Gerald Keddy

[Agriculture, February 27th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the member for Dauphin—Swan River—Marquette for that important question. I am pleased to report to the House that Bill C-18, the Agricultural Growth Act, received royal assent this week.

The bill will strengthen intellectual property rights for plant varieties, reduce red tape, improve how government carries out its business with the Canadian agriculture industry, enhance trade, and grow Canada's economy. Importantly, the bill also includes farmer's privilege, which explicitly permits farmers to use seeds from the crops they grow.

It is absolutely shocking that the official opposition voted against the bill.

[International Trade, February 23rd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, our government has always defended Canada's supply management system, and this agreement will continue to do so.

The three pillars of our domestic system of supply management remain intact. We will monitor any impact of this historic agreement on dairy producers' income, and if production levels are negatively affected, we will assist them financially.

[Food Safety, February 20th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, as I said previously, South Korea has followed our bilateral trading protocol and used Canada's strong controlled system. The government is working to fix this temporary trade disruption as soon as possible.

[Food Safety, February 20th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, the World Organisation for Animal Health recognizes Canada as a controlled risk status country. We expect our trading partners to continue to recognize this status. South Korea, in particular, has followed our bilateral trading protocol and used Canada's strong controlled system. The government is working to fix this temporary trade disruption as soon as possible.

[Natural Resources, February 20th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians expect their government to create jobs and grow the economy. Canada is blessed with an immense amount of natural resources, which provide opportunities from coast to coast to coast. Our government's responsible resource development plan has led to action on Canada's already impressive world-class safety systems for the transportation of our energy products.

While our government makes decisions based on independent, science-based review, the Liberal Party is opposing resource development before the regulatory review has even been completed. Why did the leader of the Liberal Party insist on putting ideology before science and facts, when he said the energy east oil pipeline is not socially acceptable? That statement is unacceptable.

Our message is clear. We will stand up for Canadians' interests at home as well as abroad and continue to create jobs, growth, and opportunity for all Canadians.

[Canadian School Counselling Week, February 6th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to highlight a vital part of our education system.

The Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association has recognized Canadian School Counselling Week, a week dedicated to increasing public awareness of the scope of programs and services that characterize the important role played by the school counselling profession all across Canada. In addition to helping students with their mental health and overall well-being, school counsellors also make significant contributions to the personal, social, academic and career development of our young people.

I would also like to recognize the fact that the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association is celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2015.

I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the thousands of mental health professionals who make up the association and to thank them for contributing to the well-being of Canadians for half a century.

[International Trade, February 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, what we said very clearly is that producers will not be disadvantaged. Actually, they will have an advantage of 500 million consumers in the European marketplace to whom they will be able to sell cheese and cheese products.

Let us talk about this agreement and how this agreement was formulated. We did not just go out and sign this overnight. There were years of negotiations. There were dozens and dozens, and hundreds of stakeholders meetings. I attended many of those stakeholder meetings myself.

We were actively engaged with the cheese processors, with the provincial dairy producers and processors associations, from coast to coast. We dealt directly with the provincial governments and the municipal governments, with the cheese importers and with the downstream stakeholders. Everybody who could possibly be spoken to and consulted was given a chance to speak.

Finally, here is the deal as it is set out. If the industry has a negative effect, we will look at compensation. The reality is there will be no negative effect. There is room for extra cheese quota in Canada. Quebec has done a great job at producing it and I am sure they will continue.

[International Trade, February 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise this evening in reply to the member's question. I do need to correct a number of facts, though, and a number of mistakes.

To begin with, long before June 2014, the Prime Minister himself stated in October 2013 that the Conservative Party was fully committed to monitoring the potential impact of the implementation of new cheese tariff rate quotas under CETA and, if needed, providing compensation to industry producers should a negative impact be observed. This is not a blank cheque; this is only if the industry were to suffer a negative impact.

The other thing, quite frankly, that bothers me about the hon. member's statement is that she is talking about having a discussion with cheese makers in Quebec. Quebec has a very successful cheese industry, probably the most successful cheese industry in Canada.

In Nova Scotia, the small boutique fromageries have embraced this trade deal. They say the more cheese that comes in, the more cheese that is on the market, the more likely the person now buying boutique cheese for the first time will look for that product in Nova Scotia. They sell more cheese when there is more variety for the consumer. They have embraced this deal, and many of the cheese makers and fromageries in Quebec have embraced this deal as well. So, I disagree with her summation that the industry in Quebec is somehow completely against this deal.

Let us talk about the Canada-EU CETA and the position that it would put agriculture in this country. With CETA and the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, Canada will find itself in a very advantageous and preferential position. We will have access to the two of the world's largest economies, representing over 800 million very affluent consumers.

When we negotiated this agreement, our government made sure that it defended Canada's supply management system, unlike the official opposition, which only brings up supply management when it is politically advantageous, and which totally neglected it in its platform and during the last election and now, all of a sudden, is interested in it.

Unlike the opposition, it is our government that continues to ensure that the three key pillars—production control, import controls, and price controls—remain in place.

As I have said, this is an opportunity. Look at agriculture in Canada. Farm gate receipts in Canada are up straight across the board. The dependence on farm programs, meanwhile, is down across the board. Agriculture has never had a better government defending it than this Conservative government. We have done so and signed more free trade agreements than any other government in Canada's history, and have done it while defending supply management.

[Privilege, February 4th, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I will be quick.

This debate is about privilege and it is quite simple. With parliamentary privilege comes responsibility. We have a responsibility as members of Parliament to carry our badge or ID. Most of the time, 99 times out of 100, the officials recognize us, but when they do not, we have some responsibility. Of course we have rights, but with rights come responsibilities. It is as simple as that.

[Business of Supply, February 2nd, 2015]

Mr. Speaker, I can only say it so many times, and we have been very clear. The Minister of State for Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency has been very clear. The Minister of International Trade has been very clear. Absolutely, on the agreement to which we agreed with the Province of Newfoundland on the backstop for the fisheries industry and seafood sector, if minimum processing standards cause a loss to the province, we will be there. That was the agreement.

The member talked about $400 million. A portion of that would be from the federal government and cost shared with the province, but here is the rub. The NDP members have said from the get-go, long before they even had a chance to look at the draft agreement, that they will not support CETA. However, they want to support this one part, but they still will vote against the agreement. That puts the member for St. John's South—Mount Pearl in a very tight situation.