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Jun/16/22 8:00:58 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, first of all, I will address the fact that the member's Prime Minister promised 600 peacekeeping troops would be deployed. We currently have 60. We are ranked the 70th country in peacekeeping around the world. I do not think we are punching above our weight, as we would like to do. I think that realistically, as we are parliamentarians, we are meant to do what is best for the country. We are meant to be a multilateral force. The argument that we cannot play a role internationally because of our obligations domestically is a bit juvenile, to be honest.

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Mr. Kody Blois (Kings—Hants, Lib.)

Jun/16/22 8:01:44 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I will be sharing my time with the Minister of Northern Affairs this evening. I am very pleased that colleagues in the House have called this take-note debate forward this evening, because the question of global food security as a result of the war in Ukraine is the most important question right now that we all collectively face. I am very proud to be the chair of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. We have started a global food security study because of what we are seeing around the world and because we have seen the explicit targeting, by the Russian Federation, of Ukrainian assets that feed not only Ukrainians but the whole world. It is important to start by giving some context to how important Ukraine is in the global food conversation. It represents 47% of sunflower oil exports to the global market, between 10% to 12% of wheat exports to the global market, 18% of barley and a really high percentage of corn as well. Suffice it to say that not only is Ukraine the breadbasket of eastern Europe, but it is extremely important in the global food sense. Another thing that is extremely important is that 50% of the World Food Programme's contributions toward vulnerable states come from Ukraine. As we start to stare down what is truly becoming a global food crisis because of the illegal invasion, because of the war, those countries are the most susceptible right now to being impacted. I commend all members of the House for bringing forward this discussion. It is important and extremely timely. I want to give some other reflections, although this is a very short period of just five minutes for opening remarks on the take-note debate. The committee had the chance to hear from Minister Solsky, essentially the minister of agriculture in Ukraine, about the fact that right now they are trying to plant on 80% of the territory that is not yet occupied by the Russian Federation. We heard from member of Parliament Yulia Klymenko that 13% of the arable land in question is being mined right now by the Russian Federation. As we can appreciate, the front line of this combat is fluctuating in eastern and southern Ukraine, and the Russian Federation has been planting mines. That is not going to be solved overnight. We heard from Ms. Klymenko herself that farmers have perished simply trying to harvest their crops and plant on their fields. I had a conversation yesterday with the ambassador of Ukraine to Canada. She showed me a picture of the artillery shells in the fields in which the Ukrainians harvest not only for their own people, but indeed for the world. It needs to go on record explicitly that part of the Russian Federation's plan is to create destabilization around the world regarding food security and energy prices. We have to understand that some countries, particularly in the Horn of Africa and Southeast Asia, are reliant on the Russian and Ukrainian importation of food products. Those are the same countries that could fall and then create regional geopolitical challenges, with governments being overthrown, and this could be ripe for terrorism and extremism. That is the testimony we have heard. I want to talk about what Canada can do in this, because that is the conversation we are having. We know that there is a global challenge. We know that countries are particularly vulnerable. Even though Canada is very food secure generally, we are seeing a huge rise in prices at the supermarket because of some of the import costs as a result of the war. Canada has played and will continue to play an important role in this domain. Some 22 million tonnes of grain product is sitting right now in silos in Ukraine, but it is not able to be moved because of the blockade in the Black Sea. The challenge in 2022, of course, is that as the harvest comes off the field, what do they do with that grain? It is important that we provide temporary storage. I know the Ukrainian government is looking to Canada to work to try to provide storage on the western border with Poland. That is extremely important. We also need to make sure that farmers in Ukraine have the capacity to continue their work. For those who are not in occupied territories, we have to be doing everything we can to help. There is a conversation around what type of equipment we can provide for demining some of the agriculture fields. What technical expertise can Canada offer? I think that is an important conversation. Of course, there is the trade corridor. Conversations are happening right now with the United Nations, Turkey and Russia. What can we do to provide a NATO solution as well to create those corridors? To finish up, there is also a role we can play in Canadian production over the next couple of years, because this is not just a 2022 issue. We need to help produce more so we can help provide for the global market. I wish I had more time, but I look forward to taking questions from my hon. colleagues.

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Mr. Dave Epp (Chatham-Kent—Leamington, CPC)

Jun/16/22 8:07:15 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, would my colleague agree with the statement that world hunger is being induced by two causes? The one we think of right now is the lack of availability of food and the situation in Ukraine causing or exacerbating that, but the second thing that is causing hunger around the world, particularly in the global south, is simply the cost of food. It is becoming unaffordable in so many places. I wonder if he has a comment on that dynamic.

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Mr. Kody Blois

Jun/16/22 8:07:47 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would like to thank the member for Chatham-Kent—Leamington for his work on the agriculture committee. We have a great group that has really kept a strong focus on the needs of Canadian farmers and indeed on the conversation we are having today regarding farmers around the world. He is absolutely right that it is not only a production challenge. However, the reality is that there is a certain scarcity right now because of how important Ukraine is, and this is driving up food prices around the world. We are seeing that in Canada. We have more of a propensity to pay, as one of the richest countries in the world, but those vulnerable countries are going to really struggle. We have heard this from international humanitarian groups that are seeking additional funding so they can provide money. That is important, but we also need to make sure there is adequate production and availability of product so that we are able to contribute to the countries that are most food insecure.

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Mr. Yves Perron (Berthier—Maskinongé, BQ)

Jun/16/22 8:08:43 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I thank my committee chair for his speech. We agree on many things when it comes to international action, but I would like to hear his thoughts on local production. I think that Canada will be called upon to play a key role in the global food supply in the coming months and years. Before we look after others, however, we need to look after ourselves. For some time now, we have been bringing up that infamous 35% surtax imposed on fertilizer orders that were made and paid for before the conflict began. Government members claim to understand the situation and say that they are looking for a solution, but days, weeks and months have gone by without a response. Does my colleague have an answer for us tonight?

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Mr. Kody Blois

Jun/16/22 8:09:34 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, indeed, Canada's domestic capacity is absolutely important. I was very happy to see the Nutrien fertilizer company announce that it would increase production by 25%. In addition, the Government of Canada announced assistance for the BHP mining company in Saskatchewan to open the largest potash mine in the world. Other countries must also increase capacity. It is very important for the department's international development services to help increase the capacity of our allies, especially in Africa and Asia. The government believes it is very important to find a solution to help farmers with the tariffs imposed on March 2 on fertilizer orders made before the start of the war in Ukraine.

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Mr. Charlie Angus (Timmins—James Bay, NDP)

Jun/16/22 8:10:53 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, we are in a really disturbing time, because all the myths of globalization have been blown apart. We saw it happen during COVID. Supply chain networks, access to PPE and the ability to supply our own communities were severely hampered. We are now seeing Putin use food as a weapon of war, threatening possible mass hunger. We are also seeing supply chain issues from the climate crisis. I was speaking earlier about the crisis of the Colorado River. It supplies a lot of agricultural support to the southern United States, which feeds world markets. I want to ask my colleague about the bigger question of whether or not the government is looking at how we deal with supply issues and how we deal with instability in a world where globalization is falling apart and we have war criminals like Putin using food as a hunger weapon. Our old systems are not working. What is the government looking at in terms of a new strategy to get Canada secure and help the world be more secure?

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Mr. Kody Blois

Jun/16/22 8:12:07 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, that was a big question, so please permit me just a moment. On globalization, Canada is a world food provider. We cannot turn away from that. That is a reality. I think we have to look out both ends of the telescope. We need to build domestic capacity in Canada through local food infrastructure to help support, perhaps, import substitution, and Canada still needs to play a global role. As it relates to food and war, my hon. colleague is absolutely correct. Russia right now is playing from the old playbook, trying to target a country's capacity to feed itself and feed the world. It is creating havoc. It is driving a conversation here domestically. We need to continue to support Ukraine in its fight for all of us, because this is a playbook of the Russian Federation to try to create disruption in western countries that are committed to international rules-based order.

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The Chair

Jun/16/22 8:12:58 p.m.
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Before we go any further, I want to wish my friend from Kings—Hants a happy wedding. I do not know if it is this weekend or next weekend, but pretty soon he will be getting married. We will do this in the House while we can. Resuming debate, the hon. Minister of Northern Affairs.

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Hon. Dan Vandal (Minister of Northern Affairs, Minister responsible for Prairies Economic Development Canada and Minister responsible for the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, Lib.)

Jun/16/22 8:13:18 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, it is a pleasure to stand in this chamber. It is always an honour to rise on behalf of my constituents in Saint Boniface—Saint Vital. With one of the world's leading grain producers in crisis, the world is looking to Canada to step up. Our world-class agriculture and agri-food industry is a major driver of food security in over 200 countries around the world. Last year, despite the challenges of the pandemic, our agri-food exports topped $82 billion to 204 countries and territories. Farmers need tools and support to keep their businesses strong so they can feed Canada and they can feed the world. We have committed to farmers getting them there. Right now farmers are facing shortages and higher costs for their inputs, particularly fertilizer and fuel, due to the disruption of supply chains caused by the conflict in Ukraine. Fertilizer is absolutely vital to Canadian farmers to grow their crops and to feed the world. We are working with governments, provinces and industry partners to ensure that farmers have access to fertilizer for Canada to do its part during this time of global food insecurity. As well as a leading food producer, Canada is also the world's single-largest producer and exporter of potash fertilizer. We are putting money towards making the largest potash-producing mine in the world one of the greenest. On Monday, my colleagues, the Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry, as well as the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food announced $100 million in federal support to ensure a new potash mine in Jansen, Saskatchewan, is sustainable. Our support for this innovative project is a long-term investment for global food security and environmental sustainability, and it will ensure Canada's position as a leading exporter of potash. During the pandemic, we introduced a number of measures to ensure the supply chain worked as effectively as possible, including support for farmers and food processors to invest in safety protocols to keep their farms and plants running. We are also working to strengthen our trade corridors so our farmers can get their world-class products to their global customers on time. To maximize our trade opportunities, we have worked hard to diversify our trade through agreements with key trading partners, including the European Union, North America and the countries of the trans-Pacific. However, ensuring global food security starts right here at home. Everyone deserves access to healthy, affordable and perishable food options. During the pandemic, our government worked with partners to deliver important supports to food banks, community food programs and food baskets in indigenous and northern communities, redirecting supplies of food to remote communities to ensure no food went to waste, as well as investments in food infrastructure. At the start of the pandemic, our government acted quickly, injecting $25 million into nutrition north Canada. Not only did this make food more affordable in the north, but additional items were added to the subsidy list. Our government also introduced the harvesters support grant, which increases access to country foods by providing funding to support traditional hunting in the north, harvesting and food sharing in 108 isolated northern communities. It recognizes the importance of traditions, as well as hunting, harvesting and food sharing, to the health and well-being of indigenous people and communities. No single department, organization or initiative has the capacity to address the issue of food security on its own, as the root cause of food insecurity is poverty. Our government is working directly with partners to address food security in the north and Arctic through a whole-of-government approach that includes working with provinces, territories and indigenous leadership and communities. The best way to strengthen global food security is to support the hard-working individuals producing the world's food and to work with local communities in partnership to address needs here at home and abroad. That is exactly what we are doing.

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Mr. John Barlow (Foothills, CPC)

Jun/16/22 8:17:59 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the minister talked in his speech about the importance of fertilizer. Not only is it access to fertilizer, but I think the other issue about fertilizer is affordability. We have seen the cost of fertilizer in many parts of the country go up 100%. Canada is the only G7 country on the planet that is charging a 35% tariff on Russian fertilizer. Many times we have asked the Liberal government to exempt that tariff on fertilizer purchased before March 2. We now know that this tariff is costing Canadian farmers about $150 million a year. The minister just mentioned that the government gave $100 million to the largest mining company on the planet when they have record fertilizer revenues, not to make increased production at this fertilizer plant near Saskatoon but to ensure that it uses electric vehicles. Would he not agree that a better use of that $100 million would be to provide compensation to farmers for their own fertilizer tariff?

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Hon. Dan Vandal

Jun/16/22 8:19:00 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to say first of all that it is incredibly important that we are having this debate today. I can speak for the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. Her department is actively engaged not only with provinces across the west, but with the farmers and industry partners to ensure that farmers have access to fertilizer for Canada to do its part during this very difficult period of global food and security. With respect to the BHP Jansen mine announcement in Saskatchewan this week, this will be the largest potash mine in the world. We make absolutely no apologies for doing our part in working with industry. This will ensure potash not only for the medium term but for the long term, and will ensure that Canada will be an actual leading producer for generations to come, creating absolutely hundreds of jobs in the process.

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Mrs. Julie Vignola (Beauport—Limoilou, BQ)

Jun/16/22 8:20:22 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, a few moments ago, I was speaking about the importance of teaching a person to fish. I used to live in the near-northern town of Fermont, which did not have road access until 1984. I know and remember very well how expensive food can be, such as a $15 salad. Even a $25 million investment to help communities even farther north than Fermont, which is after all only on the 52nd parallel, is a band-aid solution. What steps does the government plan to take and what measures will it implement in order to help communities access reasonably priced, healthy food?

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Hon. Dan Vandal

Jun/16/22 8:21:22 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, the $25 million that I spoke about was an investment from the middle of the pandemic. In budget 2021, we increased the budget by $163 million for a series of initiatives to address food security in the north, which is very important. We know that everything is more expensive for remote communities. There are no access roads or transportation. That is why we are also investing in building better infrastructure, roads and different ways to encourage transportation so that these communities can better look after their food needs. It is going to take more than just one department to make this change happen. It will require initiative from the entire government and all levels of government, including indigenous governments. That is our initiative, and we will continue to find partners to address this serious issue.

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The Chair

Jun/16/22 8:22:50 p.m.
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Here is where I give my reminder to everyone that the quicker we can ask questions and answer questions, the more people can participate in the debate as we go along. Resuming debate, the hon. member for Chatham-Kent—Leamington.

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Mr. Dave Epp (Chatham-Kent—Leamington, CPC)

Jun/16/22 8:23:05 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Regina—Lewvan. I wish I were speaking more about Canadian food security this evening than speaking about global food insecurity. Prior to being elected, I farmed for most of my life. I have spent a lot of time in agricultural organizations and I also worked with an internationally focused NGO. It has been mentioned here tonight, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, which deals with hunger, and so, with that background, I have spent a lot of time working for food and talking and thinking about it. If I had to title my remarks today, I would title them with the axiom that we hear at the farm, “nothing cures high prices like high prices”, and its corollary, “nothing cures low prices like low prices”. Ag pundits often cite this expression when they are talking describing volatile agricultural markets, but we might ask ourselves what this has to do with global food insecurity and why should Canadians care. Embedded in that expression actually lies one of the solutions to this crisis that we are facing, albeit it is a bit more of a longer-term solution, but respecting and understanding market dynamics is something we all need to collectively do. This works if governments and we collectively respect how markets work. High prices of anything, food and any product, encourage more production and increase supply. Low prices encourage demand and eventually high prices. I will come back to this in a moment but with the corollary that governments understand this dynamic. Let me speak for a second to why Canadians should care. Obviously, we are all experiencing increasing grocery prices and grocery food. Canada is a rich country. On average, we spend about 10% of our disposable income on the cost of food, which is much lower than in many parts of the world. However, the vulnerable in our own society feel the brunt more than many of us. We know that many problems do not respect international borders. We are dealing with greenhouse gases and climate. That does not respect the border. As we have learned, travel mandates and things like that have not slowed the spread of COVID-19. So too the effects of global hunger in other parts of the world will affect us. I am reminded that World War II was not declared in 1939 when Hitler crossed boundaries into Poland and Czechoslovakia. World War II came from a conflation of various regional conflicts. Whenever in any part of the world a population's average caloric daily intake falls below 1,800 calories, there is civil unrest, food riots, hunger, all sorts of other problems. Let us think back to the Arab Spring. It is important to put a few stats on the record. Global food hunger was actually decreasing through 2014. It has been mentioned that conflict around the world has actually been driving those numbers up. It was down to under 600 million people. The latest figures put it at over 800 million, with 50 million people actually facing acute starvation. There are two issues. As I mentioned in a question earlier, the price and availability of food require both short-term and longer-term responses. To address food instability, food needs to be available. My former employer worked in this space. Certainly, in a short-term response, we do need to supply cash. The Canada Foodgrains Bank led Canada to delinking our food aid back in 2008, which is a good thing, but what we need to do far more is to drive the cost of food down as well. For that, our Canadian agriculture needs all of the tools at its disposal, certainly fertilizer and access to fertilizer. Restrictions on the use needs to be balanced with our environmental responsibility, but we cannot be putting policies in place today that impact Canadians' ability to produce food. The carbon tax has been talked about as well. As I said, high prices cure high prices. More supply is attracted by high prices. For the world's poor, we absolutely need to put more food onto the market, which will lower the cost, which is the second possibility. Let us put our collective efforts toward those aims.

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Mr. Kody Blois (Kings—Hants, Lib.)

Jun/16/22 8:28:14 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, as my hon. colleague from Chatham-Kent—Leamington mentioned, he has ties to Ukraine. We heard him contribute in a very meaningful way on the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. I want to ask him a couple of things. He highlighted very precisely what the challenge is in vulnerable countries and the geopolitical dynamic that could come from that, and I applaud that because it is spot on. We heard in Kharkiv, which is where the plant-breeding research station is in Ukraine, was targeted directly by the Russian Federation. We heard from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations that it is going to try to salvage some of the varieties that are there. I am of the view Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada can work constructively to help rebuild some of the varieties where there might be some common overlap. Does he believe that would be a constructive solution the government can work on, and will he constructively raise that to help push the government to work in that domain?

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Mr. Dave Epp

Jun/16/22 8:29:12 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, yes, I absolutely will. I enjoy the work my hon. colleague and I do together at the agriculture committee. We need both short-term and long-term responses. There is a call for an immediate cash injection, and I support those efforts. From a longer-term perspective, Canada has expertise. In my time at the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, I often spoke, and it was referenced earlier by the member for Beauport—Limoilou, about the analogy of fishing and giving a person a fish compared to teaching a person how to fish to reduce the need for further fish down the road. The third stool, which is not often talked about, is access to the pond. I believe the hon. member's question concerns that third component. We need to not only teach and provide Canadian expertise in other parts of the world, but also give access to the pond so they can fish. There is that seed bank of Kharkiv, as well as other efforts. As Canadians, we have to develop the infrastructure in other parts of the world, and that is something that can absolutely be supported.

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Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie (Joliette, BQ)

Jun/16/22 8:30:12 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I would like my colleague to elaborate on those examples and tell us how our own expertise can support and develop production in developing countries that are facing food shortages.

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Mr. Dave Epp

Jun/16/22 8:30:31 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, some things we, in primary agriculture in Canada, take for granted are actually not very well known in other parts of the world. What we consider as second nature for conservation and agriculture, such as crop rotation and keeping the ground covered with residue, are not well known in places such as Ethiopia. It was the first to plow the land, and has been for 7,000 years, so there is a massive culture change required to bring that about. I will give honours to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, as its curriculum has been adopted by the Ethiopian government, and it is incorporating that into its agriculture because of the draughts it experiences. It is increasing its food production by adopting some things we take for granted. I was in Tanzania and saw some simple things such as scattering corn versus planting it in a row. Things we take for granted are things we can export and teach.

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