- Member of Parliament
- Member of Parliament
- Conservative
- Bow River
- Alberta
- Voting Attendance: 65%
- Expenses Last Quarter: $127,198.82
- Government Page
- Apr/30/24 7:23:51 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I always appreciate the information my colleague shares.
There are programs as a result of federal and provincial governments working together. We look at different things that happen in our climate and in our economy, but the challenge is in irrigation. We have talked about this a number of times. It is the electricity that is used, not the diesel and not the natural gas. Irrigation has a huge use of electricity. One farmer who has an operation showed me the bills, and he is up to $100,000 in carbon tax.
There is a small rink in a rural area that supports kids' programs that people are keeping alive. It is costing them $700 a month in carbon tax. They are fundraising with bake sales and hamburger sales to try to keep that rural rink alive, but the $700 a month is killing them. Rinks are important in rural communities.
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- Oct/25/23 7:23:49 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, to my colleague, I know he is from Winnipeg, which used to be the grain exchange centre of the world. It is part of the heritage of the Prairies. I am very pragmatic about this. In my riding, which has 70% irrigation, the costs are huge, as is the money paid on the carbon tax, and there is not the recognition of the value irrigation brings to the amount of crops we can produce in this country and the variety.
We grow more potatoes than P.E.I. these days in my riding and we have the only sugar plant left, and we grow sugar beets because of irrigation. Farmers tell me on a regular basis the carbon tax is so hard on them, so we lose from our communities hundreds and hundreds of thousands of dollars, up to millions and millions. This hurts our communities because those farmers are not able to buy what they could if they did not lose it on the carbon tax. They cannot support our rural communities. They cannot volunteer to donate things they would have donated before.
It is a piece pragmatic for me that those who produce the best and highest quality and variety of foods because of irrigation are paying the highest price for carbon tax. That exemption needs to be understood, and I think it has been recognized there should be more conversations about agriculture.
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- 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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- 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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- Oct/19/22 8:04:47 p.m.
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Madam Speaker, I always appreciate being in the House with the parliamentary secretary and hearing his response to what I may say, which might be slightly different from what he might have expected.
I will talk again about the irrigation districts, the lack of pipes, the cost of pipes and the environmental practice of putting in pipes instead of canals. The price is now over 200% more than it was a year ago. Municipalities are also experiencing the same cost for pipes to put in the ground.
We are talking about a challenge that is stress related. It is hard on irrigation ag producers in my riding when there is talk about increasing the carbon tax, as the government is going to do. This is a price taker. That creates stress and mental health challenges for the ag producers who produce all of this food for our country and food security.
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- Mar/3/22 6:27:07 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, I respect my colleague. Anybody who can be an Olympic athlete deserves respect, and one who has represented our country I duly respect, so I respect my colleague across the way.
With respect to the mandates, one of the challenges we are having in the ag sector in southern Alberta is because of the mandates. I have heard from a lot of people in the ag sector that 200 families have left for either Texas or Mexico. We have incredible productivity in the irrigation area: 20% of the ag GDP is from irrigation in Alberta. The ag people in my riding, and other southern Albertans, are extremely upset that we have lost so many because these people chose not to be vaccinated and chose to oppose the mandates. This is going to be an incredible problem in the ag sector in southern Alberta this year.
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- Mar/3/22 3:05:58 p.m.
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Mr. Speaker, “Justinflation” is hurting small businesses in my riding.
Chin Ridge Seeds is a birdseed producer in Taber, Alberta, that relies on imported ingredients for their production. The cost of a single truckload of these ingredients went from $6,000 to $19,000 in a few months. Irrigation pipes went up by 30% and they are critical. Don, the owner, told me that they do not need handouts from the government; they just need it to get out of the way.
Will the government stop its spending spree, get out of the way and let small businesses prosper in the Bow River riding?
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