SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 103 - Sep/27/22

Mr. Francis Drouin (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lib.)

Sep/27/22 3:03:58 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, on-farm fuel for farmers is exempt. As he would remember as well, through the fall economic statement last year we provided a carbon tax rebate for farmers, which they are eligible for this year, based on farm expenses.

46 words

Context: House Hansard - 103 - Sep/27/22

Mr. Francis Drouin (Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lib.)

Sep/27/22 6:42:57 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, I would like to remind the member for Regina—Lewvan that this government has been making significant investments in Canadian agriculture. I am glad that he has been asking many questions, but I am going to stick to agriculture, as that is my passion and my job in the House. I would remind the hon. member as well of the way our government has been supporting agriculture. Our total budget for 2021-22 was just shy of $4 billion, the highest in recent years. I would also remind him that there was $400 million cut when the Conservatives' hero, Mr. Harper, was in government. We have put back $500 million, and I am glad that the Province of Saskatchewan signed on this July for the federal-provincial-territorial meeting, which created a new program. This includes historic investments in innovation, business risk management, market development and compensating our producers and processors under supply management. We fully recognize that the price of inputs increased due to a number of factors, including COVID and supply-chain disruptions, which is why we have taken concrete actions to help producers facing this challenge. We increased interest-free loans to provide them with the necessary cash flow to access key inputs, such as fertilizer. We increased the interest-free portion of the advance payments program from $100,000 to $250,000 to help producers cover the cost of inputs, including fertilizer, which is an average savings of $7,700 per producer and a total savings of $69 million over two years for the approximately 11,000 producers who take advantage of advances above $100,000. Canadian producers have access to business risk management programs, and we continue to make them more bankable for them. In July, federal, provincial and territorial ministers agreed to increase the compensation rate under AgriStability to 80%, and I think that is good news for Saskatchewan. It would be up to an additional $72 million per year to better support our farmers in times of need. This builds on our removal last year of the reference margin limit, which could increase the overall amount that the program pays out to Canadian farmers by another $95 million a year. We worked hard to ensure that Canadian producers have the support they need to succeed in the 2022 growing season, and producers have responded. As the harvest nears completion, Statistics Canada is projecting significant increases in production this year compared to last year, with over 55% for wheat and almost 40% for canola. Let me remind the House that climate change is real. Last year, western farmers lost 38.5% of their crops. On this side of the House, we needed to act as this supports agriculture across Canada, and we are closely monitoring the situation with regard to the sourcing of the fertilizer needed for 2023.

477 words

Context: House Hansard - 103 - Sep/27/22

Mr. Francis Drouin

Sep/27/22 6:47:09 p.m.
Watch

Madam Speaker, the member is so passionate about agriculture, and that is the one thing we share, whether from eastern Ontario or from Saskatchewan. We have had the opportunity to sit together on the ag committee, and while we are trading barbs, we are still friends outside of the House. I can assure the member that for the 30% emissions reduction, we will achieve that by providing incentives and not by regulation. There will be no bans on fertilizer of any sort, it is just a matter of providing incentives, and farmers have done an amazing job. Some farmers have adopted 4R, and we have provided some funding to the Canola Council of Canada so that it can increase the uptake on the 4R program with canola farmers out west. I think that is great news for agriculture, and I am sure that the hon. member will welcome the $500 million more of investments in agriculture that we announced this year, and that we announced in partnership with Saskatchewan.

169 words