John Barlow

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, March 22nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I guess this shows us how much of a priority agriculture is when the ministers do not know who should get up to answer the question.

Farmers and ranchers who use the temporary foreign worker program are stressed and they are angry. Service Canada auditors are treating them like criminals. Liberals are ordering officials to go onto farms, into homes, and to search computers, documents, and cellphones, with no worry about biosecurity, let alone property rights. No permission is necessary. The officials will even go into someone's house when there is no one home.

This is an unbelievable attack on Canadian agriculture. Why is the Prime Minister allowing farmers' property rights to be violated?

[Business of Supply, March 22nd, 2018]

Madam Speaker, that is a great point. My answer is no, but I want to bring it back to what I have been talking about, if that is okay with my colleague. There is a very significant difference between when we were in government as Conservatives and the Liberal government, and I want to bring that back to agriculture and especially trade issues.

When we were in government, we went from free trade agreements with five countries to 51. When we were doing CETA, trade agreements with South Korea, and the TPP, our agriculture minister and trade minister came back to Ottawa after all those meetings and offered to have debriefs with any opposition shadow ministers or opposition members who wanted to have information on how those meetings went. To have that kind of information is critical when we go back to our constituents and make these types of decisions.

Since the Liberals have now taken government, they have not one time offered to have those debriefs when it comes to TPP, NAFTA, or finishing up with CETA. They talk about our time with Prime Minister Harper, but there is no question the Liberal government is more secretive and untransparent than any government we have had in decades.

[Business of Supply, March 22nd, 2018]

Madam Speaker, once again, in that discussion between Canada and India, agriculture was never even discussed. From this wonderful meeting, was any agreement reached on fumigation or reducing tariffs on lentils and peas? No, none of those things were done. In fact, absolutely, it is a great market. When we were in government, $1.4 billion in pulses from Canada were sold to India. Since 2015, we have seen those numbers drop 75%. That is the consequence of a Liberal government that does not take our international relationships seriously, and their antics are costing us trusted trading partners.

[Business of Supply, March 22nd, 2018]

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to speak to this issue. I will be taking a different tack on what we are discussing today.

Our motion is asking the Prime Minister to come clean with the conspiracy theories he has been putting forward. This is an issue of concern for Canadians across the country who want to ensure that their Prime Minister is being honest, especially in his dealings with countries around the world like India, a trusted ally and one of the largest democracies in the world.

I want to touch on the very real consequences of the lack of judgment of the Prime Minister, as a result of his actions in India, and the ramifications that we are feeling here at home. What should have been one of the top priorities for the Prime Minister when he went to India was the significant trading issue we have with one of our most significant trading partners when it comes to Canadian agriculture, certainly with respect to our pulses, lentils, peas, and chickpeas.

The Conservative government grew Canada's pulse industry to a more than $4.5 billion industry. Farmers in my constituency of Foothills in southern Alberta and throughout the province are now growing crops like soybeans, chickpeas, and lentils, which were never grown there 10 years ago. As a result of new innovation and new technology they are able to grow these very lucrative crops. One of the reasons that they want to seed these crops is the opportunity to access lucrative new markets like India. However, over the last few months and as a result of the Prime Minister's actions in India, we have seen what was once a great opportunity for Canadian agriculture drop to not nearly that scope.

For example, in the days after the Prime Minister returned from India, the Indian government raised the tariff on Canadian chickpea exports from 40% to 60%. The Liberal government does not seem to understand the very real consequences for Canadians and Canadian entrepreneurs in agriculture as a result of its actions in India . Not only is this a question of the Prime Minister's embarrassing performance in India, but it is also having an impact here at home. I want to give the House some statistics with respect to just how profound this impact is.

The Prime Minister went to India to hopefully address some of these issues. When he came back, we found that not only had the issue not been addressed but it was substantially worse. To put that in perspective, the price Canadians were getting for a bushel of lentils prior to the fall was about $9 a bushel. Now we are getting just over $6.90 a bushel. That is a substantial decrease in the price that Canadians were getting for their product on the market. A great deal of that can be directly attributed to the Prime Minister's performance in India.

The fumigation issue was one that we were hoping the Prime Minister would be able to address on that trip. He said over there that they were able to bring that issue to the table, and I appreciate that, but they did not come home with any agreement, nothing was signed indicating that the fumigation issue was going to be addressed. In fact, there is no agreement. It is just maybe something that will be discussed further as we go through 2018. We have to understand the financial consequences of that.

When we talk about a shipment of these products that are going from Canada to India, we do not have the exemption on the fumigation, which we used to have. It sunsetted last December and the Indian government did not extend that exemption. It is now costing Canadian producers $700,000 per shipment on these products going to India. India is not asking us to necessarily fumigate our shipments, but it is charging us a fee when we send our products over there. India has also increased the tariffs on peas to 50% and on lentils to 30%. There is now a fear within the pulse industry in Canada that India could increase the tariffs on lentils to 100%, which is still within WTO rules.

My concern, and I think the concern that is shared by producers across the country, is that increasing these tariffs, including the latest one increasing the tariffs on chickpeas from 40% to 60%, is just a shot across the bow, just a warning shot that is saying to Canada that it must come clean with its actions when it comes to Jaspal Atwal and the claim that this was a conspiracy put forth by the Indian government. Until there is responsibility taken for the consequences, they are going to continue to take this out on Canadian farmers.

I certainly do not believe that is fair in any way, shape, or form, when our farmers or Canadian producers are the ones who are paying the very real consequences for the Prime Minister and his antics in India. Every single day here in question period, he continues to send mixed messages. Even in one single answer he is giving two different responses that simply do not mix. One cannot happen without the other. Either it was a conspiracy by the Indian government or it was an honest mistake, as the Minister of Foreign Affairs has said. It has to be one or the other, and it cannot be both. Until the Prime Minister steps forward, takes responsibility, and shows some accountability for his actions, we are going to continue to face some of these consequences, and it could get worse.

For example, there is a company in Saskatchewan that just recently signed a fertilizer agreement with India to supply India with potash. What makes this agreement so unprecedented is that it is the first potash mine in Canada that is being done in strong partnership with a first nation in Saskatchewan. The potash mine is actually on a first nation's land. This is something that the first nation community in northern Saskatchewan will benefit from. It is a memorandum of understanding between the first nation, the mining company, and India to supply potash. However, who is to say that they are not the next target? Will the next step for the Indian government be to say that they are not going to move forward with this agreement to supply potash from Canada to India? Is this another company or sector of industry that is going to be impacted by this?

I want to give my colleagues a quote from Gord Bacon who is the CEO of Pulse Canada, and was on that trip with the Prime Minister to India. Earlier on, when it came to the fumigation issue, Gord Bacon said, “There was never a science-based reason [for fumigation]. We were having to mix biological science with political science and the two never mixed well.” Thus, even with Pulse Canada and our producers across the country, they are raising alarms on the consequences of the Prime Minister's actions in India and the very real implications that this is having on the ground.

We are asking the Liberal government to quickly take action on this. I have to be honest. I am not expecting them to take quick action because we have certainly seen over the last several months that when it comes to Canadian agriculture and rural economic development, these are certainly not priorities for the Liberal government. In fact, when a lot of these issues were going on, our agriculture minister was nowhere to be found.

When the pulse and lentil tariffs were raised last fall, the Liberals sent a trade mission to India. The fumigation and trade issues with our pulse products were not even raised, not to mention that the agriculture minister was not even part of that delegation that went to India to discuss possible free trade agreements with that trading partner. Then again, in January, the Prime Minister went back to India. He took almost 20 MPs and ministers to go on his taxpayer family vacation and photo op extravaganza. This is one of the top issues that we are dealing with here, yet the agriculture minister was not among that massive entourage that went with the Prime Minister on that trip.

Then we talk about the grain backlog, which is another huge issue for our agriculture sector. The agriculture minister said it is not really a very serious issue when our producers cannot get their products to market. The transportation minister said that he is “satisfied” with what CN and CP are doing. Is he serious? At one point, sometimes only 6% of the railcars, the grain cars, that were ordered were actually being delivered. This tells me that when it comes to agriculture and rural economy, the Liberal government is more than happy to sacrifice our rural Canadians for their antics.

We need a Prime Minister who is going to take our global relations and our trading partnerships seriously. Canadian agriculture depends on it.

[Canada Summer Jobs Program, March 20th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, I rise today for the Foothills groups that have had their application for the Canada summer jobs program rejected because they could not, in good conscience, sign the Liberal attestation. These are dedicated organizations. In fact, one children's camp is now at risk of closing because the organization would not comply with the Liberal values test.

One church group even rewrote the attestation to affirm that it supports all charter rights and that, too, was denied. Our faith-based groups are the foundation of many critical components of our social infrastructure, but instead of supporting these efforts, the Liberals are denying them funding unless they violate their deeply held convictions. Yesterday, the Liberals had an opportunity to do the right thing and they did not.

I urge the Liberals to reverse their ideological decision to impose a values test on Canada's summer jobs. Freedom of religion and freedom of expression are rights guaranteed by the charter. They must be protected. The government should stop this values test.

[Rail Transportation, March 19th, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, western Canadian grain farmers have asked the Liberals for one thing: help them move their grain. We have given the Liberals the concrete actions they could take now to get grain moving. Instead they stand up and defend the rail duopoly. They have tarnished our reputation as a reliable trading partner. Time is of the essence and the crisis farmers are facing is critical. Railcars are not being delivered. Grain is not moving. Farmers are not getting paid.

Does the agriculture minister not grasp the seriousness of this crisis? Why will the Liberals not take action now to move our grain?

[Public Safety, March 2nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister must realize that his antics on the global stage have very real consequences. The casualties for this latest diplomatic nightmare are Canadian farmers. The only souvenir from the Prime Minister's latest family vacation is the successful derailing of Canada's trade relationship with India. Yesterday, India increased the tariffs on our chickpeas from 40% to 60%, further jeopardizing Canada's $4 billion pulse industry.

Will the Prime Minister please explain why he is so willing to sacrifice Canadian farmers just to maintain this ridiculous conspiracy theory?

[International Women's Day, March 2nd, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, today, we celebrate International Women's Day. We celebrate women from all countries, all backgrounds, and all faiths.

Today, we celebrate the fact that all women are valuable and have incredible contributions to make to society. Every woman is full of potential and able to positively impact the world. Every woman deserves an equal opportunity to do so.

This year's theme is “press for progress”. Today, we renew our commitment to creating a world where women and men exist as equals, people of equal value, equal worth, and equal dignity.

Today, we celebrate the greatness in each and every woman around the globe. Today, we commit to being her champion. She is strong. She is capable. She is intelligent. She is talented. She is inspiring. She is a grandmother, mother, spouse, daughter, sister, niece, friend, and co-worker.

Today, we commit to empowering women to be who they are. We commit to putting aside our biases and overcoming stereotypes. We commit to being her champion.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, March 1st, 2018]

Do something now.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, March 1st, 2018]

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals have to stop blaming others for their mismanagement on the grain backlog issue. They can take definitive action now to address the situation but they refuse. The ones suffering the consequences are Canadian grain farmers. In some areas, railcar performance was 6% last week, and it is only getting worse. Our reputation as a reliable grain exporter is tarnished, and yet the Minister of Agriculture cannot even stand up and defend Canadian farmers.

How bad does this situation have to get before the Liberals stop defending the rail monopoly and start fighting for Canadian farmers?