Lawrence MacAulay

[Carbon Pricing, December 14th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I am a farmer and I talk to farmers across the country. They cannot understand why the opposition party would vote against so many programs that assist agriculture across the country.

Also, farmers find it very disappointing and cannot believe that one would vote against support for Ukraine and for democracy. They were ashamed.

[Carbon Pricing, December 14th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, when it came to action, my hon. colleague and the Conservative Party of Canada voted against every program that would support agriculture. It is a shame. I have talked to agricultural producers right across the country; they cannot understand why an opposition would vote against the on-farm climate action fund to help farmers adapt to climate change, which adds to the price of groceries.

[Carbon Pricing, December 12th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, sadly, the official opposition voted against all agricultural programs last Thursday evening. Again, Conservatives showed their true colours on how they feel about Atlantic Canada and Prince Edward Island when they voted against the funding for the replacement vessel for the Wood Islands and Caribou ferry service, a vital link between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

I can assure Prince Edward Islanders and Nova Scotians that this government will continue to support a two-vessel system for that vitally important service.

[Carbon Pricing, December 11th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I hope that turkey farmer looked at what the Conservative Party of Canada did last Thursday and then Friday.

Conservatives continually vote against agriculture and farmers. We, on this side of the House, will make sure that we fully support agriculture. Conservatives voted against funding for on-farm climate action. On-farm climate action will help the environment.

We have supported farmers; we will continue to do so and take care of the climate in this country.

[Carbon Pricing, December 11th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, last Thursday evening and Friday, the Conservative Party of Canada explained exactly who they are and how much they support farmers. In fact, they voted against farmers. For example, there was $337 million for the supply management program; Conservatives voted against it. It is vitally important to the agricultural sector.

I can assure the dairy farmers, chicken farmers and egg farmers in this country that we support them and will continue to do so.

[Carbon Pricing, December 7th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, being a farmer and part of a government that understands there is a problem with the climate, I know we have climate change. Climate affects the weather. Destructive weather destroys farms and destroys farm crops.

Quite simply, we have a program in place. Unfortunately, the Conservative Party of Canada does not have a plan to deal with the environment. With our plan, we are able to deal with the agricultural sector in clusters and with provincial governments right across the country to help farmers deal with climate change and become innovative.

We have more to do and we will continue to do it.

[Carbon Pricing, December 6th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, as I said previously, being a farmer and having talked to farmers, they cannot understand how the Conservative Party of Canada would not have a plan to deal with the environment. People have been in situations such as hurricane Fiona in Atlantic Canada, which totally destroyed properties, destroyed dairy barns and killed animals. In fact, that is part of the price on food.

We have supported, and we will continue to support, farmers. For example, the hon. Minister Thompson in Ontario and I announced a $25-million program to make sure that farmers stay on the cutting edge. We have supported farmers, and we will continue to support farmers.

[Carbon Pricing, December 6th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, being a farmer, and meeting farmers right across the country, one of the first questions they ask me is, “How come the Conservative Party of Canada does not have a plan to deal with the environment when we look at all the fires, all the floods, all the destruction that's taking place?”

I tell them that we do have a plan. We do have a plan and an example of that plan is what we have done with the minister of agriculture from Ontario. We were able to announce a $25-million program to make sure that farmers remain on the cutting edge and that farmers are able to produce crops that are strong in areas that have more moisture. As I said, we will continue—

[Carbon Pricing, December 6th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, my hon. colleague is well aware that the other place makes decisions on its own.

The Conservative Party of Canada has senators in its caucus. The Conservative Party of Canada does not have a policy or a plan for the environment.

I can assure my hon. colleague that we do have a plan for the environment. That is why we are able to make an investment of $1.5 billion to help farmers and processors reduce their environmental footprint. We have supported and will continue to support our farmers and ranchers in this country.

[Carbon Pricing, December 5th, 2023]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate my hon. colleague's concern, but the fact of the matter is that farmers are concerned about the environment. Farmers who are on the front lines understand that we have to take care of the environment. When we have winds of over 200 kilometres an hour destroying all the infrastructure on the property, that adds, no doubt, to the farmers' costs. It adds to the price of food. It adds to everything.

That is why it is so important that our government has an environmental plan to make sure that our agricultural sector will continue to thrive.