44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 3, 2023 10:00AM
Madam Speaker, I am very pleased to speak today about Bill C-280, a private member's bill introduced by the member for York—Simcoe. Allow me to extend my congratulations to the bill's sponsor on this important work as it aims to protect our fresh produce farmers and sellers who provide Canadians with access to fresh produce for their families.
Bill C-280, an act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (deemed trust – perishable fruits and vegetables), addresses the need for payment protection in the fresh produce industry through insolvency law amendments in cases of buyer bankruptcy, receivership and large commercial restructuring.
The bill would create a special legal mechanism known as a “deemed trust” to pay the unpaid bills of fresh fruit and vegetable sellers ahead of all creditors if a buyer becomes insolvent. The deemed trust would provide important protection in insolvency proceedings to the sellers of fresh fruits and vegetables against unique payment risks faced by the fresh produce industry, such as the perishable nature of fresh produce.
Members of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food studied the bill with the assistance of testimony from representatives of the fresh produce industry and the bill was reported back to the House with unanimous support. With our support of Bill C-280, we hope to increase the likelihood that the United States will restore Canada's preferential access to the formal—
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Madam Speaker, we hope to increase the likelihood that the United States will restore Canada's preferential access to the formal dispute resolution process under the United States' Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, PACA, which regulates the fresh produce sector and provides financial protection for sellers.
I know I am about to be cut off, but PACA is a U.S. legislative and regulatory regime that regulates the fresh produce industry. I will continue at a later time.
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- Oct/3/23 6:34:27 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I am glad to have the opportunity today to, for the sake of accuracy, remind the House of a few things in response to the hon. member's question.
First, I want to point out that the agreement for the donation in question, to the Trudeau Foundation, which he raises, was made in 2014, prior to the 2015 election. Let us remember that at that time, the Liberals were the third party in standing.
Second, I will remind my hon. colleague of Mr. Alexandre Trudeau's testimony at the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics on May 3 of this year, in which he stated:
I must insist that there was no foreign interference, no possibility of interference and no intention or means of interference at or through the Trudeau Foundation.
No state or individual ever attempted to influence the Canadian government through the foundation.
We know that foreign interference and attempts by foreign actors to influence Canada's democracy are not new phenomena. That is why combatting potential threats to our democratic systems has been at the heart of our government's priorities, and we have maintained a clear and ongoing commitment to protecting Canadians democracy.
We are aware that threat actors have sought to erode trust in our democratic institutions and stoke tensions about government policies and decisions by targeting politicians, political parties and media outlets. Threat actors do this to influence public opinion and ultimately advance their interests, and that is why our security and intelligence agencies continue to support an integrated government response to those threats. Every day, Canada's security agencies, including the RCMP, undertake the work Canadians expect of them in order to ensure continued protection of Canadians and our democracy. Attempts to interfere in Canada's domestic affairs should not and will not be tolerated. We will continue to protect our sovereignty and our democracy.
On September 7, 2023, the government announced a public inquiry into foreign interference in the federal electoral processes and democratic institutions. This announcement followed extensive consultations and agreements with all political parties represented in the House of Commons. The hon. Justice Marie-Josée Hogue was given a mandate to examine and address foreign interference by China, Russia and other foreign state actors or non-state actors, including any potential impacts on the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Justice Hogue is also mandated to assess the capacity of federal entities to detect, deter and counter foreign interference targeting Canada's democratic processes, and to make any recommendations she deems appropriate to better protect Canada's democratic processes from foreign interference.
I would like to note that the government has, in addition, announced that it supports, as the member has raised, moving forward with a foreign agent registry.
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- Oct/3/23 6:39:17 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the opportunity to speak once again on this important issue. We have already identified that we will be moving forward with a foreign agent registry. We have mentioned many steps we are taking to protect our democracy, as it is incredibly important to us. It is not new to Canada.
What I find interesting about the member opposite's speech is that just some weeks ago, we had a very serious presentation by the Prime Minister on very serious allegations about questions of democracy and about the murder of a Canadian taking place on Canadian soil. We had a take-note debate, and on those grounds of an attempted foreign interference in our democracy, why were Conservatives silent in that debate? Why has the member opposite not even mentioned what has happened here or the potential impacts of India's involvement in that murder?
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- Oct/3/23 6:44:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I know that my hon. colleague is incredibly passionate about this topic, and I enjoy listening to her. I take her feedback very seriously. I also wish her well.
We are committed to strengthening Canada's democratic institutions. Our electoral system, along with the fundamental rules that determine how votes are translated into seats in the House of Commons, is one of the most foundational pieces of our democracy. Among many things, it provides Canadians with a direct connection to their members of Parliament, who must work with each other to develop national policy and make political decisions, while engaging with and remaining accountable to their constituents in an increasingly digital and connected Canada.
Our current first-past-the-post system is not perfect, as the member acknowledges. She raises crucial points. However, no system is perfect. Ours has served Canada well for over 150 years, and it continues to advance the democratic values that Canadians want reflected in their system of government. This includes strong local representation, stability and accountability. How Canadians vote and how we govern ourselves are fundamentally important points that impact us all. Given that, the government's view has been very clear: Any major reforms to the electoral system should not be made without the broad support of Canadians. We consulted very broadly with Canadians, and a clear preference for a new electoral system, let alone a consensus, did not emerge. Therefore, the government decided not to proceed.
However, the government has continued to work to improve Canada's federal electoral process. Notably, in 2018, the government introduced the Elections Modernization Act, which represented a significant reform of the Canada Elections Act. Parliament passed this important legislation, which modernized the electoral process, making it easier for Canadians to participate in elections and further bolstering Canadians' trust and confidence in Canada's world-class and independently administered electoral system.
For example, these changes made the federal electoral process more accessible by reducing barriers for persons with all types of disabilities, Canadians living abroad and Canadian Armed Forces members, so they can vote and participate more fully in the electoral process. It has also made it easier for Canadians to vote by giving the chief electoral officer additional flexibility to run elections more efficiently, thereby reducing wait times, and to extend the hours for advanced polls and use mobile polls to better serve remote and isolated communities.
I would also note that the supply and confidence agreement established in March 2022 between the leader of the NDP and the Prime Minister included several commitments aimed at maintaining the health of Canada's democracy and removing potential barriers to voting and participation.
We will continue to work with Elections Canada to explore ways to expand people's ability to vote, including by improving the mail-in ballot process. These are just some of the important issues that the government is focused on to deliver for Canadians.
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- Oct/3/23 6:49:55 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, once again, I appreciate my colleague's input.
During the time when Canadians were being consulted, I too held consultations in my riding. Those meetings were very difficult, as everybody has very different opinions and is passionate about what is the best electoral process for Canada. As I stated in my earlier remarks, the government felt very strongly that unless we had widespread consensus, changing such a significant tool of our democracy would not be able to move forward.
We are deeply committed to making the electoral process better and fairer. I know the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs is also looking at this, and we welcome additional comments and conversations on how we can make improvements to our electoral system.
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