Mr. Speaker, many of my constituents are very concerned about the canola crisis we are in the middle of and the impact it has on farmers. Meanwhile, in the context of the government's budget proposals, it is giving more money to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, which is a vehicle of Chinese foreign policy. It is controlled from Beijing. It is being used to build infrastructure in Asia to advance China's interests through the belt and road initiative, such as building pipelines in Azerbaijan.
People in my constituency are wondering why their tax dollars are being used to fund the advancement of China's regional ambitions while Canadian farmers are suffering because of a totally inappropriate and baseless trade action by China. We oppose participation in the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in general, but at the very least, would the minister agree that the government should stop writing these big cheques to advance the Chinese government's foreign policy until we at least see movement on the canola issue?