Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I would like the minister to know that the Liberals' fuel regulations are so complicated and has made it so expensive that three-quarters of the feedstock comes from the United States or used cooking oil from China, not canola farmers in Alberta. It is the clean fuel standard, the industrial carbon tax, the escalator tax and tariffs on fertilizer that are making food unaffordable and …
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Mr. Speaker, we are not talking down the economy. The Liberals are bringing down the economy. A recent survey shows that 84% of farmers think the Prime Minister is an epic failure. I am wondering if the Prime Minister could tell me which one of his policies have made farmers so angry. Is it the fact that the Liberals are closing seven research centres and firing hundreds of scientists? Is it becau…
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Mr. Speaker, the numbers do not lie. The levers that the Liberals are pulling are obviously wrong, with 73,000 private sector jobs lost and youth unemployment at more than 14%. It is clear that young Canadians are being locked out of the workforce, cannot afford housing and cannot afford food, while the Prime Minister jet-sets to cocktail parties with global elites. Will the Liberals admit that th…
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Mr. Speaker, February's job numbers are crushing, with 108,000 full-time jobs lost, the largest collapse in full-time employment since 2020, since COVID. Youth unemployment is more than 14%. Canada now has the second-highest unemployment and the only shrinking economy in the G7. Let us be clear. It is because of Liberal policies that the private sector is hemorrhaging jobs, making the affordabilit…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are shutting down agricultural research, and now their red tape is literally choking the life out of agri-food businesses. A survey said that 90% of agri-food business owners believe that Liberal policies are putting the future of Canadian agriculture at risk. Red tape and regulations have already increased Canadian food inflation to 7.3%, by far more than double the rate…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister is right: It is not the farmers who are making the money. This is why 90% of agri-food business owners say that Liberal policy is restricting their ability to be productive and grow, and 70% of Canadian farmers are telling their kids not to take over the family farm. This is devastating for the future of Canadian food production and food security. It is making Canada less…
Read full speech →Routine Proceedings
Mr. Speaker, I am tabling a petition on behalf of more than 600 of my constituents who signed this petition about the Canada pension plan. They are concerned by amendments that the Liberal government made to the pension plan in 2018. They are worried about the security of their pensions, especially those with disabilities. The news that the Liberal government may be dipping into the Canada pension…
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to get up and speak to my colleague's private member's bill, Bill C-237, an act to amend the Fisheries Act. It is probably a little surprising to some of my colleagues that a member of Parliament from southern Alberta would get up to speak to a bill on Canada's Fisheries Act. Many people in the House may be surprised to learn that my riding, in southwest Alberta, is…
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Mr. Speaker, Canadian farmers are worried that an announcement by Beijing today means there is no deal to reduce tariffs on canola. On January 16, the Prime Minister said that he was engaged in a “new strategic partnership” with the People's Republic of China. He stated, “By March 1...Canada expects that China will [reduce] tariffs on Canadian canola seed to a combined rate of approximately15%.” T…
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Mr. Speaker, it is wild to hear the foreign affairs minister claim that they support science when the Liberals are literally attacking agricultural research. They are shutting down research centres in Lacombe, Indian Head, Guelph, Quebec City, Portage la Prairie and Cumberland County. Meanwhile, they spend $19 billion on consultants, $33 million on a prison farm and $22 million on beans for women …
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Madam Speaker, perhaps Canadian consumers would wish the Liberals had stopped at the consumer carbon tax, but when we have a consumer carbon tax, and then we add an industrial carbon tax, a fuel standard tax, a P2 plastics ban, bulk labelling on fertilizer and now new labelling rules that, as I said, add $15 billion to the cost of producing food, that is why we see food inflation go from something…
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Madam Speaker, my colleague was talking about honesty and how important it is. I recall sitting in the House over the past 10 years or so. At some point, the Liberals were telling Canadians and members about opposing the carbon tax while the world is burning. I remember the former health minister asking how Conservatives would dare go on a summer vacation with their kids in the car while the plane…
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Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the outstanding member for Regina—Lewvan. Before I get to the essence of my speech, I would ask for the indulgence of the House for just a couple of moments. In small towns like ours, hockey is the fabric of life. Unfortunately, in my riding yesterday, that fabric became frayed. Heartbreak struck southern Alberta yesterday when three members of the S…
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Madam Speaker, I think that is an excellent point. This is the difference, in terms of why the Liberals were willing to throw their principles away and get rid of the consumer carbon tax. They made the mistake of actually having it on receipts and bills, where Canadians could see it. That is why they have no problem increasing the industrial carbon tax and the fuel tax. They are right. They can sa…
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Madam Speaker, I would like to request a recorded division.
Read full speech →Government Orders
Madam Speaker, my colleague's question gives me an opportunity to comment on another point made by my colleague, the whip of the Liberal Party, who talked about how he does not like to hear from the food professor. They only like their experts, but not ours. I want to articulate the fact that when we quote the food professor, we are many times talking about the food price report. As my colleague m…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are literally the definition of insanity. Three years ago, the finance minister promised Canadians that the Liberals would solidify food prices. Today, he is tabling the tired Trudeau policy that failed the first time. The only results of Liberal policy are that Canada has the highest food inflation in the G7, twice that of the United States, and Canadian families are pay…
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Mr. Speaker, this is going to hurt the Liberal member, but under a Conservative government, the average weekly food cost was about $160 a week. Now it has more than doubled under the Liberals to $340 a week. The fact is that Liberal policies are driving up food prices to Canadians. The fact is that 2.2 million Canadians are using a food bank every single month. The reasons for the food prices are …
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said he should be judged by the price of food at the grocery store. The food price report gave the Liberals a failing grade. It confirmed that food prices are going to increase by $1,000 a family next year, a cost they simply cannot afford. Canadians did not need a report to tell them that. They are experiencing it every single day. Canadian food banks are on the br…
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Mr. Speaker, this did not happen yesterday. A decade ago, when the Liberals took office, the average weekly food bill was about $160 a week. A decade later, it has doubled to $340 a week. That is $17,500 to feed a family of four. That is unbelievable in a country like Canada. Canadian food banks cannot manage the load. These are not just strangers. These are friends, families, co-workers and neigh…
Read full speech →Statements By Members
Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told Canadians to judge him by “their experience at the grocery store”. Well, what Canadians see on the shelves now is Liberal failure. The food price report confirms what Canadians already know: Food prices are out of control and are going to get worse. In 2015, when the Liberals took office, the average weekly food bill was about $160. In a decade, it has doubled …
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Mr. Speaker, Canadians will have a very different point of view. They know that these food price increases, as is in this report, are a direct result of the Liberals' industrial carbon tax, fuel tax and inflationary spending. The Prime Minister himself said that he should be judged by the price of food. By his own metrics, he has failed. When the Liberals came to office, the annual food budget was…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told Canadians that he should be judged by the price of food at the grocery store. Well, the verdict is in and the Liberals have failed. Canada's food price guide said Canadians will spend $1,000 more on groceries next year, the highest increase in years. When the Liberals took office, the average weekly food bill was about $160. In a decade, it has more than double…
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Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise in the House on behalf of the constituents and families in Foothills, my farmers, my ranchers, my agri-food processors and certainly my families and entrepreneurs. Bill C-15, the budget implementation act, is anything but a plan for prosperity. It is a blueprint for higher taxes, higher debt, higher inflation and higher costs for the people who feed a…
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Madam Speaker, I just want to touch on a couple of things in my colleague's question. I think he has highlighted very well that the budget is about what is not there. What is not there is the details. The Liberals talk a lot about spending, but the success of a budget is not about how much we spend; it is about the impact that spending is going to have. We do not see anything about expanding ports…
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Madam Speaker, I would say to my incredible colleague from Cariboo—Prince George that I could not agree more. The message being sent to Canadians, especially in the forestry and energy sectors, is that the Prime Minister, at one of the most critical times in our history, just does not care. I think that says all there is to say.
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Madam Speaker, my short answer is that I do not. Every time the Prime Minister goes away, it gets worse for Canadians. I will talk just about agriculture. The Prime Minister goes to India, and India puts 30% tariffs on Canadian yellow peas. He goes to the United States, and the United States increases tariffs for Canadians. The Liberals send a delegation to China, and what does China do? It increa…
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Mr. Speaker, my colleague covered a lot of great topics, but one I want to ask him about is how the Liberals continue to talk about imaginary taxes and the impact they are having on Canadians, whether that is at the grocery store shelf or in their ability to grow their businesses. If this tax is so imaginary, why does their own budget have comments about increasing and strengthening the industrial…
Read full speech →Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, three years ago, the finance minister promised Canadians he would stabilize food prices by Thanksgiving. Three pumpkin pies have come and gone, and food inflation is 50% higher than target. What could possibly have gone wrong when the finance minister promised that tools, such as the grocery code of conduct, would lower grocery prices? Every single expert at the agriculture committee,…
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Mr. Speaker, the fact is that food prices are rising because the Liberal government is the most expensive in Canadian history. Every time the Prime Minister sticks his hand in the pockets of Canadians, he drives up the price of everything. We are seeing that the Liberals' own imaginary taxes, such as the fuel tax and an increase to the industrial carbon tax, are making everything more expensive an…
Read full speech →Statements by Members
Mr. Speaker, with breathtaking colours more vibrant than one can imagine, sounds and smells tantalizing the senses, and the cheering on of world-class athletes, the two- and four-legged variety, as they achieve the unimaginable, this is what it means to experience Spruce Meadows, Canada's premier show-jumping facility, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary. As the bold vision of Ron and Margar…
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Mr. Speaker, what this budget does is put intergenerational debt on Canadian families. Here is a fact the minister just ignored entirely: Food inflation is rising 40% faster in Canada than it is in the United States. Canada is the only G7 country where food inflation has actually increased for four straight months. We have a record-shattering 2.2 million Canadians forced to go to a food bank in a …
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberal government is the most expensive in Canadian history, and every dollar the Prime Minister spends comes out of the pockets of hard-working Canadians, driving up the costs of everything. Food prices are 50% higher than the target rate, and experts have warned the Liberals that the industrial carbon tax is driving up the cost of fertilizer, farm equipment and food. The Libera…
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Mr. Speaker, food inflation is up another 4% because of the Liberals' hidden industrial carbon tax and tax on food packaging. The Liberals would like to say that these are just imaginary taxes, but experts at the agriculture committee yesterday confirmed that not only are these taxes not imaginary but that they are also in fact driving up the price of groceries. Dr. Sylvain Charlebois said that wh…
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Mr. Speaker, well, Deloitte and Dr. Sylvain Charlebois have already confirmed what Canadians know: The taxes are not imaginary. Canadians are struggling to pay these taxes every single day at the grocery store. The food professor said that as a result of the industrial carbon tax and taxes on food packaging, Canada is the only G7 country where food inflation has increased for four straight months …
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Mr. Speaker, the facade has been exposed. The Prime Minister's claim of being a master negotiator is pure fiction. Every time the Prime Minister meets with foreign leaders, it is Canadian farmers who suffer the consequences. India has slapped a 30% tariff on Canadian yellow peas. This is when farmers are already suffering from crippling tariffs from China on peas, canola, beef, seafood, pork and o…
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Mr. Speaker, thanks to the Liberal trade failures, now 80% of Canada's pea markets are facing tariffs. That is a fact. Every time the Prime Minister travels, it is Canadian farmers who are suffering the consequences. Let us look at the Liberal scoreboard. In China, there are 100% tariffs on Canadian peas and canola and 25% on pork and seafood, and Canadian beef has been blocked since 2021. The Uni…
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Mr. Speaker, we have just learned that India has placed a 30% tariff on Canadian peas. This is on top of the 100% tariffs already in place from China. As a result, 80% of Canada's pea markets now face tariffs worldwide. This is putting Canadian farmers at risk, as prices have dropped more than 40%. The Prime Minister and his team were just in India, and now they are in China. Every time they go so…
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Mr. Speaker, they should be supporting Canadian producers by getting those markets back. When the tariffs were put on Canadian canola, the Prime Minister promised that he would have high-level engagement. It has been eight months with no engagement, and the tariffs from China have actually increased. It is not just canola. Peas, pork and seafood are all facing Chinese tariffs. Canadian beef has be…
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Mr. Speaker, Chinese tariffs on Canadian canola are punishing farmers and driving up food costs for Canadians. Almost six million tonnes of canola are being blocked from China, yet the Prime Minister and the agriculture minister have not met with their Chinese counterparts. In fact, at committee, the agriculture minister admitted that he has not even discussed the tariffs with his Beijing counterp…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister's broken promises are costing Canadians. The Prime Minister said that he would lower grocery costs for Canadians, but in fact, food prices are rising twice as quickly now as they did under Trudeau, and it is because of the Liberal hidden taxes on food. It is not imaginary; the Liberal government's own analysis said its food packaging tax increased costs for Canadian…
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Mr. Speaker, it was the Liberals who voted against scrapping their hidden taxes on food, and now one in four Canadians does not know where their next meal is coming from. Bans of plastic food packaging and front-of-pack labelling will increase the costs of fresh produce 34%. The Liberals were warned that these policies would increase costs for consumers, and those warnings were not heeded. Four mi…
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Mr. Speaker, we know the Prime Minister was misleading Canadians when he cancelled the carbon tax. I want to quote the food professor, Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, who stated it perfectly: “The carbon tax—”
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Mr. Speaker, we know the Prime Minister was doing a classic Liberal bait and switch when he told Canadians he cancelled the carbon tax. I want to quote the food professor, Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, who put it perfectly: “The carbon tax was not eliminated. “Only the consumer portion was reduced to zero. The industrial carbon tax remains fully in place—and has actually increased since April 1. We have…
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Mr. Speaker, I would like to give the Prime Minister some facts. The fact is that food prices have increased nearly 40% since the Liberals were elected 10 years ago. I saw it at the grocery store this weekend. Pork shoulder is up 37%, and my coffee was up 25%. A little package of lunch meat was almost $10. The Prime Minister said that he would be judged by food prices. Food Banks Canada has now sa…
Read full speech →Government Orders
Mr. Speaker, I like it when the Liberals try to protect themselves with numbers they can fudge at any time. They are trying to lecture Canadians by telling them that they have never had it so good and that their fiscal position is great. I would ask the Liberal member to go to the grocery stores in his constituency and see what the response is if he tells Canadians and his constituents that they h…
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Mr. Speaker, I too certainly respect my colleague from the Bloc and his passion for Canadian agriculture. Food prices have not come down because the Liberals have not eliminated all the taxes they put on food production. Yes, they eliminated the consumer carbon tax. Canadians are very welcome for the work we did to force the Liberal government to do that. There is no way it would have eliminated t…
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Mr. Speaker, that is a great question. The “let them eat cake” attitude from the Liberals is what is frustrating Canadians. They say that the debt-to-GDP ratio is at 47% and that Canadians should be thrilled with that. The fact is that 60% of Canadians are food insecure. Of Canadian families, 60% do not know where their next meal is coming from. There are four million Canadians around the greater …
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Mr. Speaker, the budget is coming soon. He says it like he is proud of it. The Liberals will have perhaps a $100-billion deficit, as much as three times higher than that of the last Liberal government, when the then finance minister made a big scene and quit because she could not handle these types of deficits. Ironically, she is quitting again. Maybe the deficit is that much worse, and once again…
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moved: That, given that the Prime Minister said Canadians would judge him by the cost at the grocery store, and that, (i) food inflation is 70% above the Bank of Canada's target, (ii) food prices are up 40% since the Liberals took power, (iii) Daily Bread Food Bank expects 4 million visits to its food banks in 2025, (iv) food bank use in Canada is up by 142% since 2015, the House call on the Liber…
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