John Barlow

[Affordable Housing and Groceries Act, September 26th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my hon. colleague on his election and appointment to the agriculture committee which he did not mention in his speech, which I find completely shameful. That should have led off his entire presentation, but that is okay.

I know he did not talk a great deal about the bill that we are talking about here today. I certainly appreciate that when someone is giving their maiden speech, they want to thank those who worked hard to get them here and what it means for all of us. However, now that he is member of the agriculture committee, with one aim of this bill being to reduce the grocery prices of food that all Canadians are struggling with, I would ask my colleague this.

We know now from the Canada food index that an average 5,000-acre farm will pay $150,000 in carbon taxes. Farmers will be paying close to a billion dollars in carbon taxes between now and the year 2030. The Liberals are also going to be putting $2 billion in new costs on farmers, producers and processors on front-of-pack labelling. Could the Liberals not address the food crisis and the price crisis right now by eliminating the carbon tax and eliminating this regulatory red tape?

[Carbon Pricing, September 20th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, once again, the Liberal agriculture minister claims that farmers support the carbon tax. How out of touch can a minister be? Only 2% of Canadian farmers think the Liberals even support agriculture, because they know that the Prime Minister is unaffordable.

Farmers cannot afford to pay close to $1 billion in carbon taxes. They cannot afford it when diesel goes up 70¢ a litre. They cannot afford to pay more in fertilizer and feed and higher interest rates.

Does the Liberal agriculture minister truly support quadrupling the carbon tax on farmers, truckers and processors, knowing the consequences mean higher food prices for Canadians?

[Carbon Pricing, September 19th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad the new Minister of Agriculture still believes that farmers support the carbon tax. He is up for a rude awakening.

The previous agriculture minister said it is not like we can pass a law that will reduce the price of food. I have great news: She was wrong. The Prime Minister can reduce the cost of food right now by axing his inflationary carbon tax, which is driving up costs for farmers, processors, truckers and Canadian consumers.

Inflation is up another 4%, and a quarter of Canadian families are skipping meals because they cannot afford food. How much will Canadians have to pay to feed their families when he quadruples the carbon tax?

[Carbon Pricing, September 19th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Liberal-NDP government, farmers cannot afford the Prime Minister. On Friday, the Parliamentary Budget Officer said that by 2030, Canadian farmers will be paying close to $1 billion in carbon taxes alone, carbon taxes that are driving up inflation. Do members know who is paying for that inflation? It is Canadians. Canadians are literally paying the price. The cost of apples is up 61%, carrots are up 72% and potatoes and oranges are up 77%.

Will the Prime Minister axe his plans to quadruple the carbon tax so that Canadians can afford to feed their families?

[Carbon Pricing, September 18th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the Prime Minister's NDP government, Canadians cannot afford to put food on the table, and it is getting worse. The Parliamentary Budget Officer's report on Friday stated that by 2030, Canadian farmers will pay close to $1 billion in carbon taxes alone.

Lettuce is up 94% because of these increases in carbon taxes and the costs being put on farmers, processors and truckers, and it is Canadians who are paying the price at the grocery store shelves. Now the Liberals want to quadruple that tax.

How much will Canadians pay for a head of lettuce?

[Carbon Pricing, September 18th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the thing is, the Liberals can reduce the price of food right now if they abandon their failed carbon tax. However, instead of taking any meaningful action, they are having more meaningless meetings.

The price of diesel is already up 70¢ a litre, increasing the costs on farmers to produce the food, manufacturers to process it, truckers to haul it and certainly Canadians to buy it. When the price of lettuce is up 94%, clearly the Prime Minister's NDP government is not worth the cost.

Will the Prime Minister's big meetings reduce the cost of lettuce by Thanksgiving, yes or no?

[Carbon Pricing, June 20th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, it is good to see that the minister is not denying that Canadian farmers are being punished with two carbon taxes. In fact, they are facing the highest inflation rates in 40 years. Nowhere is that more acute than with the price of food, which is already up 10%.

However, rather than offering support for Canadians, the Liberals are doubling down with a second carbon tax. What will that do? We are seeing forecasts that food prices will go up another 34% over the next two years, adding another $5,000 to the annual food costs of Canadians.

Again, when the government introduces a second carbon tax, how many farmers will go broke and how many Canadians will go hungry?

[Carbon Pricing, June 20th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, after eight years of the current government, Canadian farmers are literally paying for the Liberals' carbon tax failures. Canadian farmers will pay $150,000 a year in carbon taxes alone, but the Liberals have not hit a single emissions target.

What is better than making farmers pay for one failed carbon tax? How about two? On July 1, the Liberals are introducing a second carbon tax that will increase the price of feed, fuel and fertilizer, which will also drive up the cost of food at the grocery store.

With more than eight million Canadians already relying on a food bank every single month, my question for the government is this. How many farmers are going to go bankrupt and how many Canadians are going to go hungry paying for another failed carbon tax?

[Online News Act, June 20th, 2023]

Madam Speaker, I worked for community newspapers for more than 20 years. I believe the member is misleading Canadians when he said that this is somehow going to be a salvation for community news, as the vast majority of papers will not see a dime of this money because 70% goes to Rogers, Bell and large tech companies. The small community papers in our rural ridings with one journalist do not even qualify for this program.

I will tell the member this. The three things that really impacted community journalism and those community papers were the costs of using Canada Post and accessing the Internet; the CBC, which undercuts the advertising ability of small and medium outlets because they cannot compete with a subsidized giant like it; and the government withdrawing all of its advertising dollars from those small community papers that relied on those advertisements.

If the member thinks community journalism and community papers are so important and the heartbeat of our communities, how much money is the government spending on community papers through federal advertising dollars?

[Carbon Pricing, June 19th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, the parents of those children are now facing an impossible choice: pay their mortgage or put food on the table. The Liberals' answer to this crisis is higher spending, higher inflation and another carbon tax. The consequence of that is an average Alberta family will be paying $4,000 a year in additional taxes and Alberta farmers will be paying as much as $150,000 a year on carbon tax 1. When we add taxes and cost to food production and transportation, it adds to the cost of the grocery store shelf.

Will the Liberals cancel both carbon taxes so that farmers can afford to produce the food and Canadians can afford to buy it?