44th Parl. 1st Sess.
October 19, 2023 10:00AM
- Oct/19/23 3:15:32 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, we know the people of Prince Rupert are facing serious water challenges and we are closely monitoring the situation.
Through the disaster mitigation and adaptation fund, we are helping communities protect their critical infrastructure while reducing long-term costs associated with replacing infrastructure following natural disasters. The minister has been working with Mayor Pond and the province on Prince Rupert's application to the fund to address its water challenges.
We will always have the backs of the people of Prince Rupert, and we will share more on this as soon as we can.
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Mr. Speaker, in the hon. member's speech, he talked about pragmatic solutions. Maybe there was a loss in translation with the word “pragmatic”. “Pragmatic” means dealing with something realistically. All that he is promising is that they will develop things in the future. They do not have anything right now. They will renounce the things that work, renounce the things that are accepted by the global community as working, that make us a leader on this file. What he is offering is magic beans, that, maybe, in the future, someday, we will have something, maybe, possibly, maybe.
That is not pragmatic by any definition.
I was wondering if the hon. member could get up and just recognize that they do not have anything at all to offer except denial of climate change.
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Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to talk about Bill C-280, which was first introduced by the member representing the soup and salad bowl of Canada. I know you said not to come up with new riding names, but I think the hon. member appreciates it in this particular case. I would like to thank the member for getting the process started and for the important steps that have already been taken on the way to getting the bill through the parliamentary process.
The aim of the bill is to help our fruit and vegetable growers by reducing the financial risks they face. Growers and farmers work hard, take risks and provide Canadians with healthy produce. Furthermore, growers do not get paid in many cases until their produce goes through numerous steps of a long supply chain to get to the consumer. This is risky from a financial perspective, as the bankruptcy or insolvency of any of the players along the supply chain may result in the grower not getting paid.
The government has taken important steps to make things better for growers and farmers. One example is the passing of the safe food for Canadians regulations in 2018. However, the risk is not completely gone and we can still do more. We heard a lot from witnesses during the bill's study at the agriculture committee that our growers and farmers still face the problem of non-payment if a link in the supply chain becomes bankrupt or insolvent, which is a real risk already, given the tight profit margins. In short, this is why we are supporting Bill C-280.
We in the House agree that this bill is a good idea, but as we heard during the study of it at committee, it is not perfect and there are issues that the government and this House should continue to monitor to ensure that we maximize the bill's potential to assist growers. I note two issues in particular: first, the impact of the bill on access to affordable credit for growers and sellers and the fresh produce supply chain, and second, the potential for the bill to restore Canada's preferential access to the formal dispute resolution process under the United States' Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, the PACA, which regulates the fresh produce sector and provides financial protection for sellers.
In committee, members heard from a witness who was concerned that the changes made by the bill might make banks less willing to give loans, or they might charge more when lending to fresh produce sellers. This is because the bill would change the creditor priority in insolvency, and such changes could cause lenders to react with high credit costs or lower availability to compensate for higher risks of non-payment.
This witness had extensive experience in the fresh produce industry in both Canada and the United States, and his concerns stemmed from the impact that the PACA had south of the border. He explained to the committee that in his experience, U.S. lenders reduced crucial operating credit lines for produce sellers or required additional security, because the PACA deemed trust is paid ahead of all other loans and lines of credit in a bankruptcy or other payment default. It is important to note that the Canadian Bankers Association also raised this when the Department of Industry consulted on this issue several years ago. However, this was a minority view at committee, and most fresh produce industry representatives downplayed these credit risks. The committee gave appropriate weight to their assessment, given their knowledge and experience.
I am noting the concern here to invite the government to monitor the situation in the months following the entry into force of the legislation so that corrective measures can be taken in a timely manner if Canadian lenders decide to take the same approach as U.S. lenders. Industry witnesses before the committee emphasized the importance of trade credit to the fresh produce supply chain and, as such, I believe we will want to make sure the bill achieves its intended objectives.
A second issue to consider is getting back Canada's preferential access under the PACA. Before 2014, Canadians, like Americans, could use the PACA for free. Unfortunately, in 2014, the U.S. rescinded Canada's preferential access.
At this stage, we do not know for sure if passing Bill C-280 will result in PACA access being restored, and as far as I know, parliamentarians were not provided with any direct confirmation from the United States. While the committee heard from industry representatives that they believed restoration was likely in that case, this is another area where attention should be paid at the implementation stage. I trust that the government will do all it can to ensure that Bill C-280 leads to the restoration of preferential PACA access should the bill become law and will monitor the situation closely and on an ongoing basis.
Finally, I would like to reiterate the point made by my colleague, the member for Kings—Hants. Seemingly small legislative adjustments such as Bill C-280 can have significant positive impacts on our agricultural community. We should look for other opportunities to help our farmers and growers through regulatory and legislative tweaks, which could have positive impacts without adding more to the budget. The member from Kings—Hants mentioned streamlining regulatory approvals for agricultural products as one example. I look forward to hearing more about this and other ideas from the members of our agricultural community, including the parliamentary secretary, who is very enthusiastic about all things agricultural.
In summary, Bill C-280 is a good step toward supporting our hard-working fresh fruit and vegetable growers and making sure Canadians continue to have healthy food on the table. Let us also keep watching to make sure the bill reaches its potential.
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