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Oct/19/23 6:27:45 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-280

Mr. Speaker, Canada's fresh fruit and vegetable growers should be paid for the fruit and vegetables they grow, full stop. Bill C-280 will ensure that fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers are not unduly disadvantaged by the bankruptcy of a produce buyer. The deemed trust established by this bill will also support the highly integrated produce trade between Canada and the United States. Farmers and other suppliers in Canada have been pushing for these measures for almost 20 years. The absence of a deemed trust has cost produce suppliers their farms and livelihoods and has jeopardized our domestic food security. With Bill C-280, we can finally change that. This is a common-sense Conservative bill that has been supported by all parties in this House. I want to thank all members for that, especially the Conservative shadow minister for agriculture and agri-food, the member for Foothills; the chair of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, the member for Kings—Hants; the member for Berthier-Maskinongé; and the member for Cowichan—Malahat—Langford for their support. It goes to show the cross-country support this bill has. Bill C-280 will provide financial protection measures for those growing fruits and vegetables from coast to coast to coast. This includes asparagus in Quebec, sweet potatoes in Nova Scotia, and carrots in the soup and salad bowl of Canada, home to the Holland Marsh in my riding of York—Simcoe. Of course, this week we saw the leader of the official opposition clearly loved the Ambrosia apples in the great province of British Columbia. How about those apples? I am also grateful to Ron Lemaire and Shannon Sommerauer from the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, Quinton Woods from the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada, Fred Webber from the Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation, Jody Mott from the Holland Marsh Growers' Association, and of course, my number one staff in Ottawa, Patrick Speck, who worked tirelessly on this bill with me, as well as my staff in the riding: Jennifer, Michael and Carol. My thanks to Suzanne, my wife. I told her that it would all be worth it, all the long days and nights here in Ottawa, which I know all members can appreciate. It is time we get this over the line. I urge members to support Bill C-280 when this is voted upon next week. I trust that legislators in that other place with the red carpet, who can be a little slow sometimes, will deal with it promptly, given the multi-party support for these measures. Like we say in York—Simcoe, “Be ready, Senators”. Right now, Canadians are dealing with the high cost of food. With Bill C-56 and other measures, the government has been talking about stabilizing food prices. Bill C-280 is going to lower prices of fresh fruits and vegetables that Canadians need now, so we all need to get behind this. Too often Canadians, especially rural Canadians, think we cannot work together in this place. They think we cannot get anything done and they believe that whatever is accomplished does not have any relevance to or impact on their lives. In rural communities, people band together every day. They are the foundation of what it means to be Canadian. They want to see this place work for them, they want to see the way it works for one another. I firmly believe that Bill C-280 sends a message to every produce farmer and supplier that we understand the issues they face and that we are committed to addressing them. The hard work of passing this bill is nothing compared to the boots in the muck in the Holland Marsh, which all farmers face right across Canada, but I can tell colleagues this. We are going to get behind them with this bill. We are going to get it done. Let us get Bill C-280 passed for the farmers right across Canada.

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Oct/3/23 5:51:46 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-280

Madam Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for that, and I thank the NDP for supporting this bill. I would love to see my Liberal colleagues on the other side here unanimously consent it right to the Senate tonight. This bill is so important to fresh produce farmers. We have been talking about this since 2014. We were all elected here to get things done for our constituents. We have an opportunity tonight, and I turn it over to my Liberal colleagues now.

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Oct/3/23 5:50:10 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-280

Madam Speaker, I would like to thank my colleague and the Bloc for supporting this bill, along with my Liberal colleagues. It took so long to support this, but I think we are talking about it more and more. I picked up the Liberal budget that came out last fall and leafed through it and thought that it must be missing pages because there was no vision for the country. I believe that agriculture in Canada should be number one. I know that my colleagues in the Bloc believe that. I think the party opposite on the government side here is finally, with this bill, waking up to how important agriculture is across this great country, and we have to be pushing every day for the people who are out working in the fields. Members can come to Bradford West Gwillimbury any time and look at the hands on these people who are out grinding it out every day.

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Oct/3/23 5:48:20 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-280

Madam Speaker, we all know here in the House that climate change is real and that it is happening. However, when the bill first came up, another external event was COVID. I met a farmer in the riding, and at the beginning of COVID, everyone was worried about getting paid. He came to me saying, “Scot, I don't think I'm going to plant my field this year because I'm worried about getting paid.” He said, “Look, Scott, I'm not asking for any handout from the government. I'm just looking to get paid for the produce I sell.” Thinking about selling to a distributor, whoever that is, and not getting paid, he said, “Scot, it's $2 million to plant my field. I can sit at home and just pay the taxes and not worry about it.” I said, “Don't do that because that's going to lead to higher food costs for Canadians and all kinds of pressures for Canadians.” That is just a little bit of background on how the bill evolved.

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Oct/3/23 5:33:22 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-280

moved that the bill be read the third time and passed. He said: Madam Speaker, we want to get to a vote right away tonight. I know all my colleague are excited to get Bill C-280 passed. It is a pleasure to rise once again to speak to my private member's bill, Bill C-280, the financial protection for fresh fruit and vegetable farmers act. I am encouraged by the support this common-sense Conservative bill has had so far, but we need to keep pushing. It is all the more important as we look to address the high food prices, rising inflation and strained supply chains we see in Canada today. I will take the opportunity this evening to reiterate the urgent need for the financial protection of this bill and the benefits it will bring, and will address some of the questions raised at committee. We all know we need a doctor maybe once a year and need a firefighter once in a lifetime if we are really unlucky, but we need a farmer three times a day, every day. That is a fact. Despite their importance in supplying local communities with safe and nutritious fruits and vegetables, there is not enough financial protection for Canadian fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers. In circumstances where buyers become insolvent and fail to pay for fresh fruits or vegetables they were supplied, farmers are out of pocket for those losses. To address this, Bill C-280 proposes to establish a limited deemed trust that would provide much needed financial protection for the entire fresh fruit and vegetable sector in Canada. This bill would give fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers priority access to the proceeds of sale, limited to the inventory, accounts receivable and cash on hand derived from the sale of the produce, during the bankruptcy proceedings of an insolvent buyer. This will help offset the loss of their sold produce. For too long, the existing provisions within the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and adjacent legislation have not provided adequate priority for fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers when insolvencies occur, as these provisions do not take into consideration the unique characteristics of the sector. While the act technically allows suppliers to recover their products following a bankruptcy, it provides no rights when the product has been resold, is no longer identifiable or is no longer in the same state, which is to be expected with most fresh fruits and vegetables. Fresh fruits and vegetables are subject to rapid perishability. Their shelf life can be sometimes measured in mere hours. By the time insolvency proceedings have concluded, the spoiled product is no longer of any value and cannot be repossessed or resold. The superpriority provision for farmers in the act does not address the needs of fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers, who regularly receive payments 30 days or more after they have delivered the product. These longer payment terms are typical in the industry. They accommodate the rapid pace of trade and complex storage and transportation arrangements that must be made between many parties to get fruits and vegetables to market over the course of a short growing season. As such, the requirement in the BIA that fruits and vegetables must have been delivered within 15 days of bankruptcy to be covered under the superpriority means that most fresh produce becomes unprotected. This lack of financial protection for Canada's fresh fruit and vegetable sector has had devastating consequences, as farmers and other suppliers find themselves as unsecured creditors with little recourse for their losses. It is well established that bankruptcies are considerably higher in this sector than in any other agriculture sector across Canada. They occur twice as often as those in livestock and are over 10 times the rates of the poultry and grain sectors, which are heavily regulated in Canada. The average net loss from non-payments, partial payments and delayed payments in the Canadian fruit and vegetable trade amounts to at least 1.53% of a supplier's gross revenue. This is a significant amount for those in the fresh produce sector considering their high overhead and capital costs, small profit margins and reduced risk management capability. While this amount is significant, it does not even capture the full extent of non-payment. Many firms simply close their doors and walk away from their businesses. These losses are routinely absorbed by farmers, but they are not captured in bankruptcy data. These losses are especially devastating considering that three quarters of Canada’s fresh fruit and vegetable producers are small businesses with sales of less than $85,000 per year, many of which rely on a single buyer for the bulk of their crop. These smaller-scale producers do not have the capability to make credit checks on their buyers, negotiate conditional sales agreements or take other safeguards typical in other industries. Their ability to pursue repayment and other forms of recourse when a buyer does not pay is also extremely limited. As one can imagine, bankruptcies within the fresh fruit and vegetable industry can jeopardize farms and livelihoods, and the constant fear of non-payment limits our farmers’ ability to invest in their businesses, grow and actually plan for the future. The bankruptcy of Lakeside Produce in Leamington, Ontario, this past winter demonstrated just how wide-ranging the impact that bankruptcy has had on the entire fresh produce industry. When it went bankrupt, Lakeside Produce owed $188 million to suppliers across the fruit and vegetable sector. There were 17 Canadian produce companies among Lakeside’s creditors, which accounted for $1.7 million in unsecured claims. The lack of financial protection for the fresh produce industry in Canada also impacts our competitiveness and capacity to trade with the United States. Suppliers are no longer able to access the dispute resolution and financial protection processes that exist in the U.S. through the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act, without incurring significant financial costs. This severely disadvantages Canadian produce businesses given the high volume of produce sold to buyers in the U.S. Having a financial protection tool in place in Canada would pave the way for the United States Department of Agriculture to restore Canadian produce sellers’ preferential access to the U.S. dispute resolution mechanism for fresh fruits and vegetables. With the adoption of Bill C-280, we could finally ensure that Canada’s bankruptcy laws work for fresh fruit and vegetable suppliers in a form that recognizes the particular needs and challenges of the industry. By doing so, there would be considerable benefits for Canadians. The financial protection would strengthen a pivotal industry in Canada, increase economic activity and bring economic benefit to the entire fresh fruit and vegetable value chain. With greater certainty and reduced risk, we would see more investment and growth as Canadian farms and greenhouses expand their operations and return operations to Canada that had migrated to the United States when access to PACA was lost. These measures would also result in a reduction in prices for Canadian consumers, which I know is top of mind for all MPs in this House tonight. We would expect to see a decrease in prices for Canadians by as much as 15%, which would save families as much as $900 million on their annual purchases of fresh fruit and vegetables. While this bill was being studied at committee, there were questions about why the bill would extend the deemed trust protections to all suppliers of perishable fruits and vegetables, which is perhaps considered by some to be too broad. However, it is important to remember that within the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, the large retail trade, farmers’ markets, food service and hospitality trades are far less affected by the lack of financial protection. For the most part, it is the growers and others involved in the first sale, such as packers, brokers and shippers, who are most vulnerable to payment disruption and who would need the financial protection afforded by Bill C-280 the most. That said, this industry is highly integrated, and bankruptcies involving producers, dealers, shippers, wholesalers, distributors and retailers impact the stability of the market. A bankruptcy at any point along the supply chain can result in farmers going unpaid, so it is essential that all suppliers receive the necessary protection. Crucially, protecting fresh produce suppliers equally is needed to access the equivalent protection offered by the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act in the United States, which covers all suppliers along the chain. Another question raised has been the impact of these financial protections on the banking industry. While it is true that by giving priority access to produce suppliers, banks will see their claims receive a lower priority, the benefits of protecting fresh fruit and produce suppliers outweigh the distributional impacts for the banking industry. Moreover, the banking industry would actually benefit from the increased predictability of payments when lending to those in the fresh fruit and vegetable sector. This has been the case in the United States under the PACA deemed trust, which has been reported to be a net positive to the banks, in addition to the produce sector itself. Canada relies on boots on the ground, hands in the muck and rubber boots on the farm to provide fresh locally grown produce to our citizens. When these farmers suffer losses due to buyer insolvency, it threatens our very food security by reducing the availability of Canadian grown products. We already know this is happening. Earlier this year, a Statistics Canada report showed that there was a significant decline in fresh fruit and vegetable availability for Canadians in 2022. More than three-quarters of all produce consumed in Canada is imported. As access to fresh produce from foreign markets is increasingly jeopardized by climate change, carbon taxes, trade protections and supply chain issues, our food security becomes more and more threatened right here at home. For much of our nation's history, Canada was far more self-reliant in the fresh fruit and vegetable trade, with production far outpacing consumption, but the failure to reduce risk and provide certainty to the fresh fruit and vegetable sector has seen this decline significantly. This needs to change. Fundamentally, Bill C-280 recognizes the need to support Canada's produce sector, just as we support other agriculture sectors, by ensuring that Canada's bankruptcy laws recognize the particular challenges and demands of growing and selling fresh fruits and vegetables. Canada's fresh fruit and vegetable farmers should always be paid for the fresh fruits and vegetables they sell. By passing Bill C-280, we can ensure that our food security is protected and that our produce sector is strengthened. By putting this important financial protection tool in place for produce supplies, we will support the economy and lower costs for all Canadians from coast to coast to coast, so let us get it done.

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Context: House Hansard - 198 - May/16/23

Oct/3/23 5:32:24 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-280

moved that the bill be concurred in.

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May/16/23 6:10:01 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-280

Mr. Speaker, York—Simcoe is the soup and salad bowl of Canada and Lake Simcoe. At this very moment, the planting season has begun for fresh fruits and vegetables, and I want to wish all farmers right across Canada the best of luck. I know we are not allowed to use props, and I will set him down, but Gwilly flew in all the way from Bradford West Gwillimbury for this debate tonight. Canadian farmers have been doing their part, working hard this spring to plant delicious produce to feed our nation. These farmers deserve our support, no matter if they are growing carrots in the Holland Marsh, potatoes in Brookfield, celery in Winnipeg, bell peppers in Abbotsford, tomatoes in Leamington or peaches in Vineland. Through the establishment of a limited deemed trust for produce farmers, we can safeguard Canada's food security, promote Canadian produce exports and increase the affordability of domestic produce for Canadian consumers. Simply put, the trust is a tool that would be used by sellers of produce to recover the money made from the sale of their produce when a buyer goes bankrupt. Unfortunately, the Liberal members have made it clear that they are completely out of touch with the boots-in-the-mud, real-world realities faced by our country's produce farmers. the Liberals claim that their one size-fits-all approach to Canadian agriculture works and that the bill is not needed, but they could not be more wrong. The government fails to acknowledge that fresh fruits and vegetables are highly perishable or that produce growers have unique challenges that differ from other products and industries. There are already many supports available to other agricultural sectors, like dairy and grain, that are not available to the produce sector. It is common sense to provide support that is crafted specifically for the produce sector. More than anyone else, Bill C-280 would benefit the small and medium-sized family farms and farming operations, which are the backbone of the country's produce sector. Seventy-five per cent of fruit and vegetable producers are small businesses. Their average sales are $85,000 or less a year. This is a sector with small margins, and it is these sorts of farms that will benefit most from limited financial protection. One missed payment from a bankrupt buyer could lead to many of these farms closing their doors for good. Fortunately, this bill will promote financial stability across the entire supply chain and support payment for suppliers all the way back to the producers. A stalk of celery is not the same as a carton of eggs, and a tomato is not the same as a piece of beef. The government must recognize the unique challenges facing the produce sector and recognize there are currently glaring deficiencies in our bankruptcy laws for these growers. Bill C-280 has been a long time coming. I would like to thank the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada, the Holland Marsh Growers' Association and the many other agriculture organizations that have supported this important bill. I am also grateful for the real-life expertise of Fred Webber, former president of the Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation. Fred was also an official in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, where his responsibilities included the PACA deemed trust. His insights were invaluable as this bill was drafted. Hard-working farmers do not want a handout. After all, this bill costs taxpayers nothing. They just want to be able to sleep at night without worrying about unpaid invoices and spoiled product as they work to grow the fresh fruits and vegetables we all enjoy. Canadian fresh produce farmers deserve to be paid for the food they grow. They are the ones knee-deep in the mud working the field every day to grow our country's fruits and vegetables. It is time for members of this House to roll up their sleeves, put on their rubber boots and support this common-sense Conservative bill, Bill C-280.

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Apr/19/23 6:44:51 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-280

Madam Speaker, it is so important. We should be number one in the world in Canada with agriculture. I have always said that a General Motors plant can be moved but a farm cannot be. We have the most arable land in the whole world. That has to come into the vision for Canada. That is one thing I talked about missing in the budget. Where is the vision? We should be number one in the world with agriculture. We should be teaching people throughout the world how to grow food and have fresh water. We need to keep pushing for agriculture.

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Apr/19/23 6:43:07 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-280

Madam Speaker, that relates to a quick story. When COVID first started, I had a farmer reach out to me in Bradford. He said to me, “Scot, I don't think I'm going to plant in my field this year.” I asked him, “Ken, why aren't you?” He said, “I'm so worried about getting paid. The stress is for my family. I cannot plant my field, sit at home and pay the $20,000 in taxes because, if I plant my fields, it's going to cost me in excess of a million dollars. If I don't get paid, I'm going to lose this family farm that has been in the family for four generations.” These are the kinds of stresses they have. Then he said, “I'm not even looking to the government for any money. I'm just looking for insurance that I am going to get paid.”

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Apr/19/23 6:41:38 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-280

Madam Speaker, I know the member loves the fresh fruit and produce business. As I mentioned in my speech, we have support right across Canada from all producers. This is one thing, and I know the member for Winnipeg North prides himself on this as well, where we were getting out and talking to constituents. I would love to have him come out to Bradford and see that rich, dark soil, and come out to cut celery with me one day. This is much needed. I encourage members to get out to talk to the farmers and to listen to what they are saying.

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Context: House Hansard - 84 - Jun/8/22

Apr/19/23 6:26:43 p.m.
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Re: Bill C-280

moved that Bill C-280, an act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (deemed trust – perishable fruits and vegetables), be read the second time and referred to a committee. He said: Mr. Speaker, we are really excited tonight for fresh fruit and vegetable farmers across Canada. It is an honour to finally have the opportunity to speak to the financial protection for fresh fruit and vegetable farmers act, Bill C-280. This bill proposes to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act to support Canada's fresh produce farmers and sellers through the establishment of a deemed trust. My community of York—Simcoe is home to the Holland Marsh, known as the “soup and salad bowl” of Canada. It produces more carrots, celeries, onions, lettuces and greens than any other single region in this country. We would love to see members at Carrot Fest this summer. Every time I look out over the rich, dark soil in the low-lying fields of the Holland Marsh and survey the endless rows of green vegetables growing there I see opportunity, the opportunity to have Canada become even more competitive as an agricultural leader in global fruit and vegetable exports; the opportunity to ensure fresh, sustainable Canadian produce is more accessible and more affordable than foreign imports for every Canadian family; and the opportunity to support the innovation and grit of our hard-working farmers right across Canada. Sadly, in the marsh, and across the country, in the fields and greenhouses in places like Leamington, Kentville, Morrell, Brookfield and elsewhere, this opportunity is being limited by the considerable risks associated with the growing, harvesting, packing, marketing and distribution of fresh fruits and vegetables, risks that routinely threaten their farms and livelihoods. Overhead and capital costs are significant. The margins in the sector are thin, normally between 3% and 5%. The return farmers receive from their product is often delayed until it is sold and payment is only collected long after they have passed on their product for sale, far along the supply chain or well after consumers have eaten it. The worsening recession, inflationary pressures, increased prices, tax hikes and the lingering impacts of the COVID–19 pandemic have only increased the vulnerability of the produce sector. This is underlined in the lack of critical financial protections available to Canadian produce-growers for the losses they suffer as a result of an insolvent buyer. While the existing mechanisms within the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act may be suitable for the wider agriculture industry and other sectors, they do not provide a workable mechanism for when fresh produce buyers become insolvent. Currently, the act allows suppliers to recover their product after bankruptcy, but has no provisions to protect them in the event their produce has been resold, is no longer identifiable or is no longer in the same state. Given the perishable nature of fresh fruits and vegetables, how quickly they spoil and how many products are highly processed and mingled with other ingredients to make food, it is very uncommon that produce can be repossessed during these bankruptcy proceedings. There also exists a “super priority” provision for farmers in the act, which is supposed to allow them to get paid ahead of other creditors during bankruptcy proceedings. However, to access this, the product must have been delivered within 15 days of bankruptcy or the appointment of a receiver, which fails to account for the payment schedule of 30 days or more that typically exists within the produce industry. In practice, these deficiencies in Canada's bankruptcy laws means that Canadian produce farmers are faced with significant, and sometimes insurmountable, losses in the event of a purchaser bankruptcy. They have to line up along with all of the other creditors to seek payment. Otherwise, they must simply walk away from the outstanding debt owed to them. This can lead to further bankruptcies and sunk costs across the entire sector and can jeopardize our domestic food security. Sadly, the lack of financial protection for the produce industry has real world consequences. In January of this year, 2023, Lakeside Produce Incorporated, a large-scale commercial greenhouse based out of Leamington, Ontario, filed for bankruptcy. This was a family-owned company that grew cucumbers, peppers and specialty tomatoes for 75 years, with extensive operations that included conventional and organic greenhouses, warehouses, packhouses and distribution centres right across North America. At the time of its bankruptcy, it owed $188 million to suppliers across the produce sector, including other greenhouses, and logistics, packaging and brokerage firms. There are 17 produce companies across Canada among Lakeside's creditors, which account for $1.7 million in unsecured claims. The owner of one of these companies, a farmer also based in Leamington, wrote to me regarding this bill. He said, “the inadequate protection for suppliers of fresh fruits and vegetables...most recently resulted in my farming operations sustaining a loss of $907,840 due to the bankruptcy of Lakeside Produce. I have devoted my entire life to the [produce] business but I, nor anyone else who is part of the fresh fruit and vegetable industry, can continue to afford these risks.” In addition to the Canadian creditors, there are 45 companies based outside Canada, primarily in Mexico and the United States, that are owed another $4.9 million. The highly integrated nature of the fresh produce industry means that these losses will impact Canadian growers even further. The lack of financial protection available to fresh fruit and vegetable farmers in Canada also affects their competitiveness and capacity to trade with the United States. Currently, produce growers cannot access food protections that exist in the United States without incurring significant financial costs. This was not always the case. Previously, Canada was the only country in the world that had preferential access to the dispute resolution mechanisms within the United States' Perishable Agriculture Commodities Act. It is known in the industry as PACA. However, the United States revoked this access in October 2014 due to a lack of a reciprocal mechanism in Canada. Now, Canadian sellers must post a significant bond worth double the value of their shipment just to initiate a claim through PACA. This severely disadvantages Canadian produce businesses, given the high volume of produce sold to buyers in the United States. The need is clear. We need to protect Canada's food security. We need to support the Canadian fresh fruit and vegetable industries against the impact of bankruptcies. We need to work toward restoring preferential access for Canadians to the United States' dispute resolution mechanism. To do this, Bill C-280 proposes to address the deficiencies in existing sections of Canada's bankruptcy and creditor laws by establishing a limited deemed trust to provide financial protection for Canadian produce farmers. These are the changes Canadian produce farmers require. They have been vocal in their support of establishing a deemed trust through Bill C-280. Bill C-280 is endorsed by hundreds of farms, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Canadian Produce Marketing Association, the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada and many other national, provincial, regional, and industry-specific organizations. This matters. From farm gate to dinner plate, the fruit and vegetable industry is a major contributor to Canada's GDP and creates thousands of jobs from coast to coast, right across this great country. The financial protection established by Bill C-280 would reduce losses in the sector and lead to increased economic activity in Canada of $200 million to $235 million per year, increased value added in the Canadian economy of $104 million to $122 million per year, increased employment by more than 1,200 full-time jobs, and increased wages for Canadian workers by $59 million to $69 million per year. Bill C-280 would also lead to a reduction in costs for Canadian consumers, which is just what we need right now, by as much as 5% to 15%. This would save Canadian families between $300 million and $900 million on their annual fresh fruit and vegetable purchases, improving their overall health. After eating so many carrots in Bradford, these eyes are still 20/20. It is unbelievable. Unfortunately, the position of the Liberal government has been that the Bankruptcy Act, with its existing mechanisms, works just fine for its produce sellers. However, this is clearly not true. A cucumber, last I checked, is not the same as a sheaf of wheat. It makes no sense to treat these products and these sellers the same. Bankruptcies in the produce sector are substantially higher than other agriculture industries. They happen twice as often as they do for those in livestock, and over 10 times as often as they do in the highly regulated grain and poultry sectors. After all, the produce industry is as unique as the fruits and vegetables they grow. It is very complex, with numerous producers and sellers involved, and with considerable integration within Canada and with our neighbours to the south, the United States. This unique sector requires a unique solution to the issues they face. Bill C-280 is the solution, a solution that would give Canadian produce farmers the certainty they deserve. When I look out over the green, growing vegetables in the rich soil of the Holland Marsh, I see opportunity. I hope members of Parliament in the House see the incredible opportunity today, the opportunity to support Canada's fresh fruit and vegetable farmers, to stand up for Canadian consumers and to protect our country's food security. With Bill C-280, we could ensure that fresh produce farmers are paid for the food that they grow. Let us get behind them.

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