44th Parl. 1st Sess.
June 16, 2022 10:00AM
- Jun/16/22 6:54:19 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Chair, I heard the minister's comments and I wanted to ask him about the amount of food we are producing in the world and how we are going to continue to produce that amount of food, given that we are cutting back on so many of the food inputs, which includes the fertilizer that we know is being cut off in the Ukrainian conflict with Russia. At the same time, we are actually talking about cutting back more of our fertilizer production here in Canada. I am talking about ammonia fertilizer, which is about 35% of the world's fertilizer. If we stop producing fertilizer, we will stop producing enough food in the world and we will have more hungry people. A world growing from eight billion people to 10 billion people will have less food.
Does the minister see this formula changing any time in the near future?
151 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/16/22 7:36:53 p.m.
- Watch
Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague from Beauce and I commend him for all his work and the positive contribution he makes to the House.
There are many things that can be done. When I tour my riding and I meet with our farmers, I am always very touched. In the agricultural sector, the women and men who put food on our tables are not, in my opinion, given enough credit by the public, by the entire population and by elected members. The first thing to do would be to recognize the essential role they play for all of us here.
If we compare the support the government provides to agriculture, Canada does half as much as the United States and three to four times less than Europe, according to the numbers from my critic colleague. If Canada is able to produce a lot with less support, then that is great, but let us never forget that agriculture is a strategic industry since it meets a basic need: feeding the population.
The sector needs recognition, which could take many forms, including real crop insurance.
The labour shortage is another issue. I was on the phone again today with the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship's team, talking about temporary foreign workers. Then there is the tax on Russian fertilizer that was purchased and paid for before the war started in Ukraine. We have a lot to do.
I believe that society as a whole needs to be more involved to better support our farmers, who experience a lot of stress because they are isolated and drowning in work. There is nothing more important to society than the work they do, the critical work of feeding people.
287 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/16/22 9:43:19 p.m.
- Watch
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.
678 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/16/22 9:59:44 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Chair, I am happy to address that. Let us trust those professionals who understand the products, the techniques and the practices that allow Canadians and Canadian farmers to produce the best-quality products in the world.
When it comes to things like glyphosate, let us not get into what it replaced. For so many of the challenges when it comes to some of the very misleading headlines about glyphosate in some food products, the solution is really simple, and it is best practices. We do not need the heavy hand of government, especially when it comes from uninformed activists, telling farmers what they should or should not do when they are already the best in the world at growing the crops that the world needs more of right now.
130 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/16/22 10:11:35 p.m.
- Watch
My colleague is right, Madam Chair. This is a problem, not only for today, but also for tomorrow and next year. We will have to work with our international partners to fix this problem.
We must continue to support Ukraine in this war. We must also continue to work together to help Canadian farmers produce the essential foods that our country and the world need.
65 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- Jun/16/22 10:42:38 p.m.
- Watch
Madam Chair, the “sundae with the cherry on top” would love to answer that question. I will not address the other things my colleague said because it could become a bit of a slippery slope.
She asked me to talk about our success stories. Every chance I get, I talk about supply management. A great example is the COVID-19 crisis. Some milk was thrown away at first, but that was a very temporary situation. Farmers adjusted very quickly. They had much less difficulty than other producers, overall, because the quantity and the price are controlled. That is how you control quality.
However, in order to succeed and continue to manage this system, we have to continue to control imports. If too many foreign products start coming into the country, if our local farmers decide to reduce the quantity they produce, if products continue to come in by the truckload from abroad, the system will no longer work.
As for not repeating the mistakes of the past, we should never again give away a single share of the supply management market. We should promote it abroad, especially in African countries, where I think it would work really well. We should protect it with the Bill C-282, a fine bill. Do not forget the number, it is going to make an impact.
225 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
