Debates of May 1st, 2014

Bill C-33—Time Allocation Motion

[Some hon. members]

Oh, oh!

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

Order, please. There is too much chatter going back and forth in the House. I am having difficulty hearing the minister, even though he is less than 20 feet away from me.

Minister, you may continue.

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, it just goes to show that when New Democrats ask a question and do not like the answer, they heckle. It does not change the fact.

The fact is that members will have the chance to continue this debate. We have until tomorrow at least, and then it will go to committee. There the hon. member is well represented by his party and he will have the chance, with other members, to see and hear witnesses and consider the bill. We shall get the report from the committee and act accordingly.

What is important is that we do this as quickly as possible because the current non-system is failing a whole generation of first nation students.

[Marc-André Morin, NDP, Laurentides—Labelle, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I would like the minister to explain one thing and that is the urgency of all this. The funds will be available in 2016. If this were urgent, and if the government were taking it seriously, should the money not be available already?

I lived on a reserve for two years. For 30 years, aboriginal people have been ready to get an education and to exercise the same rights as all other citizens in that regard. Until now they have only been given promises. That is probably the reason for the skepticism. This is strangely similar to the promise about the Kelowna accord, a promise made by a government that, although on the verge of collapse, at the last minute gave out money that was not included in the budget. In the end, nothing happened. That is why aboriginal people are fed up.

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, would it be possible for the member to be coherent? He just said that over a period of more than 30 years, first nations children were deprived of an education system. We are bringing forward a bill that will finally give them this statutory right and his party is opposing it.

He just mentioned the Kelowna accord. It was money thrown at them by the Liberals, without reforms and without a system to ensure the success of first nations children. We have invested and committed $1.9 billion in the budget, and he voted against it. I would like him to be coherent.

[Lysane Blanchette-Lamothe, NDP, Pierrefonds—Dollard, QC]

Mr. Speaker, quite frankly, the minister is being hypocritical. This bill is about education in aboriginal communities, and just because the NDP has concerns about this bill, the Conservatives are accusing us of being against education in those communities.

People may remember that, not so long ago, we had a bill before us that was supposed to fight child pornography. The NDP was concerned about the bill because it was poorly drafted. Because of its concerns, the NDP was accused of supporting child pornography. Actually, the minister had to withdraw that statement. As it turned out, the bill was so badly written that the minister himself had to withdraw it.

Let us remember that and put things into perspective. This debate is about more than education in first nations communities. It is also about the way the government drafts its bills, about how often they are messed up and badly written. The Conservatives do not even bother to consult the parties involved.

[Bernard Valcourt, Conservative, Madawaska—Restigouche, NB]

Mr. Speaker, the member will be happy to learn that the process leading up to this bill took place over a long period of time. Those drafting the bill considered the advice and opinions of countless first nations chiefs and band council members, school boards, first nations members and parents.

The important thing now is to study this bill in committee and find out whether the real goal can be achieved through the provisions in the bill.

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

Order. It is my duty to interrupt the proceedings and put forthwith the question necessary to dispose of the motion now before the House.

The question is on the motion. Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

No.

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

All those in favour of the motion will please say yea.

[Some hon. members]

Yea.

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

All those opposed will please say nay.

[Some hon. members]

Nay.

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

In my opinion the yeas have it.

And five or more members having risen:

Call in the members.

(The House divided on the motion, which was agreed to on the following division:)

Vote #109

First Nations Control of First Nations Education Act

[The Speaker, Conservative, Andrew Scheer]

(Motion agreed to)

I declare the motion carried.

The House proceeded to the consideration of Bill C-30, An Act to amend the Canada Grain Act and the Canada Transportation Act and to provide for other measures, as reported (without amendment) from the committee.

Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

There being no motions at report stage, the House will now proceed without debate to the putting of the question on the motion to concur in the bill at report stage.

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food]

moved that the bill be concurred in.

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

Is it the pleasure of the House to adopt the motion?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[The Deputy Speaker, NDP, Joe Comartin]

(Motion agreed to)

I declare the motion carried. When shall the bill be read a third time? By leave, now?

[Some hon. members]

Agreed.

[Gerry Ritz, Conservative, Battlefords—Lloydminster, SK]

moved that the bill be read the third time and passed.

Mr. Speaker, it is indeed a pleasure to report Bill C-30 back to the House.

The bill addresses the immediate needs of Canadian farmers, bulk shippers, and our overall economy. Our government knows our economy needs a supply chain that works today and tomorrow, with the capacity to move what is produced.

I was proud to speak to the benefits of this bill at the agriculture committee last month. I understand the committee had a very extensive series of meetings, including testimony from over 20 stakeholder groups. The committee heard from the entire supply chain from farm to port, and from a wide range of commodity shippers, from wheat to oats to barley, as well as from fertilizer, mining, and timber groups.

I was pleased to see a strong will around the table to work toward industry-led solutions focused on service and private sector responsibilities.

This is a piece of comprehensive legislation, and opposition and government together appreciate the non-partisan work of the committee to date, along with all of the witnesses that came forward. By working together, we were able to strengthen the bill, which, I would like to note, passed through the committee with unanimous support. I thank the committee members for that.

It was extremely unfortunate that the member for Edmonton-St. Albert turned a deaf ear to those farmers and shippers by attempting to deprive them of meaningful service level agreements, or SLAs. His point of order accomplished nothing but delaying the much-needed measures in the bill.

I want to be clear that these parliamentary games, while unfortunate, will not deter our government and the opposition from amending Bill C-30 to include service level agreements with reciprocal penalties. Testimony shows that the majority of stakeholders support the bill and what it sets out to accomplish.

During the committee's consultations, shippers of all commodities applauded this legislation, but they also asked the government to go further. They asked us to put more teeth into service level agreements to bring day-to-day accountability to the railways. Responding to this feedback, my parliamentary secretary introduced an amendment at committee on behalf of the government.

The first part of the amendment would give the Canadian Transportation Agency the authority to

...order the company to compensate any person adversely affected for any expenses that they incurred as a result of the company's failure to fulfill its service obligations...

By “company”, of course, we mean railways.

The amendment allows shippers who enter into service level agreements to be directly compensated for any expenses they incur as a result of the railways' failure to meet those service obligations. This includes compensation if the shipper is out of pocket for costs such as demurrage, contract defaults, or penalties. It goes further than the reciprocal penalties that many in the industry have requested, because it applies to any level of service complaint under the Canada Transportation Act. This is a market-based solution that would help get all bulk commodities moving and continuing to move.

The second part of the amendment reads:

...or, if the company is a party to a confidential contract with a shipper that requires the company to pay an amount of compensation for expenses incurred by the shipper as a result of the company's failure to fulfill its service obligations, order the company to pay that amount to the shipper

This measure is equally important, because it allows compensation to be paid within a commercial contract. It would encourage the shippers and railways to come to the table and set their own terms and agree on SLAs with reciprocal penalties, should they so desire.

The goal is to level the playing field and provide better tools for shippers when railway companies breach their service obligations.

We are working to continue to improve the efficiency, reliability, and predictability of the entire supply chain. I am pleased to say that strengthening SLAs has the support of industry, the provinces, and the opposition, and I thank them all.

Industry groups that support this needed amendment include, but are not limited to, the Inland Terminal Association of Canada, the Barley Council of Canada, the Canadian Canola Growers Association, Cereals Canada, the Mining Association of Canada, the Canadian Fertilizer Institute, and the Freight Management Association of Canada. It covers all of the spectrum.

The importance of the bill cannot be understated. I recently returned from a trade mission to South Korea and Japan, where, alongside Canadian industry, I spoke directly with international buyers of Canadian grains about problems incurred in our immediate past. I assured these buyers that our government was not taking this situation lightly and explained the details of Bill C-30 to directly address their concerns. These buyers were pleased to hear that our government was taking this needed action to ensure Canada's reputation as a reliable grain shipper, and they thanked our government for acting quickly.

Farmers and all shippers need our government to pass the bill, as amended, as expeditiously as possible. Our economy and Canadian jobs are relying on us to act.

Crop yields show every sign of continuing to grow through better technology, higher yielding, more disease-resistant varieties and better agronomic practices.

Shippers of all bulk commodities that rely on rail are growing their businesses exponentially and are demanding increased capacity to get those products to a burgeoning marketplace. That is why we must move forward to strengthen the supply chain now for the next crop year and beyond.

Bill C-30 holds solutions that would benefit the entire supply chain. I urge everyone in the House to work together to pass this important bill, with this needed amendment, as quickly as possible.

[Wayne Easter, Liberal, Malpeque, PE]

Mr. Speaker, we do indeed support the bill, although we do not believe it goes far enough.

Certainly, the minister's point that the movement of grain is important to the economy, and trade is important, it makes no sense to go out there and sign trade deals when we cannot get our product to market. Transportation is functional to marketing and we believe the bill goes some distance to assure that transportation takes place in a timely fashion.

However, the bill falls very short in one area, and that is price transparency for producers. We know now that the spread between the export price and the price paid to producers is much greater than it was last fall. In fact, some would say that producers were getting 87% of the export price last fall, and now they are getting about 48%. This means the grain companies or someone in the system is profiting extensively at the expense of the farmers.

When the minister brought in legislation to allow this new selling system to take place, why did he not incorporate in either this bill or in previous legislation the requirement that the logistics would be in place to ensure that there would be proper movement, proper transparency in terms of pricing to farmers so farmers could be assured they would get their fair share of the market price?