André Bellavance

[Agriculture and Agri-food, October 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, to listen to the Secretary of State, all is well and good; however, that is not the case. Producers have something to complain about. I would like to hear what the new Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food has to say about this.

The CAIS program places those companies that have diversified their activities, which is most of them, at a particular disadvantage.

I hear the Conservatives boasting about taking action. What about their promise made in 2005 to include a true catastrophic component in the existing program?

[Agriculture and Agri-food, October 30th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, today the Fédération des producteurs acéricoles du Québec is holding its annual general meeting in Victoriaville.

The sugar maple growers of eastern Quebec are going through difficult times. Some have had their production decrease by up to 70%, with financial losses of 40%, or $25 million for these 1,000 producers.

The CAIS program does not meet the needs of sugar maple growers. When there is assistance, it comes much too late and only covers part of the losses. What is the government waiting for to provide a real income support program?

[Business of Supply, October 25th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, I was dismayed to see that the Speech from the Throne in no way addressed the terrible crisis affecting the manufacturing sector, and that today, the first Liberal opposition day, there was no mention of the crisis either. Since my colleague was the longtime Bloc industry critic and is now finance critic, these issues are major concerns of his.

Our regions are also very concerned about what is going on, for example, with Commonwealth Plywood in Princeville, which is shutting down. Located in the Conservative riding of Mégantic—L'Érable, this company works with wood veneer. In Victoriaville, in my riding, Flexart, which also works with wood veneer, decided to cut 26 jobs to concentrate its activities in a single factory.

What is currently going on is a major problem. It seems as though neither the government nor the official opposition realizes that.

I would like the member to talk about the solutions. Does he have constructive solutions to propose, as the Bloc Québécois does regularly, to help resolve the crisis in the manufacturing industry?

[Award for Dedication to Volunteering, October 24th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Bloc Québécois, I would like to congratulate Francine Ferland, a farmer in the Bellechasse region, who received the Bénévole fortement engagée award for dedication to volunteering presented by the Réseau des femmes d'affaires du Québec.

Francine Ferland is co-owner of Clauric inc., a dairy farm with 90 Holstein cattle and 200 acres of farmland and woodland, in Saint-Anselme.

In 1998, she became the first woman elected to the board of directors of La Coop fédérée, a position she held until 2006. She was also the first and only female director of Unicoop, from 1990 to 2004. She is currently president of the Coopérative de développement régional de Québec-Appalaches and vice-president of the Fédération des coopératives de développement régional du Québec.

The category for dedication to volunteering highlights the work of women who combine their professional careers with activities that help the community. Congratulations, Ms. Ferland.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, June 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food said that he is currently not negotiating at the WTO. To say they are defending supply management is nothing but fine words if there is nothing concrete to back them up. All the countries at the WTO are currently positioning themselves and presenting their points of view, expect for Canada, according to the federal minister himself.

Will he stop shamelessly shifting the blame for his inaction to the GO5 coalition and start fulfilling his responsibilities by emphasizing the vulnerability of the sectors under supply management?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, June 20th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the dairy, poultry and egg sectors sounded the alarm on the federal government's inaction at the current round of WTO negotiations. Quebec's agriculture minister and the president of the UPA said the following in a press conference: “The Government of Canada is responsible for the WTO negotiations and their subsequent results. Those results will be deemed positive if, and only if, producers under supply management come out as winners in this negotiation”.

Does the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food intend to carry out this mandate?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, June 15th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, it would be nice if the parliamentary secretary read his news summary in his limousine because he is forgetting some things. For example, he forgets that the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food described the GO5 coalition position as a stupid tactic. He should maybe be aware of that before he gives us any old answer.

The Bloc Québécois motion that the minister voted in favour of does not in any way stop the government from negotiating.

Norway and Japan are getting satisfactory results for their producers, so what is stopping the government from truly defending the interests of Quebec and Canadian producers who only want two things: protection for the supply management system and better access to the market for exporters?

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, June 15th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, in the WTO agriculture negotiations, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is trying to place the blame for Canada's appalling inaction on the producers working under the supply management system, because they are calling on him to respect the Bloc Québécois motion passed unanimously on November 22, 2005.

The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food himself voted in favour the motion, as did his colleague, the Minister of International Trade. How does he explain his accusatory speech today, blaming the producers who work under supply management?

[Agriculture and Agri-food, June 12th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, we have a double standard here. The minister has been travelling and is not aware of this. The minister must realize that by not requiring the same of the United States, he is favouring American producers over Quebec and Canadian farmers.

What is the minister waiting for to impose the same standards on the Americans as the ones imposed on us in order to protect public health? Is he the Minister of Agriculture of the United States or of Canada?

[Agriculture and Agri-food, June 12th, 2007]

Mr. Speaker, as of July 12, all Quebec and Canadian cattle producers who export their products to the United States will be subject to very strict health standards to ensure food safety. However, American producers can export their cattle to Canada without having to adhere to similar standards.

How can the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food justify this?