- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- York—Simcoe
- Ontario
- Voting Attendance: 69%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $119,263.34
- Government Page
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.
674 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
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.
681 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
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.
1635 words
All Topics
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
moved for leave to introduce Bill C-280, An Act to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (deemed trust – perishable fruits and vegetables).
He said: Mr. Speaker, I am very excited today and I am pleased to rise to introduce the financial protection for fresh fruit and vegetable farmers act, which proposes to amend the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act to support Canadian produce sellers.
Every time I see the dark soil and endless rows of vegetables in the Holland Marsh in my community, the soup and salad bowl of Canada, I see opportunity. In order for that opportunity to be fully realized in the marsh and across Canada, more must be done to protect Canada's fresh fruit and vegetable growers during the bankruptcy of a buyer. We know that fresh fruits and vegetables are highly perishable with a limited shelf life. Unfortunately, the existing laws do not take this into account.
This legislation would address this deficiency by establishing a deemed trust for fresh produce sellers, ensuring they have priority access to an insolvent buyer's assets related to the sale of fresh produce. I am glad to bring this initiative forward and champion fresh fruit and vegetable producers. I trust that all members in the House will support this bill.
226 words
- Hear!
- Rabble!
- add
- star_border
- share
- menumenu
- notificationsnotifications
- home
- mailmail
- searchsearch
