House of Commons photoLost her last election, in 2021, with 33% of the vote.
Food Safety April 21st, 2015
Mr. Speaker, that is completely false. As history has unfortunately shown us, we cannot rely on companies alone to inspect our food. The Conservatives have probably forgotten that, since they continue making more and more cuts to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. That agency is predicting that the government will reduce spending on food safety by 21%.
Is food safety in Canada not important to the Conservative government, or do we need another serious crisis for the government to act?
Food Safety April 21st, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the Conservative government is taking unacceptable risks with food safety.
The union representing meat inspectors has sounded the alarm and is speaking out about a serious shortage of inspectors in Quebec. Quebeckers want the products on their plate to be of high quality. However, the government insists on off-loading its food inspection responsibilities onto the companies so that they can regulate themselves.
Why are the Conservatives giving up on food safety for Canadians?
Rail Service April 20th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, before I begin, I would like to thank all of my colleagues who are members of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food for their work. Every member wants to promote the smooth functioning of the agricultural system and the emancipation of agricultural industries. I would also like to commend the member for Sydney—Victoria for moving this motion, which just received the government's support. I would therefore like to thank her once again for getting the government's support for her motion.
On February 5, I moved a similar motion at the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. That motion had the same objectives as those we are talking about today. In fact, I asked the committee to immediately examine the problems that currently exist with the transportation of agricultural products by consulting all of the stakeholders. In that motion, I said that given recent reports on the deterioration of rail service, ongoing problems with the provision of cars to transport grain and the specific impact of ongoing transportation problems in the agricultural sector, we proposed that the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food immediately examine the problems that currently exist with the transportation of agricultural products, establish long-term projections for 2015 and consult all members of the grain supply chain, including producers, elevator operators, grain companies and rail companies.
Unfortunately, the government refused to step up to its responsibilities, and that could happen with this motion too. However, once again, there is good news. I hope that this will change things.
A year ago, I was here to talk about the same problem in the context of Bill C-30, which was designed to resolve the grain transportation crisis farmers were experiencing. I do not need to paint a picture to make the point that the Conservatives' decisions have not solved much of anything in the past year and that farmers are still in the same boat. I am proud to express my support for this motion.
We need to talk about the context and compare the situation to last year. As I said, and as happens so often with government bills, I get the feeling I'm going through exactly what happened last year all over again.
Last year, farmers' growth was hampered by inefficient CN and CP services. At the time, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food said that rail companies were providing adequate service, but thousands of farmers were exasperated by the fundamental flaws in the grain transportation system.
How are things now? About the same. Rail companies delivered over 11,000 orders late. That is about 11% of their orders. Ongoing delays have cost the Canadian economy over $8 billion. What is more, in the past six months, fewer than half of all orders were delivered on time.
What did the government decide to do? It decided not to renew the requirements that CN and CP transport a minimum volume of grain. We also found out that, after having rejected an offer to purchase from an association of Canadian farmers, the Conservatives offered up a majority stake in the Canadian Wheat Board on a silver platter to foreign interests. That is another Conservative decision that shows a lack of support for Canadian farmers.
Again, a year later, farmers have lost $8.3 billion. They have received nothing, apart from compensation under Bill C-30, which puts them back into a similar situation today.
I deplore the fact that there still has not been any compensation for the losses suffered by producers, especially for the crises and problems that occurred in previous years. A responsible government is able to prevent such situations, instead of always finding temporary solutions to these messes.
In other words, Bill C-30 had very little impact in the medium and long term. It simply brought everything back to square one.
We have to ask ourselves: why are we here? For the same reasons that the opposition always has to go over the flawed bills introduced by this government, which, despite the warnings of my colleagues and stakeholders, refuses to listen.
We are in the same situation because in enacting Bill C-30, the government did not listen to all the stakeholders. A number of them were critical of the government for getting rid of the CWB and said that the board was useful when it came to grain transportation. However, the government did nothing about it, and today it is encouraging the sale of the CWB to foreign interests.
The stakeholders were calling for a mechanism to evaluate the performance and quality of rail freight services, but the government rejected that idea.
Today, the stakeholders are claiming that service is still bad. They say they are frustrated by the persistent delays, whereas the government is still saying that everything is just fine.
As usual, things were done too quickly without any plan or long-term vision. The government disregarded our amendments, which took into account all the requests of all stakeholders, not just those of the corporations and the major producers. The government did not implement enough of the necessary sanctions to ensure the efficient transportation of grain by rail.
In closing, the situation is critical because this government mismanaged it and the minister keeps saying that rail companies are doing just fine.
What should have been done and what should we be doing now?
Adopting the proposed amendments would have addressed the root of the problem. My party fought to have Bill C-30 consider the interests of farmers and not just those of major producers.
Our amendments would have implemented mandatory reporting of the price of grain throughout the transportation system, required adequate service in rail transportation corridors and ensured that producers in all affected regions would be consulted about the regulations.
That could have prevented the current crisis, but it is pointless to talk about the past. We have a mess in our hands and we have to deal with it.
We have to examine this crisis and take action to establish new communications protocols and new penalties for non-compliance with delivery agreements. We must also ensure that producers have information about exports and ships and establish the mandatory reporting of price throughout the grain handling chain. All producers, even small ones, must have equitable access to rail infrastructure, and we have to think long term by developing a strategy for the future of rail service that will consider the growth of the agricultural sector.
The minister needs to step up and admit that he failed in his obligations. He must admit that he made a mistake by abolishing the Canadian Wheat Board, by supporting the sale of this former crown corporation to foreign interests, by refusing to be transparent about exports and by refusing to bring in performance standards for rail transportation.
In addition, the Minister of Transport needs to impose the fines she promised to impose—$100,000 per day and not per week—on the companies that do not comply with the agreements.
It is time that the government started listening and started working with all stakeholders in order to resolve the grain transportation issue once and for all. That is why I support this motion and why I will vote in favour of it.
Food Safety April 20th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, that is incredible. We are talking about a real shortage of inspectors in Quebec.
Data gathered by federal unions show that on average, the abattoirs and processing plants where deli and prepared meats are produced in Montreal East, Saint-Hyacinthe and Quebec City have 10 fewer inspectors than required. More cuts to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency are anticipated in tomorrow's budget.
Why is food safety not a priority to this government?
Food Safety April 1st, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the Conservatives are missing in action when it comes to protecting Canadians' health. Twenty-two people died from listeriosis in 2008 after having consumed contaminated meat. However, under the Conservatives, one-third of the food inspector positions at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency remain unfilled. These inspectors are responsible for overseeing the meat processing factories in northern Alberta.
Why are the Conservatives putting Canadians' lives at risk with these completely irresponsible cuts?
Food Safety March 31st, 2015
Mr. Speaker, meat exported to the United States is subject to more inspections than meat destined for Canadians. That is completely unacceptable.
To save a few dollars, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is cutting the number of inspections. These were put in place to prevent a food industry crisis such as the one that occurred in 2008, when 22 people died and dozens fell ill.
Why are the Conservatives moving backwards and putting Canadians' health at risk?
Grain Transportation March 30th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, grain farmers will continue to pay the price for the Conservatives' mismanagement. Over the weekend we learned that the government would not renew the grain transportation quotas. These quotas are important for farmers and many of them are still having a hard time emptying their silos.
How can the government justify siding with the rail companies instead of taking a stand and protecting our farmers?
Agriculture March 9th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, after Belarus, Peru, Taiwan, South Korea and Indonesia, now China is closing its borders to Canadian beef in the wake of the latest case of mad cow in Alberta.
By cutting the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's budget by 20%, the Conservatives jeopardized Canadian beef exports. The Conservatives played fast and loose with our producers' livelihood, and that is completely irresponsible.
When will the Conservatives take action to protect our Canadian producers and avoid a new crisis?
Employment February 27th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, since 2002, Mauricie's manufacturing sector has lost 50% of its workforce. That means 12,000 fewer jobs in Mauricie. In 2014, Trois-Rivières was Canada's only metropolitan area whose GDP dropped.
Mauricie needs investments and economic diversification, but instead, this government cut EDC's budget for the Quebec economic development program by 27%.
Why is this government abandoning the people in my riding?
Food Safety February 24th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, in response to recent cases of mad cow disease in Alberta, five countries have now issued restrictions against our beef. South Korea, a big market for our beef, even closed its borders. However, last week, we were told that these new cases would have no impact on Canadian beef exports. What is worse, producers were just starting to recover from the last crisis.
How does the government plan to do to protect the livelihood of Canadian beef producers?