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Gabriel Ste-Marie

Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
Bloc Québécois

Joliette
Quebec
Voting Attendance: 68%
Expenses Last Quarter: $132,165.46

Government Page

May/8/24 7:30:40 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, the question posed by the hon. member for Beauce is very important. Every year, we, the members of the Bloc Québécois, make our budget requests ahead of the economic statement. My colleague, the agriculture and agri-food critic and member for Berthier—Maskinongé, and I always put a lot of focus on the demands of the agricultural industry. The industry needs a hand, especially with climate change, last year's poor harvests, droughts and flooding. Several measures have been implemented. I presented that to the Minister of Finance. We presented that together. However, once again, there is nothing about it in the budget. Is the government listening to farmers and people in the agri-food industry? I think that it needs to listen more closely because it is our economy's most strategic sector. As they say, there is no country without farmers.

151 words

Context: House Hansard - 90 - Jun/16/22

Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie (Joliette, BQ)

Jun/16/22 7:55:08 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I want to congratulate my colleague on her speech and commend her for her commitment to the cause. It is sincere. I want to clarify something. When we refer to the price of agricultural inputs, even in the Canadian market, it is all in the perspective of global production and global prices. It is pretty clear that a people at risk of starvation is about as serious as it gets, despite all the other important issues they may face. My colleague talked about the important commitment to allocate 0.7% of GDP to international aid and the fight against hunger. I completely agree with that commitment. I deplore the fact that the government, regardless of its political stripes, never meets it. I wonder if the opposition parties would be able to pressure the government to commit to the 0.7%. Are these the kinds of concerns that could be included in a co-operation agreement with the government?

160 words

Context: House Hansard - 90 - Jun/16/22

Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie

Jun/16/22 7:39:38 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, that is a very good question. In the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, international institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, recommended that developing countries that were struggling—the ones with subsistence agriculture that were struggling to feed their people—specialize in growing cotton, for example. They were telling these countries that they would be able to export it, generate revenue and then import their food. At the same time, the rich countries that properly support their agricultural industries set up aid programs for these countries. When the harvest was good, the rich countries helped them by giving them their surplus crops or selling those crops to them at a low cost. All of this led to the collapse of local agriculture in developing countries, because they were obviously not able to compete with the rich countries' donations in good years. International institutions encouraged countries to move away from this sector and specialize in export sectors. As a result, these countries have had their subsistence agriculture dismantled. When the harvest was bad, they did not receive any aid from rich countries. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank told everyone to grow cotton, so many countries grew cotton. Large corporations were the ones leading it, and the price of cotton collapsed. The do-gooders in rich countries and international institutions thought they were fighting poverty, but they actually made it worse. Who are we to tell those countries what to do? They knew how to go about it. In order to receive international aid, they had to listen to the rich countries, and this made the situation worse. We have to think about that.

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Context: House Hansard - 90 - Jun/16/22

Mr. Gabriel Ste-Marie

Jun/16/22 7:36:53 p.m.
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Mr. Chair, I thank my colleague from Beauce and I commend him for all his work and the positive contribution he makes to the House. There are many things that can be done. When I tour my riding and I meet with our farmers, I am always very touched. In the agricultural sector, the women and men who put food on our tables are not, in my opinion, given enough credit by the public, by the entire population and by elected members. The first thing to do would be to recognize the essential role they play for all of us here. If we compare the support the government provides to agriculture, Canada does half as much as the United States and three to four times less than Europe, according to the numbers from my critic colleague. If Canada is able to produce a lot with less support, then that is great, but let us never forget that agriculture is a strategic industry since it meets a basic need: feeding the population. The sector needs recognition, which could take many forms, including real crop insurance. The labour shortage is another issue. I was on the phone again today with the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship's team, talking about temporary foreign workers. Then there is the tax on Russian fertilizer that was purchased and paid for before the war started in Ukraine. We have a lot to do. I believe that society as a whole needs to be more involved to better support our farmers, who experience a lot of stress because they are isolated and drowning in work. There is nothing more important to society than the work they do, the critical work of feeding people.

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Member of Parliament

Gabriel Ste-Marie