It’s my pleasure to rise today to highlight an exciting initiative announced yesterday at Brenn-B Farms in my riding of Flamborough–Glanbrook.

Speaker, I’m sure you’ll be delighted to learn that our government, through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, is investing up to $25 million to expand production capacity and boost energy efficiency in the agriculture and food sector. The money will be provided to eligible farm and food processing businesses to help them invest in innovative technology, equipment and processes.

Shawn Brenn, president of Brenn-B Farms, said, “Today’s announcement ... is welcome news for the agriculture sector. Growers are continually looking to innovate in order to manage constantly rising input costs, address labour shortages and market instability in an effort to keep their farms sustainable for the long term.

“Cost-share supports like” this “will help jump-start these investment decisions and support the viability of locally grown fruits and vegetables. I applaud our government’s forward thinking and encourage ongoing collaboration that aligns with keeping our farms and agri-food sector resilient and strong now and into the future.”

I would like to thank Shawn and all of Brenn-B Farms for hosting the event and for sharing his thoughts on this exciting opportunity for the agriculture community across Ontario.

I’m thrilled this morning to introduce Murray Opstein, who is here with the Chicken Farmers of Ontario. He is also from my riding of Flamborough–Glanbrook. Good morning.