- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- Bow River
- Alberta
- Voting Attendance: 65%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $127,198.82
- Government Page
- Feb/16/23 6:27:15 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, what I was talking about was very specific. I am talking about the electricity used for irrigation. I welcome the MP to come out to my riding so he can see how irrigation works. Farmers are using electricity. The gasoline that ag producers are using has gone up by 53%, and other things have increased significantly too. The pipe they use for irrigation is up 44% if they can get it.
The carbon tax is on electricity, and it is tens of thousands of dollars. We are going to grow our ag security in irrigation. It is very specific.
The member is not listening to what I am talking about. I am not talking about policy. I think we need to fix what will provide food for this country and food security. It will be found in irrigation. Production is eight times better there than on dry land anywhere in this country. That is how we are going to get food security. The Liberals are missing the point of what irrigation can do for this country. They are not getting it.
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- Feb/16/23 6:19:12 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I am dealing with a topic that is really important to agriculture in parts of our country. It has to do with dichlorvos and leafcutter bees. People are familiar with honey bees, but there is a very small subset of bees called leafcutter bees. These are the ones that are used to pollinate alfalfa seed and canola seed.
There was a decision made in 2020 about this chemical. When they looked at this chemical, they said it is something we do not want to have used in homes. Some people might remember those old fly strips. It was connected with people, but they did not address outside use. Under the labelling, it did not say it was used outside. However, it is used outside for the parasites that attack the leafcutter bee.
The leafcutter bee pollinates alfalfa seed and canola seed. Those people who grow hay, those people who grow canola need this seed. This is critical. There is no more of this supply in Canada at the end of this year. They have used up all of the inventory that is there. This is critical. The producers are saying we need an extension on what was put in to stop it from being used domestically, but this is agriculture.
We need this change now. We are talking about the canola crops in this country. We are talking about alfalfa that is grown. These are the seed producers, and a by-product of these small seed groups is that they export it to the United States for about $16 million a year.
We need to look at this issue. As the 2023 season ends, we will be in trouble with our seed producers in alfalfa and in canola, the very seed producers who produce it for farmers so they can grow alfalfa and canola in this country. We need to address this issue.
Speaking of another particular area in our economy, most of these farmers grow this seed in an agricultural area that is irrigated. In my riding, we have a huge percentage of the irrigation that is done. When we are talking about 2050 and 10 billion people on our planet, we will need 70% more food produced. Where is that going to happen? The intensification will happen in irrigated areas. We have the water. We have the land. We grow 60 different varieties of plants and products that are exported and used in food security.
The problem with the government is that it believes that carbon tax is a good thing. For our food security, it is not. It is not good, because this is an industry that uses a lot of electricity. People will find that I will get the same reply I have before, that the farmers get a rebate, but they get a rebate that is about 10% of 1% back to their operation. This does not solve the electricity. I have ag people out there paying $10,000 a month on their irrigation, on the carbon tax.
This is about food security. This is where we are going to grow more food, so we need to get the carbon tax off the irrigated farms in this country.
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- Nov/4/22 12:03:43 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, farmers in my riding are paying hundreds, if not millions, of dollars in carbon tax. The Western Irrigation District’s year-over-year costs for fuel alone jumped by 53%. This fuel runs irrigation that delivers water to crops so that families can get Canadian-grown food on their tables. The rebates the government always talks about do not even come to one-tenth of 1% of the costs, and that is if the farms qualify.
Why will the Liberals not give Canadian farmers some relief and cancel their plans to triple taxes on gas, groceries and home heating?
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- Apr/29/22 11:15:36 a.m.
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Madam Speaker, it is spring time, and today I am talking about high rollers, but not the ones who go to Vegas. I am talking about the hard-working farmers who risk it all by buying the seed, equipment and tools they need to put food on Canadian tables.
They hope there is enough moisture in the earth, and enough rain coming down from the heavens, to germinate those seeds. They hope that the sun shines bright, and that the wind, grasshoppers and hail do not destroy their precious crop. As the season goes from spring to summer to fall, farmers pray for a harvest moon. All of this is while maintaining their heavy machinery, created from humanity's unparalleled innovation.
Canadian farmers do not get a break. They cannot go on vacation, as their work is never finished. They cannot just turn off the screen and be done. Our farmers sell to markets that ebb and flow, but there are constant hungry mouths to feed. Canadian farmers do a damn good job of it, and only to do it over again next year. I say, “yes”, to Canadian farmers.
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