farm and Food Development Canada. Yesterday, we received from you an answer to a written question on the Senate Order Paper on this subject which confirms your government, at this point, has no intention of following through on this commitment.

Minister, is this a case of your government making an election promise to farmers without having any idea on how to implement it? Or did you ever really intend to follow through on this promise?

Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food: You’re right. There is no easy answer to this one. It’s not the government who will conduct this business, of course. It comes back to the industry.

When I travel across the country, what I hear in many regions is the need for regional slaughterhouses, and it comes down to the question about federal and the provincial jurisdiction regarding inspection. At my last meeting with my provincial and territorial colleagues in Guelph, we identified this as a priority. We have asked the CFIA to work on facilitating interprovincial trade and access to this certification.

It’s a challenge because at the federal level we have to remain at the international level. What goes through a federally inspected slaughterhouse can be exported, and the challenge is that we cannot go lower for interprovincial trade because we have to comply with our international trade commitment. There is a challenge there, but it has been identified as a priority.

The Hon. the Speaker pro tempore: Honourable senators, the time for Question Period has expired.

[English]

I’m certain you will want to join me in thanking Minister Bibeau for joining us today.

Hon. Paula Simons: Would the honourable senator take a question?

Senator Jaffer: Yes.

Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food: Thank you. Yes, this is particularly disturbing, and even more so for a former minister of International Development.

We are working closely with Minister Sajjan, the current Minister of International Development, supporting the World Food Programme, among other important partners.

We have recently provided $245 million for humanitarian assistance in Ukraine, and even more to face the situation in the other countries who normally are being supplied by Ukraine. This is something that we pay attention to. We made sure that our Canadian producers were in contact with the World Food Programme, for example. I know that we are a big supplier to the World Food Programme as well.

Another thing that the Ukrainian agriculture minister has asked us in order to help them take some of their production out of the country to supply their normal consumers is to provide equipment to help them issue the export certificates for their production.

With the European Union and the United States, we are also looking at different ways, paths and alternative routes to get their grain and oil out of the country. We are working on that. In Canada, we are having a look at the equipment related to food export certificates.

Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food: Thank you for the question. This is definitely a significant infrastructure project in a critical sector — water. As you know, the Department of Agriculture, at the federal level, is involved in international trade, science and innovation and supporting our farmers. And through the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, we have other responsibilities, of course.

When it comes to infrastructure, it falls either under the jurisdiction of my colleague the Minister of Infrastructure or potentially also the Minister of Industry, who is responsible for the Canada Infrastructure Bank. As far as I know, the Infrastructure Bank is following this project and looking at it very carefully because it is one of the five strategic areas of the bank, with $1.5 billion available to invest in irrigation projects.

This is definitely a project of interest that we want to follow. Through which channel, I cannot be more specific, unfortunately. It is not under the agriculture department, but there are potentially other opportunities. However, there is definitely the Infrastructure Bank.

[Translation]

Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food: Thank you. There are probably opportunities through my colleague Minister Vandal, the minister responsible for the North, as well as through the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency. What I see under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is an initiative that we launched recently that directly targets our northern and remote communities. It’s the last call for proposals under the Local Food Infrastructure Fund.

It’s not for farmers, but it is meant to strengthen the local food system in a region. The idea is to bring partners together, which could include farmers, grocers, food banks and whoever the players in a region’s food system are. The funding could go up to $250,000. This call for proposals is currently open and it targets remote, northern and Indigenous communities.

[Translation]

Hon. Donna Dasko rose pursuant to notice of November 24, 2021:

That she will call the attention of the Senate to the role of leaders’ debates in enhancing democracy by engaging and informing voters.

She said: Honourable senators, I note that this item is at day 15, and I am not prepared to speak at this time. Therefore, I move the adjournment of the debate in my name for the balance of my time.

(On motion of Senator Dasko, debate adjourned.)

(At 5:09 p.m., the Senate was continued until Tuesday, June 7, 2022, at 2 p.m.)

Hon. Robert Black: Minister, I recently met with agricultural industry stakeholders to discuss the Canada Grain Act review process. They highlighted that this review is an important step forward, and I shared that in a letter to you earlier in May.

The What We Heard Report document produced from the government’s consultations also highlights that this process was a half-century in the making, since the last comprehensive amendment took place in 1971. In fact, it is especially important given how dramatically the nature of grain delivery by farmers has changed.

Stakeholders shared their perspective that the review process should move away from an industry-versus-government regulatory scenario, and instead focus on how to support the value chain and ensure Canada’s place as a superpower in the global grain sector, especially in light of the war in Ukraine, which is impacting food security around the world.

Minister, will the government commit to supporting Canadian grain through policy and practice to ensure that Canadian grain remains a trusted brand and solidifies our position as an efficient supplier for the global community?

Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food: I completely agree. The labour shortage is very difficult, especially for the regions. We have been able to implement specific programs to make it easier and faster for temporary agricultural workers to get permanent resident status, particularly in the Atlantic region. This pilot program has become a popular and permanent program in Atlantic Canada.

There is also a program in Ontario specifically designed for workers in the processing, greenhouse and mushroom industries, and it works well. There is still room for more participation. I would have hoped that such a program could have been created in Quebec, but the situation is different, since the provincial government makes the decisions about economic immigration. It was, however, something we were asked to do.

In my mandate letter, the Prime Minister asked me to develop an agricultural labour strategy. This all obviously requires improvements to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program. Investments also need to be made in employment or internship programs for young people to get them interested in the agricultural sector. This sector is not limited to farm work; it also relies on new technologies and science, for example.

The Minister of Finance’s mandate letter also includes tax incentives to keep seniors working longer. By investing in child care services, we are trying to bring workers back to the workplace and to the regions. I come from a region, the Eastern Townships, and housing, which is a problem everywhere, is known to be associated with the labour shortage. As you know, the government is investing billions of dollars through the National Housing Strategy. Our strategy is quite broad, when it comes to labour.

[English]

Hon. Raymonde Saint-Germain: Honourable senators, the few minutes I have for this tribute won’t allow me to adequately recount all the highlights of Senator Wetston’s long and illustrious career. After devotedly serving on the executive side of government, Howard came to the Senate in 2016 to serve on the legislative side as a member of the first wave of independent senators — a historic change to the Senate — which he duly personified, having been appointed in his career to positions by Liberal and Conservative governments, both provincially and federally.

For more than 30 years before joining the Senate, Howard was in pursuit of the public interest, whether as a judge, an enforcement official or as the chair of several administrative tribunals. The prestigious honours he has received over the years are in themselves a testament to his immense contribution to Canadian public life, most notably the Order of Canada for the significant contributions he made as a public servant, jurist and regulator.

Senator Wetston has a breadth of experience and expertise in competition law and policy, securities regulation, energy regulation and administrative law. He has generously shared this expertise, most notably through his work on the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs, as well as the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce. His contributions to the Standing Committee on Ethics and Conflict of Interest for Senators should also be highlighted as they are a key sign of his credibility among his peers, particularly because of his sense of justice and profound ethical values.

I would also like to emphasize his remarkable work on the Competition Act. Here is a senator who has taken advantage of the pandemic to accomplish something greatly useful. His consultation paper, entitled Examining the Canadian Competition Act in the Digital Era, is remarkable in that it offers a happy balance between vision and pragmatism. This demonstrates the wisdom of our colleague who understands that politics, being “the art of the possible,” requires one to sometimes deal with it step by step.

I will now conclude on a more personal note and say that being a senator, with all the demands and sacrifices, also brings the privilege of knowing exceptional colleagues. Howard is one of them, not only for his intelligence and wisdom but his great human values. Since childhood, when he was ostracized and experienced, among other things, refugee camps, life has provided him with its share of challenges — challenges that he overcame and which have made him an exceptional human being, open to the world and attentive to others.

Dear Howard, in the name of all members of the Independent Senators Group, thank you for all you have done, and all the best to you as you enjoy more time with your family and loved ones.

Hon. Jean-Guy Dagenais: Minister, Mr. Harper’s Conservative government signed an economic partnership agreement with the United States, Mexico, Australia and Asian countries. That was the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Unfortunately, President Trump tossed aside the agreement, which would have benefited Canadian businesses and our farmers.

Just a few weeks ago, President Joe Biden opened talks for a new economic agreement with a dozen Asian countries, but he didn’t ask Canada to participate, which is an insult, especially given that the Prime Minister considers President Biden to be Canada’s friend and ally. Some friend, right?

The fact is, President Biden is playing for the United States, and only the United States, with his Buy American procurement policies. This will most definitely affect agricultural production in Canada.

Can you explain why the Americans took this unilateral action? How are you going to address the worrisome fact that the Canadian Prime Minister is being left out of these discussions?

Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food: I would say that we’ve been very successful with free trade agreements in recent years. For instance, we concluded an agreement for the trans-Pacific region with countries in Asia. We also reached agreements with the European Union, the United States and Mexico. It seems to me that Canada is already well covered in terms of relationships and trade agreements with the countries targeted by the United States.

As you know, this file is managed by my colleague Mary Ng, the Minister of International Trade. Obviously, everything related to international trade is a pillar of agriculture, along with research and innovation. This is extremely important to us. We already have some windows of opportunity to develop markets in many countries. There are also business opportunities that we are trying to develop, in partnership with the industry and various associations in the agricultural sectors that have an interest in countries or other jurisdictions. Ultimately, it is our farmers and their associations that set their priorities with respect to the countries where they want to develop their markets. Canada is already very well positioned with these three very important free trade agreements.

[English]

Hon. Judith G. Seidman: Welcome to the Senate, minister.

Minister, my question concerns full and fair compensation for dairy farmers for what they’ve lost under the CUSMA trade agreement. In the April budget, your government said compensation for CUSMA won’t be announced until the fall 2022 Economic and Fiscal Update.

In response, the Dairy Farmers of Canada said, “In tabling Budget 2022 without details, the government missed an opportunity to provide predictability to the industry.”

Minister, the new NAFTA came into force almost two years ago, on July 1, 2020. Why is it taking so long to fulfill this promise to dairy farmers?

Hon. Marie-Claude Bibeau, P.C., M.P., Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food: Thank you. I think you know how much I care for our dairy farmers. I have almost 500 dairy farmers in my region. This is a file that I follow closely.

We first signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP, and the equivalent with the European Union. We announced the full and fair compensation for our dairy farmers. We already had an investment program of $250 million, and then we added $1.75 billion. It was supposed to be spread over eight years. However, at year two, and with COVID-19 happening, I felt that it might be challenging to complete the discussion on CUSMA.

As a government, we decided to bring back this commitment to pay for the two first agreements over eight years and to pay over four years. The idea was to pay over four years and deal with COVID and with everything else so it gives predictability to the dairy farmers. Then we will have time to sit with them again and to complete CUSMA for years five to eight.

Our dairy farmers still have predictability in that they already know what they will receive in 2023. Our commitment is that in this Fall Economic Statement they will know what they will receive for the following years for the agreement with the United States and Mexico.

[Translation]

Hon. Marie-Françoise Mégie: Good afternoon, minister.

For some agriculture and agri-food businesses, temporary foreign workers have become essential. An article in Le Devoir indicated that 74% of those welcomed through this program do not know French when they arrive in the country, which limits their ability to integrate and understand their rights. All of this creates a double linguistic and economic gap for Quebec and francophone communities in Canada.

Given that Haiti has an abundance of skilled labour, how could you bridge the gap between Haiti and Canada to mutually help our francophone farming populations?