44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 16, 2022 10:00AM
- Jun/16/22 6:46:08 p.m.
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Madam Chair, first of all, I want to acknowledge all the firefighters who were here today and thank them for their sacrifice.
Vladimir Putin's unwarranted invasion of Ukraine has triggered the largest shock to the global food system in the past 12 years. It has caused global food prices to rise over 30% since January of this year, and over 60% since the beginning of the pandemic.
Just last month, when I was in South Sudan, I met with some of the people who are being directly impacted by the rise in prices, with over 75% of South Sudan facing severe food insecurity.
The World Food Programme estimates that an all-time high of up to 49 million people in 46 countries could be at risk of falling into famine or famine-like conditions in 2022. The humanitarian situation in Ukraine and its neighbouring countries, as well as the global food security crisis, are top priorities for me and our government. We continue to work closely with our allies and key international partners to respond effectively to this rapidly evolving, multi-faceted crisis.
Over the past weeks and months, I have spoken with my G7 counterparts, UN officials and the head of the World Food Programme to see what more we can do to help. We have been acting to support the most vulnerable during these unprecedented times.
In the Sahel, in April, I announced over $82 million to support United Nations agencies, the International Committee of the Red Cross and non-governmental organizations in their work to address acute malnutrition and food insecurity.
In the Horn of Africa, I announced $73 million for gender-responsive humanitarian and development assistance to meet the needs of people in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia to respond to the severe drought conditions that could result in over 20 million people across the region needing emergency food assistance in 2022.
In Syria and the neighbouring countries like Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt and Turkey, we are seeing refugees fleeing from conflict who need additional support, including food assistance, which is why we announced over $169 million in humanitarian funding to help people meet their basic needs.
In Yemen, where years of conflict have caused the suffering of so many people, especially women and children, who bear the brunt of the crisis, we announced over $62 million to provide life-saving food and support for health care, clean water and sanitation.
We know that Canada cannot be an island of stability in an ocean of turmoil. Eventually, the ripples of conflict will reach our shores. We know too well that food insecurity and conflict are part of a vicious cycle. People who are desperate make desperate choices to feed their families, with poverty and food insecurity leading to political unrest and social tensions, and fuelling conflict.
Since the invasion of Ukraine by Vladimir Putin, we have seen public demonstrations in many places, which have left us concerned about the risk of broader social unrest. Citizens are taking to the streets, protesting against the rapidly increasing food and fuel prices. These strikes and protests are happening against the backdrop of continuous conflicts and violence driving acute food insecurity in countries like Ethiopia, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
It is why we have been taking action and will continue to take action on food insecurity, because, at the end of the day, international assistance is conflict prevention.
As we speak today, millions of people cannot meet their basic needs for food and clean water, with women and children most severely impacted. It is why our feminist international assistance policy looks at the unique challenges that women and girls face. Women's involvement is essential in order to find long-lasting solutions for all. Our focus on the nexus between conflict and food security must be done with a clear understanding of gender dynamics and support of women as positive agents of change.
Given the rapid rise in food insecurity, especially among women and girls, we must respond to the immediate humanitarian needs while simultaneously supporting the resilience of vulnerable families and communities. This means investing in agriculture and food systems. While I was in South Sudan, I met with women farmers who were working on innovative, sustainable solutions for agriculture, feeding not only themselves and their families, but their communities, the surrounding regions and their country.
We are working to urgently implement long-term solutions, solutions that promote sustainable peace and break the vicious cycle of poverty, hunger and conflict.
Against this backdrop of large-scale challenges, we have been working with our partners in the G7, with multilateral organizations like the World Food Programme, UNICEF and UNHCR, and with non-governmental organizations like the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Save the Children and Nutrition International, so that we can make sure that we have a coordinated and effective response to this challenge.
We are already mounting a considered and comprehensive response to respond effectively to the growing food security needs. We are already providing over $514 million in humanitarian assistance in response to the global food crisis to address growing emergency needs, both in Ukraine and in more than 40 developing countries most affected by this crisis. Our funding is supporting activities such as the provision of emergency cash, vouchers and in-kind food assistance, as well as effective nutrition intervention.
In addition to providing emergency life-saving humanitarian assistance, Canada is also committed to addressing the root causes of food insecurity. Through development assistance, we work to support the resilience of agriculture in vulnerable countries impacted by the global food crisis. In the last fiscal year, Canada provided over $547 million to support the resilience of agriculture and food systems in developing countries.
Since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Canada has provided over $125 million to the African Development Bank to support small and medium-sized agri-businesses in Africa, and to the International Fund for Agricultural Development to support climate-smart agriculture in rural communities located in developing countries.
We are also doubling our investments in the Agricultural Market Information System, and we will work in close collaboration with partners to look into expanding it to monitor the fertilizer crisis. We believe that advocating for market transparency is crucial to keeping prices down, stabilizing price volatility and ultimately reducing poverty and food insecurity for the poorest and most vulnerable people who struggle to access food.
Canada will continue to provide both humanitarian and development assistance in response to this evolving crisis. We must stand in solidarity with Ukraine and those affected by this war. We must stand in solidarity with countries and communities in the developing world that are now facing the pressing food security crisis triggered by Vladimir Putin's unnecessary and inhumane war. We must strengthen the weaknesses in agriculture and food systems globally, in partnership with nations that need assistance. I also look forward to working with Canadian NGOs in matching and enhancing their efforts.
We must act urgently to address the immediate needs in this food insecurity crisis.
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- Jun/16/22 7:04:14 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to say at the beginning of my intervention that I am encouraged by the words of the minister that the Liberal government now understands the importance of things like fertilizer and gene editing and seed technology and the role they will play in the future for food security, because I would think we are in the midst of a food security crisis. This is not something that will happen; this is something that is happening right now. I would hope the minister understands the critical geopolitical role that Canadian agriculture can play, not only here at home but around the world.
To put this in perspective, Ukraine is the breadbasket of much of Europe, Asia and Africa. The uncertainty that is going around with this conflict is certainly have a significant impact on the price of these commodities, and not only in Europe. We were very naive if we thought we were not going to be impacted here at home as well.
We had the honour of having the Ukrainian minister of the economy at committee the other day, and I want to mention a quote from him. He said that Ukraine is seeing a catastrophe on top of a catastrophe, with a global impact seen since World War II, and that farmers have dropped their breadbaskets to stand in breadlines. That is very apropos and puts some perspective on how serious this situation is.
We also had the Ukrainian agriculture minister at committee. She said that Russian soldiers have occupied 23% of Ukraine. They are stealing grain, destroying critical infrastructure and blockading Ukraine's ports. This will seriously impact Ukraine's ability to export whatever harvest of commodities it may be able to achieve this spring and again next year. As the minister said, this will lead to social unrest, famine and, very likely, conflicts around the world, especially around the Horn of Africa. How we respond here in Canada to this tragedy and this food insecurity crisis is critical.
I am going to go in a different vein than the minister did, because I think Canadian agriculture has a key role to play in addressing this food insecurity crisis. I was speaking to Canadian farmers across the country over the last few weeks and months as this started to unfold, and every single one of those farmers has said it is our moral obligation to step up and do everything we possibly can to address this food shortage crisis. They want to be there to help their allies and their friends in Ukraine. Certainly for us in western Canada especially, our agriculture sector was developed and the ground was broken by Ukrainian immigrants who came to Canada more than 100 years ago. We are in their debt.
However, for Canadian farmers to be able to do that, to reach that potential and to reach out and help to address this food shortage, they have to have the tools they need to be successful. Farmers certainly understand that there are many variables outside of their control, but there are some things they rely on from the federal government perspective to have certainty. These things include competitive regulatory and tax regimes, an efficient and reliable supply chain, bankable and efficient business risk management programs and access to global markets. I would argue that unfortunately the government is failing agriculture on all of these pillars right now, which is certainly handcuffing our ability to reach our full potential, to increase our yields to not only meet our commitments, not only here at home but around the world, and increase our ability to step up in times of crisis, as we are seeing right now.
One example of that is the federal carbon tax that the government has imposed on Canadian farmers. We heard at committee today from the Grain Farmers of Ontario about Bill C-8, which is what the Liberals have said is the carbon rebate program to farmers. The message that we are getting from the Liberals all the time is that the carbon tax is revenue-neutral, that whatever a Canadian is paying into that carbon tax, they are getting back. However, we heard in testimony today from the Ontario grain farmers that they are getting back between 13% and 15% of what they pay in the carbon tax. That is a long way from being revenue-neutral. In fact, I would say that it is misleading Canadians when the government says this program is revenue-neutral. It is far from that. The impact is that it is hurting Canadian farmers in their ability to innovate, invest and grow their business and certainly to grow their yields.
The CFIB pretty much ratified those numbers from the Ontario grain farmers, saying that what the farmer is going to be paying in a carbon tax is going to go from $14,000 on average to $45,000 on average as a result of the increase on April. According to Finance Canada today, the average farmer gets back $800 a year. The farmers are putting in $45,000 and getting $800 back. Again, that is nowhere near revenue-neutral.
This program is devastating and unnecessary to Canadian farmers, especially when we have put forward a much better solution in Bill C-234, which would exempt farm fuels from the carbon tax, especially natural gas and propane for heating barns and drying grain. This would allow farmers to reinvest that money in the things they need to improve their operations.
The Food and Agriculture Organization has said that the linkage between energy prices, such as the carbon tax, and fertilizers has put the agriculture sector at significant risk. Renowned agriculture trade expert Robert Saik has said we must be making decisions based on science, not ideology, to ensure the sustainability and health of the agriculture sector.
The World Food Programme has said that 800 million people are facing food insecurity around the world. As a result of the conflict with Russia and its illegal invasion of Ukraine, they are expecting another 13 million people to be at risk of food insecurity. That shows us how serious this situation is and how important it is for Canadian farmers to be competitive and able to reach their potential.
To put that in perspective, the United States has not put a carbon tax on its agriculture sector. The United States is our biggest trading partner but also our biggest competitor on the global stage. In fact, the United States is also not punishing its farmers with a tariff on fertilizer. Canada is the only G7 country in the world that is charging a tariff on fertilizer.
We have asked the Liberal government to exempt the tariff on fertilizer purchased from Russia before March 2 to ensure that Canadian farmers are not carrying that burden, and I want to be really clear here: Vladimir Putin is not paying that tariff. The Russian military is not paying that tariff. Only Canadian farmers are paying that tariff. Now we have seen the numbers, and that tariff is going to cost Canadian farmers, especially in eastern Canada, about $150 million a year.
That is $150 million taken directly out of the pockets of Canadian farmers and going to the Liberal government's coffers. Not only is that a financial hit, but as a result of that we are going to see farmers using less fertilizer. The consequence is that we will have smaller yields. We already had a 40% decrease in yields last year because of weather issues. Depending on the weather, if we see that yield decrease further or not return back to our normal, it is going to have a significant impact. We are going to see food prices increase, not only around the world but here at home as well, and it will impact our ability to try to address food insecurity issues around the world. This only punishes Canadian farmers. It does not punish Vladimir Putin.
We also heard from the Ukrainian minister of agriculture that Ukraine needs seeds, machinery, fuel and temporary storage facilities for its grain and commodities. What it needs is for Canadian agriculture to be firing on all cylinders to make sure we can step up and help when it is needed. However, at this time of a global food security crisis, again when we need Canadian agriculture to be punching above its weight, the Liberals have decided to put burdensome red tape, regulations and taxes on Canadian farmers.
Another example is front-of-package labelling, which is a $2-billion bureaucratic burden on the industry. Not only will that impact Canadian beef, pork and veal farmers, but it will also impact our processors, manufacturers and consumers. We are talking about the food insecurity crisis and the impact it would have on people around the world, in Europe and the Horn of Africa, but food insecurity is also an issue here at home. If we cannot take care of our own, how are we expected to step up and take care of others in their time of need?
This is also sending a very frightening message to our trading partners. Why should they be importing Canadian beef and pork when we are admitting to the world that we feel our products are unhealthy?
In conclusion, in a time of crisis, instead of treating Canadian agriculture with disdain or as a carbon tax cash cow, the Liberals need to see modern Canadian agriculture and our farm families as a way out, as a way to step, as a key geopolitical tool in the fight against totalitarianism and the likes of Vladimir Putin.
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- Jun/16/22 7:14:16 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to commend and congratulate my colleague on his speech.
As my colleague said, the war in Ukraine means that there is less food globally, which is deplorable, hence the explosion that we can already see in food prices. We may be facing a worldwide shortage and famine.
At the same time, we see that our farmers here need fertilizers, which are produced primarily in Russia on a global scale. In many cases, these fertilizers were ordered, purchased and paid for before the war in Ukraine. However, deliveries are arriving now, if not a few weeks or months ago.
The government chose to bring in the 35% tax to punish Russia. However, since the fertilizers were already paid for and ordered before the war, the only ones hit by this tax are local farmers. Obviously, this is going to be reflected in the final cost, at a time of skyrocketing food prices and shortages.
What does my colleague think about this?
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- Jun/16/22 7:23:35 p.m.
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Madam Chair, the economic situation is out of control. People are worried about inflation, and rightly so. For instance, gas is at $2.24 a litre today in my riding, Joliette. This is devastating. The hardest hit are obviously low-income families whose obligations force them to drive a lot. The current reality is also really tough for businesses in certain sectors such as transportation, of course, as well as agriculture. Rising prices will help the energy transition in the long term, but will increase misery in the short term.
The cost of housing is no more encouraging. Finding available affordable housing has become mission impossible. The price of houses and condos has exploded. However, according to experts, rising food prices could soon overtake energy and housing prices by a wide margin. The world is at risk of a food shortage this year, which will lead to skyrocketing prices and a serious global famine.
The current situation is in large part a result of the war in Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine are the world's breadbasket. These two countries account for 30% of global wheat exports and 20% of global corn exports. They also export 65% of the world's sunflower oil. Russia has significantly cut back on its exports so that it can continue to feed its citizens at the same cost. As for Ukraine, its existing reserves are difficult to export, and there is a great deal of uncertainty about potential future harvests.
Food prices in Ukraine are skyrocketing, and Ukrainians could be facing a famine. For example, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, or FAO, around half of the wheat reserves and nearly 40% of the rye in Ukraine are in war-affected areas. The damage caused by the war will reduce grain reserves and limit production and cultivated acreage for years to come.
The damage to infrastructure makes it difficult to get humanitarian aid to Ukraine and to transport the resources that can still be saved.
According to the World Bank, global agricultural commodity prices rose 41% between January and May and are still rising. During the same period, the price of corn jumped 54%, and the price of wheat jumped 60%. With its current budgets, the UN World Food Programme cannot feed as many people.
Also according to the FAO, war and climate change are the main causes of global food insecurity, in Ukraine and elsewhere. It predicts that 44 countries will require food aid in 2022, particularly in West and East Africa due to conflicts in those regions, food commodity prices, and crop failures.
Faced with the expected risk of food shortages, several countries have begun halting exports in order to strategically prioritize their own people. For instance, India stopped exporting its wheat, and then Indonesia halted palm oil exports. This food protectionism could trigger a domino effect with even more tragic consequences.
Here, as elsewhere, production costs will soar, because the price of inputs has also exploded. For example, fertilizers come mostly from Russia and Belarus. Their prices had increased even before the war. Now they have doubled or tripled. What is more, this government is still imposing a 35% tax on them, even though they were ordered and paid for before the invasion of Ukraine.
The rising cost of diesel fuel must also be taken into account. When economist Sylvain Charlebois appeared before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Finance last month, the agri-food market expert said that supply chain issues are making it difficult for farmers to plan. Their inputs are not consistently available. He also reminded the committee that last summer, western Canada, the United States and Russia experienced major droughts, while Germany experienced major flooding. The result of all this was that the 2021 crops were so poor that reserves are currently low. They were counting on 2022 to replenish their reserves, but with the war, that will not be possible. The economist also added that it was not possible to increase cropland acreage in the short term. However, he did say that the spring flooding in Manitoba is not expected to have much of an impact on the harvest, as it delayed seeding by only a few weeks.
All that adds up to significantly higher food prices in the coming months, much higher than what we are seeing now. For example, Germany is expecting grocery prices to increase by an average of 50%. Food will be 50% more expensive. It should be less than that in Quebec and Canada. That is how it is likely to play out in rich countries.
People in poor countries will likely face famine, which is why international institutions are calling for greater solidarity, especially seeing as less wealthy countries were encouraged to go into debt to get through the pandemic more easily. As a result, they are now deep in debt and will not likely have the means to import enough food at high prices.
Add to that the fact that many of them are already subsidizing basic foods to make sure their citizens can feed themselves. These countries will have to import food at high prices even as they spend more of their budget on food subsidies. African countries are particularly vulnerable.
A significant portion of crops are now traded on the stock exchange. For example, a future crop can be sold in advance and traded several times on the stock exchange. This practice can drive up the price of commodities for speculative purposes. It is a bit like oil. People take advantage of the context to drive prices up and line their pockets. This situation is a reminder of the limits of using markets.
The situation is such that food will be a major problem this year and for years to come. According to a partner with the firm McKinsey, even with an optimistic view of the crisis, things are unlikely to return to normal before 2024. The food crisis will require an exemplary demonstration of international solidarity. It also reminds us that war always has a greater impact than anticipated. Let us hope that a peaceful resolution will be negotiated to end this war, primarily for the sake of the Ukrainian people, but also to limit the effects of a food crisis that has already begun.
We have an obligation to show solidarity to combat hunger on a global scale. We also need to do more to support our farmers. Finally, we must do more to ensure global peace and do our part to limit climate change. I hope this government is taking notes right now.
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- Jun/16/22 7:41:35 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I have to say I am absolutely delighted that we are having this debate today and that we have the opportunity to speak about this issue. I firmly believe that the food security crisis that is facing the global community is one of the most pressing issues affecting the world right now. I am going to speak about the impacts of Ukraine on this issue, but I want to start by saying that where we find ourselves today is not just a result of what has happened in Ukraine. In fact, before the war in Ukraine and before February 24, there was a food security crisis on the planet.
Before COVID, food insecurity was increasing significantly. During COVID, those numbers jumped massively, to the point where we had hundreds of millions of people around the world who were food-insecure. Then, the war in Ukraine happened. Two weeks ago, Russia destroyed a major grain warehouse in the city of Mykolaiv, Ukraine. The terminal plays a crucial role in getting grain out of Ukraine into the global market. Many people in North Africa and many people across the Middle East, which some people will describe as the “ring of fire”, are very dependent on the grain that comes from Russia and Ukraine. That major grain export warehouse was the hub for moving those grains around, so the conflict in Ukraine is making what was a very dire situation around the world in terms of food security much worse.
I have heard in the House tonight some talk about how we need to make sure that we give people the tools to produce their own food. I absolutely agree with that, but this is not an issue of giving people tools so they can access their own food. This is the fact that we have an emergency and crisis where there is no food going into these regions. People are urgently at risk of starving to death. This is the reality we are in. The reality is not that we should figure out how to get fertilizer to Canada. That is a different issue. This is not a reality of “we should figure out how to make sure that our development dollars are more effective”. That is a different issue.
What we are dealing with right now is an urgent food crisis where people around the world, in Afghanistan, Lebanon and North Africa, are going to die because they do not have enough food. It is a different conversation that we need to be having in this place right now. I understand the desire to talk about a whole bunch of different things, like the price of oil and gas or the issues that farmers in western Canada are facing. I come from western Canada, and I understand that, but this debate needs to be on the lives of the millions of food-insecure people around the world who will die if the global community does not step up and deal with this.
I want to talk about the implications of that a little. What we are seeing with Vladimir Putin is a madman who has no interest in caring for people around the world. He knows exactly what he is doing when he stops food and crops from leaving Ukraine. He is causing and sowing mayhem in other countries.
Members know what happens when there is not enough food: There is conflict. That happens. People go to war if they cannot feed themselves and if they cannot feed their families. What a perfect way for Vladimir Putin to make the west blink: to make the west divert its attention from Ukraine by having conflict in North Africa, Afghanistan and the Middle East. It is a perfect plan if western countries and the globe do not come together and respond appropriately.
I have to tell members that we have some very clear solutions. We have heard from experts. I will quote until the end of time one of my very favourite people in the entire world, Mr. David Beasley, who is from the World Food Programme and who incidentally has asked time and again to have food security commitments from this country be indexed to the price of food. That is a very clear ask from the World Food Programme. I hope people in this place are listening when I say that this is something the community has asked for. It is something that specialists and Nobel Prize-winning organizations have asked for.
I also want to mention some of the other things we can do. I think it would be irresponsible to come to this and talk about the people who are starving around the world and not provide those solutions, those options, of what Canada can and should do, because there are options here. The next G7 meeting will be happening in Germany in a few weeks' time. The NATO summit is in Madrid, and will take place at the end of June. The Government of Canada can ensure that the global food crisis is on the agenda at those meetings and Parliament can ensure that this happens. We can make sure there is pressure we are putting on our government. We can ensure that famine prevention and response are a core part of the 2022 G7 agenda and at other global forums such as the G20, as well as in the discussions ongoing with the World Bank and the IMF. We can make sure that food security is on those agendas.
Canada right now should be pledging $600 million toward food security around the world. That is the ask, and this urgent pledge needs to happen and be announced very quickly. That $600 million needs to be spent fast. It needs not just to be promised. I do not want a minister to stand up and promise these dollars and not deliver them for weeks at a time. This needs to happen very quickly. This is an urgent need. This money cannot come from other pots. It cannot be money that was devoted to women and girls or to humanitarian aid in Ukraine. It has to be money that is used for food security.
I will say as well that Canada needs to up its game on food security in the long run. I have mentioned in this place before that we give $250 million a year. We are not providing our fair share of food security money to the global community. We need to up that to at least $400 million a year, and it needs to be an annual commitment. It needs to be something Canada stands for. If we are a country that believes in human rights, that believes in women's rights and that has a feminist foreign policy, that is something Canada can do and needs to do right now.
I will tie this very quickly to our responses with respect to Ukraine. We have heard from members of the government and the opposition that there needs to be more commitment to defence spending with NATO. The call has been to ask for 2% of spending for NATO. Do members know what we spend on humanitarian aid in this country? It is 0.3%. What we are saying is that as a country that believes in human rights, in multilateralism and in global solutions to global problems, we are prepared to spend 2% on defence spending and get nowhere near that in humanitarian aid or in official development assistance. We just have that as a fraction. I look around the world and see places like Denmark, which spends 2% on NATO. That is great. It also spends the promised 0.7% on ODA. It also meets its commitments in humanitarian aid. I would say if we are going to raise one we cannot not raise the other because it means that we do not believe in people. It means that we are not supportive of that.
I know I am running out of time. I am going to quote David Beasley from the UN World Food Programme one more time. He came to the foreign affairs committee and told us that Canada and other developed countries have an option. We have a choice. We can pay right now, or we can pay a thousand times more if we wait. That is only in dollars. That is not in human lives, that is not in human suffering and that is not what Canada should be doing.
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- Jun/16/22 9:03:28 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I will be splitting my time with my colleague from Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan.
I rise today to speak on a very serious and urgent issue. The world is facing a global food crisis.
Earlier this year, I shared a quote in this House from Dr. Sylvain Charlebois, a professor and researcher of food distribution at Dalhousie University. He stated, “We need to be clear on the fact that by fall more than 100 million people will experience either famine or severe hunger.”
Every day we sit on the sidelines the situation continues to get worse. I am glad to see the House has finally taken this matter seriously after Canada’s Conservatives requested today’s debate. However, it is one thing to talk about this crisis and it is another thing to actually tackle it.
Approximately four-fifths of the world’s population lives in a country that is a net importer of food. Canada is one of the few remaining agricultural exporting nations on earth. We are one of the only nations with the potential to feed the world, but in order to do this, we need a political and economic environment that enables us to do so.
The reality is that Canada currently has a Liberal government that is working against Canadian agriculture. How can we produce more food when our own government is punishing farmers for doing so?
We are the only country in the G7 with a tariff on fertilizer. Canadian farmers are literally being financially punished by the carbon tax for producing and transporting food, and now the government is actually trying to discourage the purchase of Canadian ground beef with new labelling regulations. Does this sound like an environment that enables Canada to feed the world? Absolutely not. Instead of focusing on growing more food when the world needs it the most, the government is standing in the way.
As food insecurity continues to escalate because of Russia’s unjustified war on Ukraine, countries are sounding the alarm. According to reports, there are currently 26 countries implementing severe restrictions on food exports. These restrictions cover 15% of the calories traded worldwide. It is no surprise that nearly 50% of the countries depend on Russia or Ukraine for more than 30% of their wheat imports.
This is not a problem that can be solved overnight. Growing food is a seasonal task. This means that the longer we wait, the greater the impact will be in the future.
I have always said that Canada should be an agricultural superpower. We should grow our processing capacity. We should increase our transportation efficiency. We should be a leader in biotechnology. There is no reason why Canada cannot be the world’s most reliable, high-quality supplier of agricultural goods in the world.
The global food crisis will impact some nations more than others. However, no one will escape the pain. Less developed nations will lose access to food and developed nations will pay more to obtain food.
As fertilizer prices continue to reach record highs, farmers are paying the price. The price of food increases when the cost to produce it increases. The most significant increase in production costs is fertilizer. However, industrial fertilizer is one of the only reasons we can feed the world today. Without fertilizer, yields would not be able to keep up with the growing population.
Unfortunately, farmers across the world can no longer afford fertilizer and are now reducing their usage. As a result, food production will continue to decrease.
I hope the government understands that the more it restricts fertilizer, the more it restricts food production. The government needs to wake up to the reality before us.
Let me be frank. The world desperately needs more food. Canada can either sit by as the world starves, or step up and feed the world. The choice is ours.
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- Jun/16/22 9:32:13 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I do have the highest esteem for my colleague from Edmonton Strathcona. I think she is a great member of Parliament.
In the immediate term, when we are discussing global food security, I would certainly advocate for any programs that go toward increasing the amount toward the World Food Programme, because that is the only way we have. There are vehicles in place and there are systems in place already, and if we reinvent the wheel, we are not going to get the food in time to stop famine in certain countries.
Canada will be able to eat, but at what price? There are countries, unfortunately, in the southern hemisphere that will simply run out of food. Canada has already announced $70 million for the World Food Programme, and I would certainly advocate for that to be increased, if it needs to be increased.
In the longer term—
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- Jun/16/22 9:43:19 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I will be sharing my time with my hon. colleague from Battle River—Crowfoot.
I rise to participate in this take-note debate on global food security, which was sponsored by my friend and colleague, the member for Foothills. As a member of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, I have had the opportunity to hear from many stakeholders from around the world about the topic we are discussing this evening.
What stood out to me the most was that all of the witnesses projected the same unfortunate reality that the world is at risk of famine in the coming months. Some people may be wondering what Canada can do about this. Let us be clear. Canada should be a global leader in producing and exporting food and easing any global food shortages. However, our country is struggling to get many of its products out to the global market.
Whether because of failed trade agreements, lack of processing capacity or even the labour shortage, our country is behind where it should be. It should be one of the world's food production powerhouses. Today's debate seeks to shed light on the problem, which begins of course with the war in Ukraine, but also with many other global tragedies.
Let us be honest: The government is contributing to the failures we are seeing today. Many of the problems we are seeing have been amplified by the current government. I would like to begin by discussing one of the problems that, in my opinion, strongly affects farmers, in other words the tariffs that Canada has imposed on Russian fertilizer. This financial burden is being borne by farmers and, once again, no relief has been provided to them. Worse, Canada is the only G7 country to impose such a tariff on Russian fertilizer, and it is our Canadian farmers who are paying the price and being punished.
We have proposed solutions. We asked the Liberal government to grant an exemption from the surcharge for fertilizer purchased before March 2, before Russia invaded Ukraine. The Liberals said no. We then asked them if they would compensate the farmers who have had to pay an exorbitant price for these tariffs. Again, the Liberals said no.
At a time when the world is facing an imminent threat of food insecurity, we are asking Canadian farmers to produce more. However, they are dealing with other policies that could limit their production, such as reducing fertilizer use and gas taxes.
The cost of inputs, such as crop protection products and fertilizers, recently increased dramatically, further reducing our farmers' already razor-thin margins. Ultimately, farmers are price takers and cannot recoup additional costs, unlike many other businesses. These crop inputs are some of the highest expenses for grain growers. They are used as efficiently as possible, but their use should not be limited by a government policy.
Canada can be part of the solution, but crops do not grow overnight. We therefore need to ensure that our farmers have the means to increase yields and production to help meet global food shortages.
The Conservatives have also proposed other solutions, such as Bill C-234. The problem could be fixed by exempting fuel for farms, lifting tariffs on fertilizer, cutting red tape, and ensuring reliable and accessible shipping and access to labour.
Many things are beyond our control, whether it is the weather or the geopolitical ramifications, but there is much the government can do and must do immediately to ensure that our farmers are equipped to help feed the world.
In conclusion, through the Chair, I would like to address the NDP-Liberal government and say that Canada must do better. We need a plan, a concrete plan, that will provide solutions for the short, medium and long terms to help not only feed the world, but to feed us Canadians.
Tough times lie ahead, and we need a leader who will bring Canadians together, finally cut through the red tape and make the decisions necessary for our country to prosper.
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- Jun/16/22 9:49:44 p.m.
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Madam Chair, what is really concerning is that we are dealing with an unprecedented situation where hunger and famine are being used as tools of war. It is really important for Parliament to be looking beyond our own backyard and how we might benefit.
I have lots of farmers in my region who could help, but we are dealing with a much larger international crisis, with Russian disinformation and war crimes. I am asking my colleagues about their willingness to put a larger frame on this. How are we going to deal with this in an age of destabilization, with the failure of globalization and the fact that the modern norms we have trusted in the international community are not helping us deal with a war criminal like Putin?
We need to have a broader, bigger picture. I am asking my colleague if can he articulate where he sees this going in an age of growing instability.
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- Jun/16/22 10:10:28 p.m.
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Madam Chair, there are already concerns about the number of countries living with food insecurity or even famine. There are 44 countries at risk, which is 20% of all the countries in the world. That is what is going on right now.
I always wonder why grain is part of the marketplace. I would think it should be a right, but that is all I will say, since I do not want to get scolded by my economist friends on the way out of the House.
We need to be thinking ahead to next year. Farmers who cannot sow this year will not be able to grow grain next year. If there is no grain this year, there will be even less next year, since there will be none at all. This means that next year, more than 20% of the countries in the world might need help. It could be 40%. How do we respond to that?
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- Jun/16/22 10:14:04 p.m.
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Madam Chair, I want to start by thanking the hon. member for Vancouver Granville for sharing his time with me.
I recognize that we stand on the traditional and unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinabe people.
This debate has been encouraging in that we recognize that there is a looming food crisis and food instability globally, but also dispiriting in that we seem to think we can bite off little chunks of it as an incremental set of issues within one silo called “food”. We are, in fact, facing multiple crises that influence each other and must be dealt with together.
I just pulled some clippings I have. I remember when the pandemic was first getting up and running and I flipped this article I found in The Guardian to the person who was then our Minister of International Development. She was also on it, saying she was getting to the World Food Programme. The article is from The Guardian, April 2020, and the headline is “Coronavirus pandemic 'will cause famine of biblical proportions'”. It quoted at length from David Beasley of the World Food Programme. That is where we started from: the pandemic causing huge risk of global food insecurity.
Then, of course, the climate crisis made all those issues worse, as it has from the beginning. I mean, the Arab Spring was caused by the geopolitical instability that created the wars in Syria and Libya. That came from prolonged drought, which meant that there were food breakdowns. There was a food insecurity crisis, and it created war. Now we have climate change galloping and galloping, and persistent droughts. Just this last season, we saw droughts in sub-Saharan Africa, droughts through the U.S. prairies, droughts through the Canadian prairies, and now we have an overlay of war.
I want to stop for a moment and say something about David Beasley, because I think it is really interesting. I got to know him through the U.S. presidential prayer breakfast. He is a Republican. He is a former Republican governor from the state of South Carolina. He lost his seat as governor of the state of South Carolina when he changed his position on the question of whether the Confederate flag should fly above the capitol. When he took down the Confederate flag, he lost his seat. As I may have mentioned, as a very dedicated Christian, he has put his talents where they are of most use, that being as the head of the UN World Food Programme. He knows what he is doing.
It is urgent that we save lives, and we do not save lives through dribs and drabs. Canada must commit at least the $600 billion that the World Food Programme says we need.
However, I will turn to another source right now. The question is, how do we, as humanity or as politicians, deal with more than one scary thing at a time? Are we capable of doing it? The word I want to use is “polycrisis”. It comes from Professor Thomas Homer-Dixon, who now runs a program called Cascade Institute in collaboration with scientists around the world. I just want to read something from the Cascade Institute website, because I think it helps us:
Humanity faces an array of grave, long-term challenges, now often labeled “global systemic risks.” They include climate change, biodiversity loss, pandemics, widening economic inequalities, financial system instability, ideological extremism, pernicious social impacts of digitalization [such as cyber-attacks], mounting social and political unrest, large-scale forced migrations, and an escalating danger of nuclear war. Compared to humanity’s situation even two decades ago, most of these risks appear to be increasing in severity and at a faster rate....
With one minute left, how do we address polycrises? I suggest that we do not address them as if it is normal business. It is not status quo. This requires that when the G7 meets later this month, when NATO meets, or whenever world governments meet together, they stop thinking that we are going to get out of this with incremental in-the-box thinking. We have to get way out of our boxes. We have to treat the global food insecurity crisis as an emergency and try to save tens of millions of lives while we can. We have to address it as part of the attack on Ukraine and defend Ukraine, but also ask Ukraine to take the mines out of the harbour in Odessa and tell Russia to take away its blockades because grain must move across borders.
We have to treat this as a geopolitical emergency and as a crisis of the human family. We can only do it all together.
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