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Decentralized Democracy

House Hansard - 260

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
December 1, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 260 - Dec/1/23
Mr. Sébastien Lemire (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, BQ)
  • Dec/1/23 12:22:17 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I was listening to my colleague's speech. There is something about agriculture that fascinates me. Why are we not focusing on local distribution channels? Obviously, my Conservative colleague will say that, if we focus on local distribution channels, we will be spending less money on transportation and using less oil, and that is not good for that industry. I think that, when it comes to agriculture, the solution is to promote local production, local distribution channels and buying local through investments near farms and investments in agricultural cities and towns, so that we can process food, especially in slaughterhouses. That would cut down on the cost of fuel to ship these agri-food products to the five continents. How can we focus on that? Does my colleague have a recommendation on local distribution?
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Context: House Hansard - 260 - Dec/1/23
Mr. Sébastien Lemire (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, BQ)
  • Dec/1/23 12:53:57 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, this is the first time I have had the opportunity to speak to the member for Winnipeg North through you. I want to offer him my sympathies for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers' loss to the Montreal Alouettes in the Grey Cup final. That aside, we are having a discussion about protecting Canada's food system. Obviously, the Ukraine issue is important when it comes to inputs. I would like to talk about the other end of the chain. I feel that Canada is not doing enough for our agricultural producers. What is happening in Ukraine has had an impact and driven up costs. Then there is climate change. There was a drought back home in my region. Agricultural producers are struggling. They do not even have the option of deferring repayment of the Canada emergency business account for a year so they can keep a little more cash on hand. The federal government wants to make sure it basically bleeds them dry. It wants them to repay the money right away, even though they are barely making any income in the regions. I would like my colleague to talk about the urgent need to supply an income to our agricultural producers to protect the Canadian food system.
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Context: House Hansard - 260 - Dec/1/23
Mr. Sébastien Lemire (Abitibi—Témiscamingue, BQ)
  • Dec/1/23 1:28:24 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I would like my colleague to elaborate on how this situation will affect our farmers. Are we doing enough for our farmers from a public accounts perspective? It is easy to look at other countries. Indeed, inputs are a major issue. This has changed in the past two years. My colleague reminded us that this report was produced two years ago. Are we doing enough for our farmers? I am thinking in particular of those who applied for CEBA loans. Could the government not have waited one more farming season? I would like my colleague to elaborate on that.
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