House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2021, with 33% of the vote.
Physician-Assisted Dying June 10th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the government needs to get things straight and brave the storm. The amendment passed in the Senate would bring the bill in line with the Supreme Court's decision.
As experts and the Alberta Court of Appeal have said, without this amendment, Bill C-14 does not pass the charter test and will once again be challenged in court. We need to do things right with a bill that is so important to Canadians.
Will the government act responsibly and amend Bill C-14?
Physician-Assisted Dying June 9th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the government needs to stop providing false information.
We can protect vulnerable people and respect the rights of Canadians. The government rejected all of the opposition's proposals to make Bill C-14 consistent with the charter and Carter. As a result, the Senate is making the same proposals. If the bill is not amended, it will be challenged.
How can the Liberals justify forcing people who are sick and vulnerable to go to court to protect their rights?
Physician-Assisted Dying June 9th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are in a mess entirely of their own making. The NDP tried to bring all parties together at the special committee. We tried to fix the bill at second reading. Then we tried again to fix the bill at report stage. Every step of the way, we proposed solutions based on witness recommendations, and the Liberals just rejected them all, every step of the way. Will the Liberals finally admit that they have made a mistake, and will they fix the bill to make sure it respects the rights of Canadians?
Dairy Industry June 8th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the fact is that the government is failing to protect supply management and Canadian dairy farmers.
Canada has rules on diafiltered milk, but the government is not applying them, and that is sad. Every day Canadian farmers lose money and American farmers get more money.
The Liberals have broken their promise to fix this problem. Instead of solutions, all we get is consultation and farmers are losing money. In other words, delay, and we are wasting time. Farmers do not need more consultation. They are done. The time is up. The government needs to act.
When will the government finally stand up on these trade issues and defend Canadian dairy farmers?
Dairy Industry June 8th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, the government promised to fix the diafiltered milk problem, but it is taking its sweet time, and farmers are paying the price.
The fact is, the government does not want to upset the Americans. Sooner or later, the Liberals will have to pick a side: either they defend supply management and take a stand, or they let the United States tell them what to do.
Why is the Liberal government protecting American farmers instead of Canadian farmers?
Committees of the House June 7th, 2016
Madam Speaker, I would like to thank the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food for his speech in the House today.
The government boasts that it introduced our supply management system. However, when we look at what is actually happening at the moment, our government appears to be in the process of destroying our supply management system by permitting the importation of diafiltered milk. The Liberal government should be ashamed. Farmers came here to the Hill to demonstrate. Three thousand farmers came here to say that they were fed up and had had enough of consultations. Everyone agrees on the solution.
The government needs to do its job, enforce its regulations, and put an end to the importation of diafiltered milk into Canada. That is all. It is simple. The government tells us it is a complex situation for which it is seeking a long-term solution. This has to end. The government must enforce the regulations under the existing laws. Then perhaps it can look for other solutions, but everyone knows what the solution is. The government must take action and stand up for Canadian farmers.
Committees of the House June 7th, 2016
Madam Speaker, I have been on the agriculture committee since 2012. I tabled a motion in 2013 in support of supply management, asking the government to compensate the industry because of losses under the Canada-European Union trade agreement.
We are talking about diafiltered milk. Everyone is aware that this problem has been going on for two to three years. Industry has been consulted. Transformers and processors have been consulted. Everybody is aware. We have regulations in place. When diafiltered milk comes into Canada, it is not considered milk, so is not taxed a certain way. If the government were to actually apply the rules in place and stop diafiltered milk from coming into Canada, we would not have these losses. Transformers would actually use Canadian products. It would support management, reassure our producers, and solve a lot of problems.
We are just asking the government to act. It has consulted enough. There has been a lot of talk and enough hot air. There were 3,000 people on the Hill. We need to government to finally do its job, that is all.
Committees of the House June 7th, 2016
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague from Trois-Rivières for his question.
We should certainly be proud of Canada’s supply management system. When we look at farming and uncertainty in other countries, it scares us. That should make us feel even more like proclaiming loud and clear that it is important to defend our supply management system, not only in our trade agreements but especially at the border.
As a member representing a rural area with 37 municipalities and several hundred dairy farmers and poultry producers, I recognize the importance of our supply management system. It is important to take action.
The government has been holding consultations for 30 days, and it has been in power for seven months. Everyone agrees that the supply management system must be protected.
The solution is simple: the Liberal government must stand up to the Americans and stop the importation of diafiltered milk into Canada.
Committees of the House June 7th, 2016
Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
The dairy industry and the supply-managed industry are suffering huge losses as a result of the Canada-European Union comprehensive economic and trade agreement and the trans-Pacific partnership.
The former government negotiated a $4-billion compensation plan, which was also designed to fix the problem with diafiltered milk. However, a few months later, the Liberal government came to power and chose not to honour the compensation plan announced by the former Conservative government. The Liberal government says that it is consulting representatives of the supply-managed industry to find a long-term solution to the problem of diafiltered milk.
The industry and processors say that the simple solution is to enforce the compositional standards for cheese, put an end to tariff circumvention, and stop diafiltered milk from entering Canada. Canadian producers are suffering huge losses of $15,000 to $20,000 a year. Family farms are disappearing at lightning speed. Last year, more than 250 family farms shut down, and two-thirds of those were in Quebec.
The government must take action. If it genuinely wants to protect our supply management system, it must stand up for producers.
Committees of the House June 7th, 2016
Madam Speaker, this is a problem that has been going on for over two years. It is a problem we inherited from the Conservatives.
At committee, we had people from industry, we had Dairy Farmers of Canada, and we had processors. They all came together and told us they were consulted under the old government 60, 70, or 80 times. Therefore, the officials and the minister were aware. They were working, hopefully, on solutions.
Fast forward, we had an election and seven months later the Liberals are in power and are going to be here for another four years. We know what the solution is. Whether dairy farmers, processors, or transformers, we all know the government has to apply the rules. The government has to recognize that diafiltered milk is causing a lot of losses for dairy farmers and is disrupting supply management.
The transformers know they are going to have make that change. Once the government applies the rules that are already in place and actually stops it from coming in at our borders, they will have to stop using it. They will have to pay more and actually use Canadian products. That is it. That is the reality. There are not going to be any job losses.
The government has consulted enough. Everyone is on the same page. The government just has to act. That is all.