Oral Questions
Mr. Speaker, I agree with the agriculture minister. Our plan is definitely not to bankrupt farmers and continue to make food unaffordable. Canadian farmers are struggling under punishing input costs such as the carbon tax. In fact, often the carbon tax costs them more than the natural gas they use. Bill C-234, a common-sense Conservative bill, is the solution, but the Prime Minister is blocking hi…
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Madam Speaker, I enjoy working with my very respected colleague on the agriculture committee. There is no question that Canadian farmers understand the changes in climate more than just about any Canadian, as they are certainly at the front lines of that. However, my argument today, in highlighting some of the issues in this report, and yesterday with Bill C-234, is that I do not believe that a ca…
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Madam Speaker, it is great to have the agriculture band here and everyone here in the House today participating in this. I appreciate that. I will just highlight one thing that I think will answer my colleague's question. During COVID, the federal government worked with the provinces to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers and allow harmonization of regulations, which allowed provincially cert…
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Madam Speaker, I move that the first report of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, presented to the House on Wednesday, February 2, 2022, be concurred in. I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Lambton—Kent—Middlesex. I want to concur in the report from the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food on food security that looked at processing capacity in Canada w…
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Madam Speaker, I would encourage the member opposite to see what is going on across Canada. Last week, we had rallies from farmers in just about every province in the country, asking the government to understand the impact their policies are having on Canadian farmers and their ability to ensure that Canadians have affordable food on the table. These are pertinent issues that are front of mind for…
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Madam Speaker, I am not sure if there was a question there other than a diatribe. The epitome of hypocrisy from the NDP member is that they are propping up—
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Madam Speaker, we would like a recorded vote.
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Madam Speaker, a couple of the Liberal colleagues today have put out this statistic that 97% of farmers are exempt from the carbon tax. That is completely and utterly false. We know that the vast majority of farmers pay much more in carbon taxes than they would get in any rebate. In Bill C-8, which I am sure my colleague is referring to, the average farm gets about 15% to 20% back on its carbon ta…
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Mr. Speaker, here are the facts that the environment minister refuses to recognize. An Alberta poultry farmer paid $180,000 a year in carbon taxes just to heat and cool his barn. When the Prime Minister quadruples his carbon tax, he will be paying $480,000 a year. That farmer said he cannot afford those tax hikes. His options are to pass on those costs to consumers or just call it quits. Does the …
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Mr. Speaker, farmers from across Canada are calling on Liberal-appointed senators to support a common-sense Conservative bill, Bill C-234, which would lower costs on farming and make food more affordable, but the Liberals' environment minister has threatened to resign if there are any carbon tax carve-outs. This is amazing when we have a record-shattering two million Canadians relying on food bank…
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Mr. Speaker, I rise on a point of order. I hate to do this to my colleague, and I do appreciate what he is trying to do here, which is to talk about anything other than Bill C-234 and its impacts on Canadian agriculture and the carbon tax farmers are paying. I would really appreciate it if, at some point in his 20-minute speech, he would at least hint at or even mention Bill C-234 and the fact tha…
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Madam Speaker, no, I do not agree. We have encouraged Canadian farmers, who have done so by themselves. For example, the Agriculture Carbon Alliance, a group that represents hundreds of different agriculture stakeholders and commodity groups across the country, has encouraged its members to phone and call senators. When senators assume or accept that invitation to join the Senate, they accept the …
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Madam Speaker, the member of the NDP-Liberal government, unfortunately, never made it into cabinet with this agreement. I find it shocking in itself when someone sells their soul and does not really get anything for it. The member supports a government that sold a turbine to Putin to help him move his gas and helped fund Putin's war machine. That is the epitome of hypocrisy.
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Madam Speaker, I find it interesting that the member for Kingston and the Islands, of all people, is bringing this up. Members should take a look at his Twitter feed. It is the epitome of hypocrisy that the member is raising this. Of course, I do not agree with any member of the House or of the Senate being threatened. However, the Senate is receiving tens of thousands of phone calls and emails, t…
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Madam Speaker, every single Canadian wants one thing in life, or one thing among several in life, which is to have nutritious, sustainable and affordable food produced right here in Canada. However, the Prime Minister's carbon tax coalition with the NDP is making that almost impossible for Canadian farmers and for Canadian consumers. The Parliamentary Budget Officer was very clear that Bill C-234,…
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Mr. Speaker, last year, almost six million Ontarians visited a food bank, an increase of more than 40% and the highest single increase ever recorded. Clearly, this Prime Minister's carbon tax plan is not worth the cost. Conservatives have a common-sense bill, Bill C-234, in the Senate, which would reduce costs on farmers and make food more affordable for Canadians, but the Prime Minister is blocki…
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Mr. Speaker, it is good to see the agriculture minister stand up and defend Canadian farmers, but if the finance minister's plan for Canadians is to cut meals and cut their heat, well, mission accomplished, their carbon tax plan is working extremely well. A common-sense Conservative bill, Bill C-234, would provide a carbon tax carve-out for farmers and make food more affordable for Canadians, but …
Read full speech →Private Members' Business
Madam Speaker, I want to thank all colleagues who took the opportunity not only tonight but throughout this process to speak in support of this very important legislation, which is an amendment to the Health of Animals Act, Bill C-275. There has been overwhelming support for this bill from Canadians across this country, and certainly from farmers, producers and the entire agriculture sector. I can…
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Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting to rise today on Bill C-355, an act to prohibit the export by air of horses for slaughter. I think it is important in this House, whenever we debate legislation that is going to impact the livelihoods of thousands of Canadians, that we ensure that legislation is based on sound science and data from experts, and not on a motion. This legislation, I would argue, is…
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Mr. Speaker, the minister is clearly misleading Canadians. The Liberals do not have an environment plan. What they have is a political agenda. The Prime Minister has two carbon taxes that are punishing Canadian families, which we now know do not reduce emissions. However, when his polls plummet in Atlantic Canada, he can remove the carbon tax from home heating oil, the energy source with the highe…
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, the Prime Minister has not hit a single emissions target. In fact, Canada is ranked 58 out of 63 countries when it comes to climate action performance. It is clear that the only green plan the Prime Minister has is diverting green backs from his carbon tax to his Liberal friends. However, when our most important allies, Germany and Japa…
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Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister joined the separatists to divide Canadians. Those Canadians will have to pay a carbon tax on their home heating over the winter, and 3% of Canadians will get a pause on the pain. It is clear that for the Liberals and the Bloc, their Christmas gift to Canadians is to punish families for heating their homes this winter. They voted against a common-sense Conservative m…
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Mr. Speaker, what is the Prime Minister's Christmas gift to 97% of Canadians? Merry Christmas. They are going to have a carbon tax on home heating this winter. The Prime Minister literally gave Canadians a lump of coal by voting against the common-sense Conservative motion to take the tax off and keep the heat on. We thought the Liberal-NDP carbon tax coalition was bad, but there is a new addition…
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Mr. Speaker, on Monday, we will be voting on a common-sense Conservative motion to axe the carbon tax on home heating for every single Canadian. It is snowing in southern Alberta; it is cold. It should not be a luxury to heat our homes, yet when the Prime Minister quadruples his carbon tax, Mountainview Farms in my riding will be paying $480,000 a year in carbon taxes. The Prime Minister says that…
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moved that the bill be read the third time and passed. Mr. Speaker, it is an honour and a privilege to rise in the House today and speak again to my private member's bill, Bill C-275, an act to amend the Health of Animals Act. I would like to thank all the members of the agriculture and agri-food committee who participated in the study of this bill and worked with our witnesses and stakeholders to…
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moved that the bill be concurred in.
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Mr. Speaker, I would like it to be carried on division. (Motion agreed to)
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Mr. Speaker, I certainly have a lot of respect for the hon. member. I enjoyed our time on the agriculture committee together. He is exactly right. This would put the agriculture industry in line with most other industries in Canada. People cannot simply walk onto a dangerous auto assembly line or into a manufacturing plant. People cannot just walk into a dangerous situation without the proper trai…
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Mr. Speaker, certainly it is a frustrating argument that this is an ag-gag law. The wording of the amendment would protect whistle-blowers or anyone who is there lawfully and with supervision, so to say this is an ag-gag law is completely wrong. Let us back up a little on what the goals are of these so-called whistle-blowers. I have a quote from PETA, which says, “Ending speciesism is our ultimate…
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Mr. Speaker, I do have a lot of respect for my colleague, whom I work with quite closely on the agriculture committee, and we will have to agree to disagree on the implications and the wording of the bill. I would argue that why we wanted to maintain that language is that we had support from just about every other stakeholder group other than the animal activists, who wanted that language taken ou…
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Mr. Speaker, I doubt any of us can intimidate our fathers into do anything they do not want to do. I am still thankful that the father voice still kind of works a little. The member is exactly right. We heard those stories from farmers, which were heartbreaking. In my speech, I spoke of Mr. Binnendyk, who does not tell anybody he is a farmer anymore, whereas my generation and generations before us…
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Mr. Speaker, an election must be in the air because the Prime Minister has announced his re-election campaign: Vote Liberal, and in three years they are going to quadruple the carbon tax on home heating, gas and groceries. After eight years, the Prime Minister is in a panic mode because he knows his NDP-Liberal government is not worth the cost. Now we have a Liberal minister from Long Range Mounta…
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Mr. Speaker, the carbon tax works only if it is politically expedient. The Prime Minister's carbon tax exemption does not help 97% of Canadians who are already struggling to put food on the table and heat their homes. Now we have a Liberal minister from Newfoundland and Labrador telling Albertans that the only reason they are not getting an exemption is they did not vote Liberal. Are the Liberal m…
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Mr. Speaker, with plummeting polls in Atlantic Canada, the Prime Minister is panicked, desperate and making it up as he goes along. Only a year ago, Liberal MPs voted against a Conservative motion to axe the carbon tax from home heating. What a difference a year makes. I know my farmers in Alberta are sure wondering what it would take for them to get some relief from the Prime Minister's carbon ta…
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Mr. Speaker, the Liberals do not care about food costs or affordability. Canadians are struggling to put food on the table after eight years of the Liberal-NDP government. Almost two million Canadians accessed a food bank in March. That is up 79% from March 2019. A third of those people using food banks are children. Almost 20% of Canadian families are food insecure. A Prime Minister who is in des…
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Mr. Speaker, while the Prime Minister presses pause on his carbon tax in Atlantic Canada, the Liberals are blocking a Conservative bill that would exempt the carbon tax from on-farm fuels, making food more affordable. I guess the desperate pleas of Canadian farmers do not have the same weight as the Prime Minister's plummeting polls in Atlantic Canada. Let us be clear. Putting a pause is only a mo…
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, farm families know that the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. A financial health report confirmed that higher Liberal inflation, taxes and interest rates are taking a serious toll on Canadian producers. Their net farm incomes are down 8%, but expenses are up 21%, the highest jump in 50 years, since the last tax-and-spend Trudeau government. All parties in this H…
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Mr. Speaker, the number one concerns for Canadian farm families are Liberal regulations and carbon taxes. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business surveyed its members and asked for their top three priorities. Number one was to reduce the regulatory and red tape burden. Number two was to reduce the overall tax burden. For number three, 66% said their number one priority was to pass a Conser…
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Mr. Speaker, after eight years, farmers can no longer carry the burden of the NDP-Liberal government. In a letter to the Prime Minister, vegetable farmers warned Canadians about why the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. The price of fresh vegetables is already up 12%. The Liberals' front-of-pack warning labels on food will cost the industry $2 billion. Now, the Prime Minister's nonsensical pac…
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Mr. Speaker, there is no chance of keeping food prices low if the government keeps adding red tape, bureaucracy and carbon taxes on farmers. Farmers cannot afford increased carbon taxes and red tape, and neither can Canadians who are already struggling to put food on the table. The price of beef and fresh vegetables is up 12%. The carbon tax will cost Canadian farmers close to $1 billion by 2030. …
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Madam Speaker, today I rise to speak to Bill C-57. I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Selkirk—Interlake—Eastman. With more than a million Canadians who have Ukrainian heritage, I think it is important not only that we have shown our support for Ukraine in the past, but also, certainly, with what is going on with Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine, that we show it now and into t…
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the member's speech but just because he gets up and says it does not mean it is true. In fact, by giving the United Kingdom accession to the CPTPP, an agreement that was negotiated by the Harper government, signed off, barely, almost failed, as a result of the Liberal Prime Minister, they are going to deteriorate this agreement by bringing in non-science, non-tariff tra…
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Madam Speaker, this is probably the biggest impact we could have had on Ukraine, barring anything else with agriculture or free trade. When two of our important allies, two of the most important economies in the world, come to Canada asking for Canadian LNG so that they can stop funding Putin's war machine, our Prime Minister turns his back and says that he is sorry, that there is no business case…
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Madam Speaker, I do believe there are great opportunities with a free trade agreement with Ukraine, whether that is with agriculture, manufacturing or cybersecurity. Certainly, we could learn some valuable lessons from our NATO allies and what is going on in Ukraine. However, forgive me if I just have some hesitancy to trust the Liberals on what new chapters and what new details are going to be in…
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Madam Speaker, it is always difficult to follow my colleague for Calgary Forest Lawn. He has articulated so very well the concerns with Bill C-50, and that is on top of the work of our great colleague, the member of Parliament for Lakeland. I want to talk about the implications of the bill and how dangerous this proposed mandated threat is to the hundreds of thousands of Canadian jobs that are ent…
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Mr. Speaker, ironically, the Liberals set aside $300 million for ACOA, for farmers to deal with Fiona, but not a single dime has gone out the door. All parties of the House supported this legislation. Even the Greens understand how important farming is. After eight years of higher interest rates and inflationary costs, and now not one but two carbon taxes, the Prime Minister is simply not worth th…
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Madam Speaker, I love that the New Democrats are trying to obfuscate their end result or end game. Everything they have been saying is that their goal is to end fossil fuels. This is interesting considering they have completely lost touch with the roots of their party, which are about the working-class folks in Canada, such as pipefitters, welders, carpenters and longshoremen, the people who want …
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Mr. Speaker, it is this simple: Higher taxes on farmers, on truckers and on processors mean higher food costs for Canadians. Canadian farmers will pay close to a billion dollars in carbon taxes alone by 2030. After eight years of the NDP-Liberal government, the Prime Minister is not worth the cost. Conservatives are bringing forward common sense solutions, like legislation that would exempt the ca…
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Madam Speaker, we are not saying to do less. Rather, we want to see things that bring results. The carbon tax, which the Bloc wants to radically increase, has done nothing. The Liberals have not met a single emissions target they have set. Flooding and forest fires are still happening. Taxes are not the answer, but research, innovation and new technology are, and industry has been doing this for y…
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Madam Speaker, what I have a problem with is that this legislation is a transition for Canadians to the unemployment line and the food bank line. We have millions of Canadians already relying on food banks in record numbers. The member talks about LNG. There were 18 LNG projects on the books ready for construction that have been cancelled. The Liberals cannot be proud about one. We also had four p…
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