Marie-Claude Bibeau

[International Trade, April 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, ever since I was appointed to my new position on March 1, I have been working very hard on this issue with my colleagues, the Minister of International Trade Diversification, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister, as well as our provincial counterparts.

As a team, we are working tirelessly on ongoing technical discussions with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Chinese officials. We are standing by our farmers.

[International Trade, April 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, we have been working on this issue since the beginning. It took six weeks for my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable to ask me the first question about canola. Since the very beginning, I have been working with our farmers, with our producers, with the industry, with our provincial colleagues and with businesses that are directly affected. We have created a working group. We are looking at all the options. I will shortly be announcing some good news to further support our farmers.

[International Trade, April 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, we were working on this issue from the first day while our Conservative colleagues kept asking questions on other issues. It took them six weeks to ask the first question on the canola issue.

I have been working on this, and our team has been working with the industry, with our provincial colleagues, with the businesses involved and with the farmers for more than two months now. We have been there, standing by our farmers and their families since the beginning.

[International Trade, April 29th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, we have been standing shoulder to shoulder with our canola farmers from the very beginning. We stand with them and their families. We know that we have the best canola in the world. We have a very robust inspection system, and we are having an ongoing conversation with the Chinese authorities to resolve this issue as quickly as we can.

We remain committed to resolving this issue and we are also looking at the best ways to support our farmers even more. We look forward to having more on this issue.

[International Trade, April 11th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I am glad that finally my Conservative colleagues care for canola farmers, because we have cared for more than a month now. I have worked closely with the industry with our colleagues from the provinces. I have visited the western provinces. I have asked our Chinese colleague to accept the technical delegation that will be headed by the president of the CFIA.

I really care, I understand the issue, and we are working hard as a team to resolve it as soon as possible.

[International Trade, April 11th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to see that my colleague has finally developed an interest in canola.

This crisis has been going on for over a month. My colleagues and I, along with the Minister of International Trade Diversification and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, have been working very hard on this file. We are working very closely with the industry and our provincial colleagues. I have personally asked my Chinese counterpart to receive a delegation of experts led by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.

[Justice, April 8th, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, since my colleague has answered that question several times now and I know that my colleague from Mégantic—L'Érable is very interested in the canola file, I am pleased to take this opportunity to tell him that I am working closely with the task force. In fact, the first meeting was last Thursday.

I am in constant contact with our provincial partners and industry. I have asked that a delegation of scientists go to China. I will be getting a response shortly.

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, April 5th, 2019]

Madam Speaker, I can assure my colleague that this has been a top priority for our government and for me for more than one month now. I am working closely with my counterparts from the provinces, with industry and with the CFIA. We are having constant conversations with Chinese officials. I have asked for a delegation to go to China, and I expect an answer shortly. I can assure everyone that we are taking this very seriously, and we have the support of the industry.

[International Trade, April 1st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I take the canola crisis and the discussions with China very seriously. I have been travelling around western Canada over the past few weeks, meeting with farmers, our partners and our provincial counterparts. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is working with its Chinese counterpart. Furthermore, the Minister of International Trade Diversification and I will be appearing before the Standing Committee on International Trade tomorrow afternoon.

[International Trade, April 1st, 2019]

Mr. Speaker, I completely understand the worries of our farmers. I was in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba last week and the week before to speak with farmers and stakeholders. I can assure members that it is a very high priority for our government. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is having discussions with its counterparts in China and we are working on finding a science-based solution.