- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- Bow River
- Alberta
- Voting Attendance: 65%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $127,198.82
- Government Page
- Dec/11/23 2:05:33 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, today, I would like to recognize a trailblazer in the County of Newell, Garnet Altwasser, for his recent induction into the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame, adding another accolade after having been previously inducted into the Alberta Agriculture Hall of Fame. A founding director of the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association, Garnet became a leader in Canadian agri-food production after establishing Lakeside Farm Industries in the County of Newell, growing it into the largest single-site feed operation and one of the largest beef processing plants in Canada.
He has always been humble and has not sought recognition. I can say that his influence on Alberta's agriculture industry is second to none and is leading investment to the advancement of Canadian ag. It is thanks to people like Garnet Altwasser that makes Alberta agriculture world class.
Congratulations to Garnet Altwasser for his worthy induction to the Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame. I thank him for helping to feed Canadians and the world with Alberta beef.
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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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- Dec/1/22 6:43:35 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I appreciate the comments, as well as the programs that many agriculture producers across the country enjoy.
Again, electricity and irrigation are challenges we have that were not mentioned. There is one other one that we need to mention and we need to be thinking about it now. The Americans do not have the carbon tax, but they are building a bank of vaccines for foot and mouth disease. Canada has not done anything, and it is not a matter of if, but when. We need to start looking at building a vaccine bank for our agricultural cattle industry. It is going to be critical. I hope the member understands that and will lobby for that particular vaccine bank.
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- Apr/27/22 7:27:07 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, agricultural business is small business, and I think I outlined why, as producers, they cannot recover those costs.
I want to shift slightly to another one. The federal and provincial governments announced a $900,000 grant to do with hemp. Hemp is an incredible agricultural product. The problem is that it is not classified under agriculture. It is under health. We have decreased the amount of hemp grown in this country because the red tape and restrictions, when it is grown under health, are brutal. Other countries have figured this out. The United States is beginning to figure it out. It is not marijuana.
We want to grow hemp. It is an incredible product. It can be used for many things. I am encouraging the parliamentary secretary, as I have many on that side, to get hemp out of health and into agriculture. The government is investing money in it, in a project in Alberta. It is joining up with the province. Let us get it in agriculture.
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Madam Speaker, it is great to be here tonight. The initial question I asked had to do with an agricultural issue, and I would like to continue along that theme.
The president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association recently stated, “Absolutely we are unfairly targeted because we are a primary producer have no way of dealing with the carbon tax.... It is a pure cost to us, and there isn’t really a way for us to become more efficient.”
That is the problem our agriculture producers face. It is not only the carbon tax, but also the carbon tax that is applied to truckers, to rail and to the moorage of the ships parked in the harbour waiting to be loaded. All of those taxes are downloaded back to the primary producer, the farmer, the agricultural producer, who has no way to recover against those costs.
Recently, there was a 25% increase in the carbon tax. That is a huge add-on to our agricultural producers. To get specific, in my riding, where we have huge irrigation districts, this is a cost that affects that irrigation. It is millions of dollars if we look at all of the irrigation districts, but particularly for the four largest ones in my riding, it is a significant cost. This is money that leaves the communities and the producers and is not returned in a rebate. That is the percentage that is not returned, the millions of dollars paid to provide that irrigation.
As well, 4% of the arable land in Alberta produces 29% of the agricultural production of the GDP in Alberta, which is huge, but their increased costs are also huge.
We have the most significantly efficient high-producing agricultural producers in Canada, but what they do not get credit for is the 384 billion tonnes of carbon they store in the soil. They use practices that keep improving the storage of carbon, but they get no credit for it.
A private member's bill from a member in our caucus, Bill C-234, is moving forward on exempting farm fuels from the carbon tax. That would be the first step.
Then we get to the issue of fertilizer. Agricultural producers work very hard on the four Rs: right source, right rain, right time and right place. They are getting incredibly efficient at it. The fertilizer industry contributes $23 billion annually to Canada's economy. That is 76,000 jobs. Now the government is talking about reducing the use of fertilizer by 30%, without a benchmark. Farmers do not want to buy fertilizer that is not needed. It is very expensive and harder to get.
Agriculture employs 2.1 million people and generates $139 billion of Canada's GDP. By continuing to go after those things that increase production, which we are going to need in this world, Canadian farmers, who are the most efficient, the best equipped and the best at it, will not be supported by this, which is a challenge for the agricultural producers in our country.
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