Evidence of meeting #97 for Agriculture and Agri-Food in the 42nd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.)
A recording is available from Parliament.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Pat Finnigan
Welcome, everyone.
Pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), we will continue our study of climate change and water and soil.
Before we proceed with committee business, is there anything you would like to discuss during the public portion of the meeting?
Mr. Breton, please go ahead.
Liberal
Pierre Breton Liberal Shefford, QC
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Hello, everyone.
Dear colleagues, we have already discussed the notice of motion regarding the mental health of farmers, which was tabled a number of weeks ago. My colleagues in the NDP and the Conservative Party thought a study on that topic was a good idea. Today, I am pleased to officially table the motion.
May I read it out, Mr. Chair?
Liberal
Pierre Breton Liberal Shefford, QC
Very well.
The motion is as follows:
That, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2), the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food undertake a study on the mental health challenges that our farmers, ranchers, and producers face; that this study meet with farmers, ranchers, producers, and community health groups with the goal of understanding the issues they face, sharing best practices, reviewing currently available resources and identifying gaps related to mental health in the Canadian agriculture community and that the Committee report its finding to the House. The study would be undertaken over a period of a minimum of six meetings and start as soon as Wednesday, May 23, 2018.
The motion I am officially tabling today provides further details. I hope we can all agree to discuss this challenge affecting our agricultural producers.
Thank you very much.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Pat Finnigan
Thank you, Mr. Breton.
You have all heard the motion. Do you wish to discuss it?
Mr. Berthold, you have the floor.
Conservative
Luc Berthold Conservative Mégantic—L'Érable, QC
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I want to thank my colleague very much for tabling this motion. I would point out that the motion, shared by the entire group, is further to a motion tabled by my colleague, Mr. Earl Dreeshen. He was very concerned by the situation farmers are in now. The agriculture community is regularly shocked by crises, but they often go unnoticed by most Canadians. In the cities, little is said about the human impact of these crises. Consider for instance the recent crisis in the railway industry that created a lot of uncertainty for farmers and producers who did not know if they could afford to start their new season. These situations are truly critical for certain farms.
That crisis is just one example. Nor can we forget the effects of climate change, the impact of a bad crop, or the damage to crops that certain insects cause. In short, there are many factors that can impact the daily lives of farmers in Canada.
This is a mental health issue. Let us not mince words: the suicide rate among farmers is much higher than the general public might think. It is important for parliamentarians to examine this situation. Although we might prefer not to talk about cases of suicide, we have to open the door to dialogue and talk about the factors that lead people to suicide. We have to talk about it to shed some light and see how we can help our farmers deal with this situation.
I think all MPs who live in rural regions have heard about the difficult situations that farming families face. That is why it is very important for me to point out that we in the opposition are in favour of this study. In fact, we strongly encourage it.
I would like to commend the government for its openness to conducting this study on mental health. Once again, I commend my colleague's imitative, which immediately struck a chord on the other side of the table. It should be noted that the sole purpose of this study is to find ways of helping farmers and producers deal with this difficult situation. If we can help even a single person through our work, it will have been worthwhile. We will have met an important goal.
You will have gathered from my comments that I support this study.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Pat Finnigan
Thank you, Mr. Berthold.
Are there any other comments?
Since there are none, we will proceed with the vote.
(The motion agreed to)
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Pat Finnigan
We will now proceed with committee business. We will suspend and then resume in camera.
[Proceedings continue in camera]