Hon. Peter M. Boehm: Honourable senators, I have the honour to table, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade, which deals with the subject matter of those elements contained in Divisions 9, 18 and 31 of Part 5 of Bill C-19, An Act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on April 7, 2022 and other measures.

Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate) introduced Bill S-9, An Act to amend the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act.

(Bill read first time.)

Hon. Pierre J. Dalphond: I am pleased to join my colleagues in this tribute to the Honourable Howard Wetston, who is leaving us tomorrow after five and a half years in the Senate.

I recall his warm welcome four years ago when he invited me to dine with Senators Marwah and Eggleton at a nearby restaurant. That evening, full of humour and advice, accompanied by good wine, was the best way to start my Senate career.

Of course, I already knew Senator Wetston, not only by reputation, but also from having met him briefly when we were young judges.

[English]

Before arriving in this place, Senator Wetston had a successful and varied career as a Federal Court judge, chair and CEO of the Ontario Energy Board, chair and CEO of the Ontario Securities Commission.

A man of great intellect and common sense, Howard is always ready to face new challenges as a trusted decision maker. Throughout his career he has also demonstrated a passion for competition law, a passion not shared by many. Though not always well understood by non-specialists, this is an important area of federal jurisdiction for Canada’s economic well-being.

This spring he published an insightful commentary on the Competition Act in the digital era, with the benefit of public and expert consultations conducted by him on his own.

[Translation]

Moreover, in the Senate, he has been a strong advocate for gender and ethnic diversity on corporate boards. I would like to add that I am very grateful to have worked with him on the Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee. Senator Wetston has always shown himself to be wise, sensible and progressive in his interventions.

Now that I have listed his talents, I will close by underscoring one of his great qualities: his humanity. Family, friends and colleagues are what is most important to him, and he is always ready to listen, advise and help.

Senator Wetston, I wish you good health and happiness in this next phase of your life, surrounded by your loved ones. Best of luck in your future endeavours, as I am sure there will be many. Take care.

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

Hon. Raymonde Gagné (Legislative Deputy to the Government Representative in the Senate), pursuant to notice of June 1, 2022, moved:

That, when the Senate next adjourns after the adoption of this motion, it do stand adjourned until Tuesday, June 7, 2022, at 2 p.m.

The Hon. the Speaker: Thank you, Senator Plett, for raising this important issue. I will take the matter under advisement.

Hon. Julie Miville-Dechêne: Welcome to the Senate of Canada, Minister Bibeau. In addition to the need for temporary labour, there is also the issue of land use and occupancy. Not only do agricultural areas need seasonal workers, but they also need new residents to take over farms, ensure a younger demographic and justify keeping schools open. There is a need for permanent and not just temporary immigration. What could the minister do, together with the provinces, to increase the number of permanent immigrants in Canada’s agricultural sector and to make it easier for them to come to Canada?

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. Robert Black: Thank you, minister, for joining us here today.

I would like to request an update on the Barton report targets as they relate to the domestic agricultural industry. As you may know, I have asked our Government Representative in the Senate to confirm whether Canada is on track to meet the Barton report targets.

In his response, my honourable colleague highlighted that he was:

. . . advised that the recommendation to reach $75 billion in agricultural exports by 2025 is a target that the government is striving towards and, indeed, has internalized.

That being said, he also highlighted that we are about $1 billion short of reaching those export targets.

However, a recent post made by The Grower, which announced Canada Agriculture Day for 2023, highlighted that Canada earned $82 billion in exports in 2021, which is $7 billion more than the 2025 target.

Minister, could you clarify whether Canada has indeed met the Barton report targets regarding agricultural exports? Thank you.

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?