Debates of May 13th, 2020

Canadian Dairy Commission Act

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

Does the hon. member for London—Fanshawe have the unanimous consent of the House to propose the motion?

[Some hon. members]

No.

[The Deputy Speaker, Conservative, Bruce Stanton]

There is no consent.

We'll now go to questions and comments.

The hon. member for Hamilton Mountain.

[Scott Duvall, NDP, Hamilton Mountain, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I have a simple question for my colleague, who made a lot of good points.

Would she agree that the dairy farmers have been waiting for this to happen for a while now, and does she have any idea why the government took so long to make this simple change?

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I really appreciate my incredible colleague from Hamilton Mountain, who ensures that I have what I need even when I think I already have it.

I do not know exactly why it took so long. I was certainly disappointed, but am finally relieved, as I am sure that a lot of farming families are too. We have a lot of work to do still. With a lot of the programs that have been introduced by the government throughout the COVID-19 crisis, there are so many people who are falling through the cracks. We are seeing that a lot of farmers are still not eligible for the supports that are being put forward, so I hope we can continue to work with the government to address this and help people who are falling through those cracks. I have faith that we can, if we really work hard and work together to start to address these inequalities.

[Randy Hoback, Conservative, Prince Albert, SK]

Mr. Speaker, I want to pass on my condolences and respects to the family members of the person she talked about. It is a sad event, and what we are experiencing here in Canada is such a sad time and definitely draw tears to one's eyes.

I have a very simple question for my colleague about the agriculture producers in her riding. What is their biggest need at this time as we go into the planting season and as they transition into the spring and summer?

[Lindsay Mathyssen, NDP, London—Fanshawe, ON]

Mr. Speaker, these supports are a start. They need a more responsive government that acts a lot faster to address a lot of the failings that have gone on for so long. As this pandemic has shown us, even in the manufacturing sector, we rely on a lot of imports. As I said before, my area is so incredibly rich with respect to that agricultural production.

Again, I will return to the idea of local food security and production. We know where our food is coming from, we know what is in it and we know that it is safe. The reliance on those local farmers is key. Therefore, I hope we can start to move forward on national programs that really enhance that food security and ensure we have that local production.

[Deb Schulte, Liberal, Minister of Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the President of the Treasury Board.

I am very pleased to be here to ask members for their support for this bill, which is very important for Canada's dairy industry.

I am pleased to speak today in support of this bill to increase by $200 million the Canadian Dairy Commission's capacity to buy milk. The proposed amendment to the Canadian Dairy Commission Act will significantly help Canada's dairy farmers to manage their surplus milk, while helping to meet food security demands across the nation.

Our dairy farmers have adopted the social media “#HereForCanada during COVID-19 and always”. I would like to share the collective message to Canadians from the Dairy Farmers of Canada's website, which reads, “One day, not very long ago, we woke up to find the world had changed. But one important thing has stayed the same: Canadian dairy farmers continue to work tirelessly, day-in and day-out, to ensure that Canadians can feed their families with milk produced to standards among the highest in the world.” This is such a powerful message, one I know that is filled with the passion of the dairy farmers in my riding.

Every evening at 7 p.m., we hear Canadians out on their porches cheering and banging pots and pans in support of our front-line workers. Those workers include Canadian dairy farmers and processors, who are working tirelessly to feed the nation in these uncertain times.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on all sectors of the economy. One of the major challenges is that the dairy industry is facing volatile demand for its products. When the crisis first began, consumers started panic buying and shelves were quickly emptied. However, soon after, demand plummeted once consumers had stocked up and restaurants were closed. Demand for milk took a further nosedive following mass closures of hotels and schools, which had stopped buying cheese, cream and other dairy products.

With thousands of litres of excess milk and no place to sell it, some farmers have been faced with the difficult task of disposing milk that they know would otherwise nourish us. At the same time, we are also hearing about the struggles of food banks and community organizations to provide adequate food supply to those most vulnerable in our communities.

Across the nation, dairy farmers and processors, despite their own overwhelming challenges, are stepping up in a big way for Canadians. They are donating dairy products to food banks and their communities. In all, the industry has committed more than $10 million in dairy products to food banks across the country to support Canadians in need. Despite these efforts, however, some producers were forced to dispose of their milk as a last resort.

What is greatly needed is greater capacity to store butter and cheese processed from milk. That is where our government's bill to amend the Canadian Dairy Commission Act comes in. The role of the commission is as critical as it has ever been at this time of extreme challenges to farm income and food security due to COVID-19. In periods of lower demand and high production such as in recent weeks, the CDC purchases butter from dairy processors, stores it and then sells it back when the demand improves.

Currently, the act limits the CDC's line of credit to $300 million. This has not changed in 25 years. The bill before us proposes to raise that limit to $500 million, and for very good reason.

To help restore stability in the marketplace, dairy producers and processors supported the CDC's request to increase its line of credit in order to extend existing programs and create new ones, such as storing cheese. This credit extension will give the industry some breathing room until this crisis has passed and equip the CDC with the means to manage future crises. It will minimize food waste and ensure we can all enjoy the fruits of our dairy farmers' hard work.

Dairy Farmers of Canada has welcomed the announcement, saying it will help to offset the impacts of bottlenecks in the supply chain that have prevented the smooth operation of the dairy value chain that allows milk to get from the farm to the store shelf. Increasing this capacity of the Canadian Dairy Commission directly aligns with our government's key actions to ensure food security.

Last week, as part of the federal investment package of $252 million to support our agri-food sector, the Prime Minister launched a first-ever surplus food purchase program. It is being supported by an initial $50 million fund and will help redistribute surplus foods to local food organizations that are serving vulnerable Canadians. Dairy Farmers of Canada also welcome this measure as a way to get our dairy products to those most in need.

This government believes in the importance of food security, and the recent allocation of $100 million through the food policy for Canada in support of food banks and other community organizations on the front lines is a testament to this fact.

Food Banks Canada is receiving $50 million, with an additional $20 million evenly divided between Second Harvest, Community Food Centres Canada, Breakfast Club of Canada and Salvation Army. These organizations will work with local partners to meet urgent and increased food needs, including those in indigenous and northern populations. Organizations can use the funding to purchase, support and distribute food, hire temporary help to fill volunteer shortages and implement biosecurity measures, such as the purchase of personal protective equipment. The last $30 million will be allocated later to fill the gaps and respond to further needs.

As well, we will invest $25 million through nutrition north to serve Canada's northern remote communities.

I am so inspired by everyone who is going above and beyond to help. Our deep thanks goes out to our dairy farmers and all those working in the agriculture and agri-food sectors. In uncertain times, it is more critical than ever for Canadians to have access to good, high-quality and nutritious foods, which include our dairy products.

That is why the Government of Canada is taking the step to further support our dairy farmers and processors, who provide Canadians with the food they need to keep them and their families healthy. With this bill we are delivering for our dairy industry in its time of need and supporting an industry that gives so much back to our economy, with over $6 billion in sales on the farm, almost $15 billion in processor sales and tens of thousands of jobs.

I began by quoting a message from our dairy farmers to Canadians, which concludes, “They say farmers help keep Canada strong, but the truth is feeding Canadians is what keeps us strong.”

I invite my hon. colleagues to step up as well and join us in supporting this bill.

I eagerly invite my hon. colleagues to collaborate by supporting this bill.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, dairy farming is important to so many in my community. After all, Perth—Wellington has more dairy farmers than any other electoral district in the country, something we are very proud of and think is very important.

However, when I talk to different individuals and farmers, they are greatly concerned with the slow-to-action process the government has taken. Would the hon. minister agree that this action should have been taken two or three weeks ago, before so many of these farmers had to dump their milk?

[Deb Schulte, Liberal, King—Vaughan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I also would like to acknowledge the dairy farms in my riding. They are very pleased with the action we are taking today. It will help dairy farmers across Canada.

The measures are coming in response to the request by the Canadian Dairy Commission, which is already saying how happy it is. I am hoping that all of us in the House can join together today and get this done.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the member quoted the Dairy Farmers of Canada twice in her presentation. The quote from the organization was wonderful, but really was not related to the funding that came from the government; it was more about its industry in general.

Could the member advise us as to how the dairy industry feels about the funding that has been announced by the government?

[Deb Schulte, Liberal, King—Vaughan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the member is absolutely right. I was quoting from the dairy farmers themselves and their organization to show their heart and commitment to Canada, and to producing such a high-quality product for Canadians.

There is great support for this measure by the dairy industry. Again, we are looking for the support of all members in the House today to move this forward as quickly as possible so we can implement it.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, one of the concerns I hear all the time from farmers in my riding, particularly in the non-supply-managed commodities, is the concern with the business risk management programs. When the government introduced the Canadian agricultural partnership to replace Growing Forward 2, there was a commitment to have a complete review and reworking of the business risk management programs.

Here we are, a few years later, and that still has not happened.

Could the minister commit today that the government will undertake a full and comprehensive reworking of the business risk management programs, so they better support farmers in the non-supply-managed commodities?

[Deb Schulte, Liberal, King—Vaughan, ON]

Mr. Speaker, I want to reflect on the comments I have heard my colleague, the Minister of Agriculture, say many times, that it is really important for farmers to access the risk management program. There are resources there, and it is important that they access that program.

That is the most important one for them to be able to get the supports they need right now. They need to go to that program. There are calculators on the website to help them see how this is going to benefit them, and they need to take advantage of this program. It is there for them, and we would like to see them use it.

[John Nater, Conservative, Perth—Wellington, ON]

Mr. Speaker, the minister says that those programs are there for farmers, but the fact of the matter is that they are not. Only about 30% of farmers are actually enrolled in those programs, and of that 30% so many are not able to access the funding through that program, or if they are, they have it clawed back in future years.

It is very simple. The Liberals committed to a full review and reworking of these programs. Will they do that? Will they do it, especially now, when we are in a pandemic and farmers are at the front lines? They are the ones who are feeding us on a daily basis. They are feeding our country, and they are feeding the world.

Could the Liberals at least commit to a review of these business risk management programs, which they agreed to a number of years ago?

[Deb Schulte, Liberal, Minister of Seniors]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to remind the members in the House of what we have done, and that we are targeting support to some of the most critical challenges facing the food supply chain at this moment, helping to cover extraordinary costs and address food security concerns.

We have a $77.5-million emergency processing fund available. We have $125 million in a national AgriRecovery initiative, including set-asides for cattle and hog management. We have expanded the CDC's borrowing capacity by $200 million in this movement, and there is a $50-million surplus food purchase program. We are working with the provinces and territories to increase AgriStability interim payments to 75%.

These are some of the measures we have taken to support our farmers.

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, President of the Treasury Board]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to add my own support to this bill to amend the Canadian Diary Commission Act.

As others have said, this bill is urgently needed by our Canadian dairy sector. We are talking about an industry that drives our economy, and our rural communities in particular, with over $6 billion in sales on the farm, almost $15 billion in processor sales, and tens of thousands of jobs. That is why our government continues to support a strong supply management system in Canada.

The Canadian Dairy Commission continues to be an excellent partner in supporting a strong and critical supply management system for dairy producers across the country, as it has been doing for the past half century. One of its main roles is to help maintain the balance between supply and demand and avoid surpluses, as we have seen during the COVID-19 crisis.

Because of the closure of restaurants, hotels and schools, the demand for dairy products dropped significantly, leaving dairy producers with a surplus. Producers and producer groups did everything they could to manage the surplus by reducing quotas and donating to food banks. However, more needs to be done. That is why this bill is so important.

The Canadian Dairy Commission needs a greater capacity to fully meet the industry's needs, and that is what this bill offers by increasing the commission's borrowing capacity to fund the purchase and storage of surplus dairy products.

I therefore urge all my fellow MPs to support this bill to amend the Canadian Dairy Commission Act. Canada's dairy producers have endorsed this measure, which will give the industry the help it desperately needs and help sustain the supply chain. This amendment to the Canadian Dairy Commission Act is another sign of our government's strong and ongoing support for the dairy industry and our supply management system.

We know that international trade is also vital for our economy and our jobs in this country. Canada is indeed a trading nation. To maximize our trade opportunities, we have completed trade agreements with our key trading partners in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America.

That said, we are balancing our pro-trade agenda with our continued strong commitment to supply management. I can tell everyone that during the negotiations for the new NAFTA, we defended our system against a concerted effort to dismantle it entirely.

At the same time, we also know that some access to our Canadian dairy markets was granted, which is why we sat down with supply management groups and worked out the best way to deliver full and fair compensation to Canadian supply-managed producers.

To help dairy producers manage the impact of the CPTPP and CETA, we committed to an investment of $1.75 billion. We have already sent out $345 million to dairy farmers in direct payments based on their quota holdings. I want to recognize the great work done by the Canadian Dairy Commission in helping us deliver these dollars to producers as quickly as possible.

As well, we have invested $350 million in programs to help dairy producers and processors boost their production and compete. The producer portion of this investment is $250 million for the dairy farm investment program. Right across Canada, this program is helping well over 3,000 dairy farmers make key investments in animal comfort, new feeding and milking systems, ventilation systems and many others. These innovations are helping dairy farmers reduce their costs, boost their productivity and improve their efficiency. The result is a stronger, more profitable operation. That is good news for our dairy industry, for our communities, for consumers and for our economy.

Of course, we will continue to move forward with the compensation, not only for dairy producers, but for poultry and egg producers as well. We will sit down with the industry to determine the best way forward for compensation for new access under the new NAFTA.

We absolutely have to help our dairy producers remain financially viable while meeting consumer demand for an industry that is both innovative and sustainable. We are pleased to be working with the Canadian Dairy Commission to develop a vision for the future and an ambitious strategic plan for Canada's dairy sector. This bill will help the sector get through this crisis and secure its future.

I would also like to remind the House that, in recent decades, the industry has made major progress on the production, innovation and environmental sustainability fronts. For example, the carbon footprint of a glass of milk is now just one-third of what it was in the 1950s. We owe that kind of progress and so much more to innovation in the areas of dairy cow genetics, feed and management and to farmers' outstanding work.

Our government is proud to be helping Canada's dairy industry pave the way when it comes to innovation and technology. Let us support our industry and show our pride in its hour of greatest need by passing this bill. Let us keep working with producers and processors to support every part of Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector.

[Gérard Deltell, Conservative, Louis-Saint-Laurent, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I want to acknowledge the President of the Treasury Board.

I would like to begin by thanking him and sincerely congratulating him. I have been dealing with him and his officials over the past two months. We have always had a cordial, efficient and productive relationship. I thank him from the bottom of my heart. I very much appreciate it.

As the President of the Treasury Board, he is the architect, or one of the architects, of the government's tax policies. Nobody expected this—we understand that—especially in terms of the emergency assistance needed.

We understand, and we all agreed on the principle of emergency assistance. However, this is having unintended consequences that are directly affecting agriculture. Some people, especially young people and students, who will be eligible for this beginning on Friday, might be tempted to stay home and collect the $1,200 a month rather than go to work in the fields.

In contrast, the provincial government, under the leadership of Minister André Lamontagne, proposed additional financial support for people to work in the fields. He is proposing an extra $100 a month for people who choose to work in the fields.

Could the government have taken the same approach to encourage people to go to work and thus avoid the unintended consequence of people staying home and getting paid to do nothing?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to have the opportunity to underscore that in Quebec City we are a tightknit community and my team and I have the pleasure and honour of working with the team of the hon. member for Louis-Saint-Laurent. I think we are all very proud to be the members of Parliament for our ridings and we can also be very proud of the collaboration that exists between our teams.

On the subject of the Canada emergency response benefit that we have put in place, as I said earlier, in the Quebec City region tens of thousands of families are receiving this emergency benefit because they absolutely need it to make ends meet. That being said, we know that there are problems, which is why the Canadian government announced very important aid a few days ago to the tune of $3 billion to increase the pay of workers in essential sectors of the economy. We know that the Quebec government will use that aid wisely.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, the minister has made these comments about supporting the dairy industry, and we certainly do support this bill. I just want to acknowledge the great, hard work and long hours that the people in the dairy industry put in to be able to provide this great product for us in Canada, and our processing.

I am wondering if the minister can further acknowledge and mention what further asks came from the dairy industry in the lead-up to this particular bill, Bill C-16. There is the $200 million that has been put in. Were there other things that were asked for?

[Jean-Yves Duclos, Liberal, Québec, QC]

Mr. Speaker, although there are no dairy producers in my riding, I would like to say something that I know to be true: Unfortunately, dairy producers, like all other agricultural producers, work very hard.

I do not have to go too far back in my family tree to find some farmers, but I am not one of them, and there are not many in my riding. Nevertheless, and as the member said so well, the sector needs help. As the Prime Minister has already announced, and as the minister has repeated, we need to continue working with the sector to ensure that it can keep doing its job while feeding 35 million Canadians.

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to speak to Bill C-16 in the House today as well. This bill is an act to amend the Canadian Dairy Commission Act. It is a bill to increase the amount that the commission can borrow to $500 million.

Before I start, I want to thank my colleagues from Foothills and Beauce for their presentations today, and the excellent speeches they made in regard to the need for further support in the agricultural industry. I also want to acknowledge the hard work, as I just pointed out, of the people in the dairy industry and their work in trying to convince the minister, who was trying to convince us and farmers that she's walking the talk. According to the reports I am getting, it is not working so well for her. We certainly want to give the minister some more ideas today as far as what kind of help we are hearing about in the country that might help her make a more firm commitment. I hope to leave the minister with those ideas.

I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Huron—Bruce, another great region of Canada, as far as agricultural production goes. Maybe that is why my ancestors in the Wingham area left there in the 1870s, to go west and find greater fertility on the bald prairies out in Elgin, Manitoba. Many of my ancestors still live there. I will have to get back and see them again sometime.

In supporting Bill C-16, we know the importance of the dairy industry in Canada. We also know the shortfalls that the government has had in regard to dealing with the dairy industry. My colleague from the Bloc today was trying to do a bit of a history lesson. He said he was a teacher, but I want to reiterate. My colleague mentioned the great trade agreements that we have had. I have had people from the dairy industry in my office supporting the TPP agreement that we signed. My colleague from Abbotsford signed that agreement with the prime minister and our minister of agriculture from Saskatchewan as well at the time.

These were great trade agreements that people in the dairy industry realized were an opportunity for them to continue with their industry in a very extensive way, and that the Conservative government at the time had their backs. We had put forward, as my colleagues from Quebec have indicated, a $4.2 billion plan to help the dairy industry with any kind of support it needed as the adjustment took place for the great pluses in other areas of the industry and other industries in Canada that were going to take place under the TPP.

I want to acknowledge that the government did make $2 billion available to the dairy farmers of Canada just a week or so before the election last fall, which seemed to be a bit suspicious timing. The Liberals did that because the agreement they were signing with the United States was not as good for the dairy industry as the one we were looking at signing with the TPP, so the Liberals felt there needed to be support there. We in opposition know and acknowledge again how important the dairy industry is.

There are many sectors that are hurting in the Prairies and in Ontario, because I have spoken with Ontario cattle people. I have spoken with my Quebec colleagues, and some in the Maritimes too, in regard to the hurt in the agricultural industry today. There does not seem to be the acknowledgement there that is on a parallel, as other colleagues have mentioned, with some of the other industries that have been supported in this COVID-19 pandemic. I reiterate that, to the question I asked of the minister a while ago, she said the Liberals would be there to help with the asks of the agricultural industry. In the question that I asked earlier, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture indicated that it would take $2.6 billion to support that industry.

This was a few weeks back when the organization made this claim, and yet the minister announces $252 million, of which $150 million is for the AgriRecovery program. As my colleagues have said, that is budgeted regularly every year in every province for the partnership arrangement that the provinces are involved in, to have an AgriRecovery program. Therefore, these are not even newly budgeted funds, and that is the biggest portion of that $252 million.

I acknowledge the expansion of the $200 million today in support of the Canadian Dairy Commission Act because of the need to make sure we do not have these kinds of perishable agricultural products spoiling and not being saved for further use. That is a very big concern, but it is a parallel that is not drawn by the government's commitment to the agricultural industry in sectors such as the beef and pork industries at this time. I would compare, as others have, the spoilage of butter, cheese and milk products not being acceptable to it being just as unacceptable to see piglets or culled cows being euthanized in Canada today as well. That is the result of a lack of immediate support and a delay in the support from the government in trying to meet and adapt to the needs of our agriculture industry, particularly our livestock producers.

The government thinking it can do it through the AgriRecovery program is, I guess, one step better than trying to do it through AgriStability, but I want to correct the Minister of Seniors. She just said the government was working hard to try and get the AgriStability program to 75% margins when, in fact, that is where it is and the industry is wanting it to go to 85%. The Minister of Agriculture acknowledged that, so I want to make sure they are on the same page in their own cabinet.

I want to reiterate that there is support in AgriStability, but many farmers have been through disasters before and support comes 18 months to two years after the fact. It is far too late for an immediate hit in a pandemic situation like this. What I mean by “immediate hit” is this. I have had feedlot operators tell me that it is costing them $800,000 a month to feed the cattle they have in a 10,000-head feedlot back home, and that one is a reasonable size in a province the size of Manitoba. I also know that from the bigger feedlots in southern Alberta, these are 20,000 to 25,000 heads of cattle each. I have been on many of them. They are huge operations and it costs upward of $2.4 million a month to feed that many livestock in those areas. This is about food security. We could talk about the size of the operations or anything else, it is all relevant, but we really have to make sure we are dealing with food security.

One of the programs I have heard a lot about, and that farmers have indicated they would qualify for and sign on to, is the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program. I will pass their suggestion on to the minister, that she should look at it and utilize it. It does not work now because, as I said in my question to her today, the premiums are not affordable. If it were made affordable, the government could use it now and go ahead with its AgriRecovery.

However, let us go back to March 13, the day the House rose. All parties agreed to that, so we know there was a disaster going on that particular day. We could use that as a reference point. If we look at Western Livestock, the Ontario people tell me it would work for them. If the premiums were affordable, they would sign up immediately, knowing full well that they would get a return out of it this year. The big problem with any insurance program is liquidity, so if the government were able to help with premium levels becoming more affordable, then it would get the buy-in from the livestock industry across Canada to make the liquidity viable. That is a big issue with that program.

To develop that, the farmers would have to sign on for three or four years and the government would have to look at supporting the industry as well. Farmers have told me that is what they would do, because they know it would be more predictable in helping them stabilize their livestock industry, both on the pork side and the beef side.

If they are going to sign up, we could look at agreeing on that in the House. It is all because we would have a recognition of the COVID-19 area.

That commitment is what makes it liquid, and the provinces would therefore be able to phase themselves in. We pretty well have to do it through federal funding right now, because the provinces are already being supported by the federal government in many ways.

[John Barlow, Conservative, Foothills, AB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for Brandon—Souris for his intervention, for his wealth of knowledge when it comes to the agriculture sector and specifically for his comments on Bill C-16.

I wonder if the member could comment on some of the things he has heard from his constituents regarding the impact on the Dairy Commission and the dairy producers as a result of this pandemic.

Is this agreement that we are talking about today more to do with the USMCA, and what impact is the USMCA having on dairy producers across the country?

[Larry Maguire, Conservative, Brandon—Souris, MB]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague for Foothills for that question. It is very relevant.

I did mention that this agreement the government signed, the USMCA, is weaker for the dairy industry than what we had before, the same as the $2.2 billion support level that was brought out a week before the election campaign. This support level is needed right now in the industry. Of course, it is caused by the pandemic that we are in, but the trade agreements needed to be much more solid for the long-term sustainability and viability of a very needed industry like the dairy industry that we have here in Canada.

[Tracy Gray, Conservative, Kelowna—Lake Country, BC]

Mr. Speaker, the member mentioned other sectors in agriculture that were not included in Bill C-16. I would like to draw his attention to my riding of Kelowna—Lake Country where we have a tree fruit industry and will read what the BC Fruit Growers' Association had said.

The financial support package to the Canadian agriculture industry announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau this morning is profoundly underwhelming.

I wonder if the member can expand on his thoughts of what the government should additionally be doing to not let down farmers.