Ruth Ellen Brosseau

[Agriculture and Agri-food, March 10th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, diafiltered milk has been coming into Canada from the United States since 2013, and as a result, Canadian producers have lost millions of dollars. That is completely unacceptable. The Liberals committed to taking action, and the minister has acknowledged the problem many times. We are well aware that the Americans are not going to be happy with these changes.

Now is the time to take action and fix this problem. When will the minister enforce the rules and fix the problems?

[International Trade, March 7th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, last week, the government announced that Canada and the European Union had made changes to the investment chapter of the free trade agreement. However, we still have a lot of questions.

We still do not know how this agreement will affect our environmental laws or whether the provinces and municipalities will have to pay in the event of legal action.

Can the minister explain how these changes will protect our environmental laws from being challenged?

[Fight Against Food Waste Act, February 24th, 2016]

moved for leave to introduce Bill C-231, an act to establish National Food Waste Awareness Day and to provide for the development of a national strategy to reduce food waste in Canada.

Mr. Speaker, I am very proud to introduce this bill today, seconded by my colleague and friend from Victoria. It is a very important bill. I am not sure if members are aware, but we waste a great deal of food in Canada, which is a very rich country. According to a report published in 2014, we waste roughly 31 billion dollars' worth of food in Canada alone. In the current context of ever-increasing food insecurity, and considering the rising cost of food, it is extremely important that Canada show some leadership on this matter.

This bill calls for a national strategy. It also calls on the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to work with his provincial and territorial counterparts, and for the designation of October 16 as national food waste awareness day.

I hope that I will have the support of all my colleagues in the House and that we will work together to ensure that we do better in this area and eliminate food waste in Canada.

(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)

[Agriculture and Agri-Food, February 23rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, after being called out several times in the House on the issue of milk protein that is coming across our borders, the minister finally decided it was time to act. That is great, but that was nearly three weeks ago and we have heard nothing since. Dairy producers are still very worried. This loophole in the supply management system is costing our producers roughly $1,000 a week.

Can the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food reassure our producers and tell them when and how he plans to take action?

[International Trade, February 17th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the trans-Pacific partnership is bad news for our economy. A total of 60,000 jobs are at risk, not to mention losses for dairy farmers and the automotive industry. What is more, the TPP creates a number of roadblocks to innovation. The economy is in a downturn, and now is not the time to jeopardize Canadian jobs.

The Liberals promised real change, but they are moving forward with the agreement proposed by the Conservatives, without even conducting an impact assessment.

How can the government justify ratifying such an agreement?

[Business of the House, February 4th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, I congratulate my colleague from Saint-Maurice—Champlain on his election and on his fine speech in the House today. I listened to him closely, but unfortunately, I did not hear the word pyrrhotite. In Mauricie, there are victims of the pyrrhotite problem. Nearly 4,000 families may be affected by this crisis.

During the election campaign, we promised to help these victims with very large investments. The Liberal Party also made promises to that effect. I hope to see money for this in the upcoming budget.

Can the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Finance say whether the upcoming budget will include money for the pyrrhotite victims and whether that money will be separate from the money announced for infrastructure?

[International Trade, February 3rd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians are concerned about the economic situation. Now is the time to make good decisions, but the government insists on signing an agreement that is going to cost us 60,000 jobs, create greater inequalities, and hurt our dairy producers.

The government did not even take the time to study the important issues related to the trans-Pacific partnership.

How can the government sign an agreement that is not good for Canadians?

[Agriculture and Agri-food, February 2nd, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, yesterday, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food said that he understands the importance of protecting supply management and of having a plan to compensate dairy producers. The Minister of International Trade has said that she does not feel bound to pay the compensation announced by the Conservative government, but in the meantime the uncertainty producers are experiencing has already resulted in the loss of 257 family farms in Quebec.

The government is going to sign the trans-Pacific partnership agreement tomorrow. Can the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food assure the producers who came to Ottawa today that there is a plan to provide more compensation than the Conservative government promised?

[International Trade, February 1st, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the economy is already in bad shape, and now nearly 60,000 good jobs are on the line if the trans-Pacific partnership is signed. Our dairy producers are already in limbo. The government did not do anything to protect our supply management system. Although the government promised to take action and address the milk protein problem, it still has not done anything.

In light of all this, why is the government planning to go ahead and sign an agreement that jeopardizes jobs and family farms here in Canada?

[The Environment, January 28th, 2016]

Mr. Speaker, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change will be meeting with her provincial counterparts to talk about climate change. Since returning from Paris, the minister has not told us what Canada's targets are. Yesterday, the minister announced that impact on climate change would be a component of pipeline project assessments, but she said nothing about acceptable greenhouse gas emissions targets.

Can the minister tell us if the government is planning to introduce ambitious new targets or carry on with the old Conservative ones?