House of Commons photoLost his last election, in 2019, with 37% of the vote.
Dairy Industry June 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, this is the government that set up supply management and this is the government that will defend it.
As promised, we are meeting with industry stakeholders across the country. Over the past few weeks, we have listened to them and had many very productive discussions that will help us develop a sustainable, long-term strategy for the entire sector.
Dairy Industry June 2nd, 2016
Mr. Speaker, as a producer, I am proud to see so many farmers coming together today to honour of World Milk Day and to protect the supply management system that some want to abolish.
With respect to our commitment, we are still listening to the people in the industry. This morning, we met with the organizers of today's event. We will defend our supply management system, which provides stability to thousands of Canadian families. We fought to bring in supply management, and we will fight to defend Canadian families.
Dairy Industry June 1st, 2016
Mr. Speaker, we are aware of the industry's concerns about the use of diafiltered milk in cheese production. We have spent the past few weeks listening to the industry. We have had a number of very productive discussions that will help us develop a sustainable long-term strategy for the whole sector.
Our government fully supports supply management.
Dairy Industry June 1st, 2016
Mr. Speaker, as a former dairy farmer myself, I would like to wish all farmers a happy World Milk Day. Unlike the opposition members, our government supports supply management and our dairy industry. We think it is appalling that the members opposite want to eliminate supply management, which is a model of stability that supports our farmers, their families, and rural communities. Our party fought to set up supply management and we will continue to defend it against anyone who wants—
Dairy Industry May 30th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, our government created supply management, and our government will defend it.
As promised, we are meeting with industry stakeholders from across the country. Over the past few weeks, we have listened to them and had many very productive discussions. We will help develop a sustainable, long-term strategy for the entire sector.
Agriculture and Agri-food May 19th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, as my colleague said, I am a dairy farmer, so I speak from experience.
It is rather ironic that the co-chair of an anti-supply-management campaign is trying to tell us how to protect that system. We are standing up strong for supply management and we will continue to do so. We are in regular contact with industry stakeholders, and we are listening to what they have to say about compensation. We are aware that compensation is important to the supply-managed sector.
Our government's investments will help the entire agriculture and agri-food industry, including hard-working producers in the supply-managed sector. We know that it is important to compensate the supply-managed sector in connection with the Canada-Europe free trade agreement. Engagement with the dairy sector is ongoing. We continue to engage with all farmers. We are there to support all farm families who benefit from the supply management system. We are all working together to ensure that they have a prosperous future.
Agriculture and Agri-food May 19th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Lévis—Lotbinière for raising this important issue.
I am disturbed by the fact that the question comes from an opposition member who co-chairs a leadership campaign that is in favour of abolishing supply management.
Supply management provides a degree of stability that guarantees a fair market and income security for thousands of families. How can the member say he wants to protect dairy producers while at the same time being in favour of abolishing the system that provides them with income security? That is completely unacceptable.
Unlike the opposition member, our government believes that the Canadian supply-managed sector is critical to ensuring a strong agricultural sector and a prosperous economy in Canada.
Yesterday, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and I held productive meetings with dairy producers from across the country. We will continue to meet with the industry as promised as we work together to come up with a sustainable, long-term plan that will help the industry adjust to market concessions in the Canada-Europe free trade agreement.
In February, at the Dairy Farmers of Canada annual meeting, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food announced an investment of $1.75 million in research for the dairy sector. This investment will support research by our scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in two key areas. The first is in increasing the quality of Canadian forages to help increase milk production, and the second is in understanding the role of dairy fat products, including their impact on type 2 diabetes.
That brings the total federal investment in the dairy sector to $13.75 million over five years. Last month, we brought down the federal budget, which includes important measures to support Canada's agricultural sector, including sectors under supply management.
The budget includes investments of $30 million over six years to support advanced research in agricultural genomics to mitigate the biological threats to agriculture associated with climate change. It also includes investments of $41.5 million to support the rehabilitation and modernization of agriculture and agri-food research stations and laboratories in British Columbia, Albert, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec.
The government is also working on developing an approach for additional investments in agricultural science and research, informed by the review of federal support for fundamental science. These are all excellent ways to measure the prosperity of Canada's agriculture industry.
The budget also mentions Canada's commitment to swiftly ratify the Canada-European Union economic agreement. This agreement will open access to markets in the European Union for key Canadian agricultural exports, such as maple syrup, beef, pork, grains, fruits and vegetables, and processed foods.
As I said earlier, we are developing a plan to help the sector adjust to the market-access commitments, in preparation for Canada's ratification of the Canada-European Union economic agreement.
We strongly support free trade and and support implementing the Canada-European Union trade economic agreement.
On this side of the House, we support the supply management system. We support the farm families who benefit from this system, and unlike members in the opposition, we defend this system.
Municipalities May 13th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, this week, as the Union des municipalités du Québec holds its 95th annual meeting, I would like to take this opportunity to recognize how much municipalities contribute to our country. They are the heart of the Canadian economy.
I was a municipal councillor in the riding of La Prairie for a few years, in the town of Saint-Philippe, so I understand the vital role that municipalities play in providing services to the public. Though they often work behind the scenes, municipalities have the most immediate presence of the various levels of government.
Events like the ones in Lac-Mégantic and Fort McMurray show just how strong and united our municipalities are and how we can count on them to do the impossible.
That is why I would like to pay tribute to the elected officials and various players in our municipalities, who are working for the good of all Canadians. I especially want to thank those in the seven municipalities in my riding for their outstanding work.
Fight Against Food Waste Act May 12th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I thank the member for Berthier—Maskinongé for raising the important issue of food waste.
These ideas are valid, but we think we need more time to look closely at the issue and develop a national food policy with a specific action plan. Food waste is a complex issue that spans the whole system from farmers' fields to families' dining tables.
That is why we believe we should talk about a national strategy for our government, which our government pledged to develop. An increasing number of Canadians are becoming concerned about food loss and waste because it is a societal phenomenon that will affect our children and grandchildren.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimates that one-third of the food available worldwide is lost or wasted every year. That amounts to $750 billion. In May 2015, G20 agriculture ministers recognized that food waste is an international issue.
Then, in April of this year, the G7 agriculture ministers, including the hon. Lawrence MacAulay, agreed that they should take action to reduce food waste and strengthen food security.
Fruits and vegetables are the food products most likely to be wasted and account for nearly half of all food wasted worldwide. Food is wasted at every stage of the agri-food system. We estimate that these losses account for approximately 30% to 40% of the food produced throughout the value chain.
As for Canadian households, food waste represents about $14.5 billion, the larger share of the value of overall food losses in the country in 2014.
In 2009, over 1.5 billion tonnes of food were lost or wasted around the world, which is enough food to feed one billion people every day for an entire year. We can and we must do better when it comes to managing food waste. That is why Canadians need a strong and equitable food policy that meets their needs.
As we know, food waste is problem that has a serious impact on the food security of Canadian families and on the environment.
Our government is committed to working with Canadians to develop a national food policy. It will develop this policy in order to promote healthy living and the quality of Canadian food, as well as to provide families across the country with better, healthier food grown and raised by Canadian farmers and producers.
We will invite the different levels of government, the agri-food industry, and sector stakeholders, including dietitians, environmental groups, organizations that promote food security, and all Canadians to participate in this policy development process.
The issue of food waste will certainly be addressed as part of the discussions. This is a government-wide issue that goes beyond the responsibilities of the Department of Agriculture, which increases the complexity of the file. Food waste also touches on the mandate of many government agencies and industry organizations, given that this is an important issue for agriculture, security, and the environment.
We agree with the member for Berthier—Maskinongé that food waste is a serious problem. We are presently addressing the problem from various angles.
Our government has invested $38.5 million to modernize Canada's food security system.
We will also invest $70 million in research in order to invigorate the agricultural sector and develop new and innovative techniques to reduce food losses in the primary production phase and to analyze and quantify the food lost or wasted, among other things.
We are concerned about the food security of Canadian families, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers across the country are trying to reduce agricultural losses in order to address this issue. Reducing food losses, increasing the amount of food, the shelf life of food, and the decay of horticultural products are at the top of our list of priorities.
We even have researchers in British Columbia overseeing a post-harvest research program, whose results could be of interest to the international community that wishes to work on reducing food waste.
As we saw, our research centres are involved in many activities to reduce losses and to work down the food chain. In addition to the techniques to reduce food waste, there are techniques to recycle organic waste from food. A company in British Columbia has developed a technique using insects to convert food waste from grocery stores into products that farmers can use to feed their animals and fertilize their crops. The project received financial assistance through the growing forward 2 program, following an agreement between the federal government and British Columbia.
This issue is important to our government. Environment and Climate Change Canada is also a key player when it comes to addressing food waste. It has formed a partnership with the North American Free Trade Agreement Commission for Environmental Cooperation. The partnership supports efforts to reduce food waste in landfills by looking for ways to reduce food waste in industry, businesses, and institutions.
Our government will continue to act in this file. We will talk about food waste as part of our discussions preceding the development of a national food policy with sector representatives.
As a farmer, I am particularly sensitive to the issue of food security. When I decided to go into politics, I made it my mission to help every Canadian family have access to good-quality, healthy food. I am making it my personal duty to fight tooth and nail for this cause and improve the quality of life of our families.
After meeting with many organizations that are working to eliminate food insecurity, such as Food Secure Canada, the Dietitians of Canada, La Corne d'abondance, and Complexe le Partage, I saw that food waste is a major factor that must be included in a national food policy.
We will not support this bill because we believe that the best solution is to first consult Canadians and the industry. We believe that food waste will be part of those discussions, and the information obtained from the consultations will be used to develop a national food policy that reflects Canadians' wishes and values.
Once again, I would like to thank the member for raising this issue so that the industry and all Canadians can make real changes and reduce waste at every stage of the food processing chain, from farm to table.
Dairy Industry May 9th, 2016
Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague for his question.
As we have said many times, we are well aware of the industry's concerns about the use of diafiltered milk in cheese manufacturing. I remind members that last Tuesday we committed to consulting with dairy industry representatives in the next 30 days to find sustainable solutions for the entire industry.