Parliamentary Speeches

Mr. Speaker, the president of Grain Farmers of Ontario warned that we cannot have affordable food if farmers cannot afford to farm. Fertilizer prices are crippling, and suppliers are now telling farmers they may not even have enough supply for next season. Canada is the only G7 country that has a tariff on fertilizer imports. Can the minister tell me exactly how much the Liberal government has collected from the 35% tariff and how much it has robbed from the pockets of Canadian farmers?

Madam Speaker, it is great to see you back in the chair today. It is a sight for sore eyes. In my colleague's comments, he was talking about trade, not just north and south but east and west, even though our trading partner to the south of us is the most important trading partner for our economy, and the Liberals are turning their backs on it. Regarding the east-west comment, the member knows that food transportation was exempt from the Liberals Canadian free trade agreement. We are talking about food affordability and food production and the importance of that issue. We have not had an opportunity to even talk about that and why it is exempt from their Canadian free trade agreement, when they are closing down seven critical research centres and experimental farms, which again will impact food affordability and food production here in Canada. The Prime Minister himself spoke of food sovereignty and how a country that is unable to feed itself has few options. Well, we have hardly been able to scratch the surface of the impact that the decisions in this budget bill would have on food production and food affordability in Canada. Would the member not agree that food affordability is a top priority for all Canadians, and worth some time to discuss?

Mr. Speaker, Foothills families are shaken. A local man was charged with more than 500,000 pieces of child exploitation material, and he was released. Ten-year-old Grace asked me why this man was not in jail. She does not feel safe playing outside with her friends, and that is not right. Okotoks families want to know why a man charged with such a heinous crime was released into the community. Conservatives offered a solution, jail not bail for serious offences, but the Liberals rejected it. When will the Liberals fix the bail system they broke so Okotoks families can feel safe again?

Mr. Speaker, well, that is no answer from the minister. We have 30 more of those. I sure hope they upped their game with the answers. The CEO of Farm Credit Canada last year, Justine Hendricks, spent more than $213,000 just on travel. She spent another $53,000 on hospitality, including one meal for more than $6,500. This is more than a third of what a family of four spends on groceries for an entire year. Can the minister tell me how much more out-of-control spending he is going to approve this year?

Mr. Speaker, Canada is the only G20 country in a recession, and the business leaders who actually create the jobs and attract the investment are raising the alarm. The CEO of one of Canada's largest energy companies said the Liberals' industrial carbon tax and antidevelopment laws make investing in new projects “unfinanceable”. That is interesting, because a year ago the Prime Minister promised Canadians we would “build, baby, build”, but “build, baby, build” is now another Liberal broken promise. Will the Prime Minister just admit that his vision for Canada's energy sector is to tax it, regulate it and eventually kill it?

Mr. Speaker, it is clear they are not taking any lessons from the business leaders in this industry. The CEO of Cenovus was crystal clear that building a new pipeline and expanding oil production to fill it is “unfinanceable”. That means the Liberals' anti-energy policies and carbon tax make investing in nation-building projects impossible, but the Liberals supporting these anti-energy policies should not be a surprise. When he was Trudeau's fiscal adviser, the Prime Minister endorsed those policies and implemented the carbon tax. Why does the Prime Minister still support these policies that have plunged Canada into a recession?

Mr. Speaker, I certainly understand that during question period there could be some heated moments. However, during the questions from my colleague, the member for Thornhill, who is a Jewish member of Parliament speaking about the very real threats to her community, the member for York South—Weston—Etobicoke called her a liar on a number of occasions. I would ask the hon. member if he would stand in this House, apologize and withdraw those words.

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told Canadians he had a plan, but he did not say his plan was to plunge Canada into a recession. Every G7 country is facing global instability, economic headwinds and tariffs, but Canada stands alone as the only G7 country in a recession. Canada stands alone as the only G7 country whose economy has contracted in three of the last four quarters. Canada stands alone in a recession because of Liberal policies that have stalled our economic engines, like natural resources, agriculture and manufacturing. There are consequences, as more than 100,000 Canadians have lost their jobs over just the last few months. Canadians have already suffered through the lost Liberal decade. They do not need any more economic mismanagement, deficit spending and high taxes. Canadians want answers, not photo ops. That is why Conservatives are asking the Prime Minister to hold an emergency debate on this economic crisis, which his government has caused.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to remember the remarkable life of the iconic Albertan Don Seaman. His influence in Alberta and all of Canada will be felt for generations, especially by his friends and family and by the business leaders he mentored. A visionary pioneer of Alberta's energy sector, Don helped build Canada's economy, but his impact will reach far beyond business. In the true spirit of “build it and they will come”, Don helped build a field of dreams in Okotoks, where Seaman Stadium is the crown jewel of Canadian baseball. He literally placed the building blocks not only of a stadium but also of the renowned Okotoks Dawgs Baseball program, which stands as a proud symbol of his commitment to youth, sport and country. Through the Donald and Eleanor Seaman Family Foundation, he supported education, health care and community development, and he improved countless lives. Now as we celebrate Don's beloved Dawgs' 20th baseball season in Okotoks, I will remember him sitting in the warm summer sun watching baseball, savouring a life well lived with thousands of friends in what we now call our field of dreams.

Mr. Speaker, I find it interesting that our Liberal colleague does not believe that Canadians are going without and having to skip meals. We know that the facts tell a very different story. There was the Great Depression, World War I, World War II and the global recession, and never had a Canadian government had to borrow money to help Canadians buy groceries, but that has happened twice in the last three years as a result of Liberal policy that is driving Canadians to food banks. I would like to ask my colleague, after his excellent speech, about the impact Liberal policies are having on food inflation and grocery prices that are resulting in two million Canadians lining up at a food bank every single month.

Mr. Speaker, Canadian farmers expect the government to defend them at the negotiation table, not leave them behind, yet the Liberals constantly fail farmers in trade disputes. Canadian beef and pork exports to Europe and the United Kingdom dropped to zero last year, yet the Liberals are rushing into a Mercosur agreement despite the risk to Canadian cattle, pork and poultry. Mercosur countries do not meet our standards on animal health, food safety or the environment. Why are the Liberals rushing in to sign an agreement that puts our food security, our food safety and Canadian farmers at risk?

Mr. Speaker, with elbows firmly down, the Prime Minister made a promise to Donald Trump to invest a trillion dollars into the United States. The promise was kept. An RBC statement shows that a trillion dollars of investment has fled Canada. The Liberal policies have caused the largest exodus of capital in Canadian history. Canadians are paying the price, with 74% saying that fuel and food costs are straining their finances, and 43% saying they are $200 away from economic ruin every single month. Why are Canadians paying the price for the Prime Minister's promises to Donald Trump?

Mr. Speaker, as the Liberals make more promises and more announcements, they are driving farmers into the ground. Farmers lost $3.3 billion in 2024 and are expected to lose another $30 billion over the next decade, yet the Liberals continue to double down, closing research centres, imposing a fertilizer import tax and increasing the industrial carbon tax. This is why 75% of farmers are telling their kids not to take over the family farm, and 84% of farmers think the Prime Minister has been an epic failure. Why not remove all of the tariffs and all of the fuel taxes and give farm families a fighting chance?

Mr. Speaker, finally the Liberals have acknowledged that they are indeed the reason for and the cause of the affordability crisis Canadians are enduring. For years, the Liberals have tried to blame everyone else for the cost of living crisis that lays at their feet, and they know it. Donald Trump is not the one who asked them to increase the industrial carbon tax by 16% on April 1, driving up the cost of food and fuel. COVID did not ask them to put an escalator tax on beer, wine and spirits, which is devastating our wine growers, brewers and distillers and taking $1.2 billion out of the pockets of Canadians. The Middle East conflict did not ask them to put a 35% tariff on imports of fertilizer, causing a cost-of-input crisis for Canadian farmers. No, these are Liberal policies that they themselves put on Canadians, and now they have finally admitted that Conservatives have been right all along, but the contrition is not complete. The industrial carbon tax is still here and the GST on fuel is still here. Will the Liberals cleanse their conscience, go the entire way, ask Canadians for forgiveness and remove all the taxes on all the fuel?

Mr. Speaker, the Liberal gas price change amounts to what is really chump change. It is only for a third of the year, for a third of the tax. It is not relief when Canadians barely save 10¢ a litre on gas and four cents a litre on diesel. It is not relief when Canadians still have to pay the GST and the Liberal fuel tax. Canadians are going to get back pennies. Meanwhile, the Liberals are collecting billions of dollars in federal gas tax revenue. Why the half-measure? Why not adopt the Conservative plan to remove all the Liberal taxes on fuel, diesel and gas?

Mr. Speaker, it is incredible how the Liberals can twist themselves in pretzels. It was not that long ago they were accusing all Conservatives of taking a summer vacation while the planet burned, and now they are saying we can travel around the world. It is not a benefit when the Liberals are pocketing billions of dollars in gas tax revenue right from the pockets of Canadians who are struggling just to buy the basics. Why do the Liberals take these half measures? Why do they not follow a Conservative policy and eliminate all of the Liberal taxes on fuel so Canadians can afford that summer vacation we would all love to take?

Mr. Speaker, we are not talking down the economy. The Liberals are bringing down the economy. A recent survey shows that 84% of farmers think the Prime Minister is an epic failure. I am wondering if the Prime Minister could tell me which one of his policies have made farmers so angry. Is it the fact that the Liberals are closing seven research centres and firing hundreds of scientists? Is it because we are the only G7 country with a 35% tariff on fertilizer imports? Is it the fuel standard or the industrial carbon tax, which goes up again on April 1? Which one of these policies is the reason the Prime Minister is an epic failure?

Mr. Speaker, I would like the minister to know that the Liberals' fuel regulations are so complicated and has made it so expensive that three-quarters of the feedstock comes from the United States or used cooking oil from China, not canola farmers in Alberta. It is the clean fuel standard, the industrial carbon tax, the escalator tax and tariffs on fertilizer that are making food unaffordable and farming unsustainable. Will the Liberals realize that it is their own policies that are causing these problems? Will they cancel their fuel tax, their industrial carbon tax and their escalator tax and help make Canadians' life more affordable?

Mr. Speaker, February's job numbers are crushing, with 108,000 full-time jobs lost, the largest collapse in full-time employment since 2020, since COVID. Youth unemployment is more than 14%. Canada now has the second-highest unemployment and the only shrinking economy in the G7. Let us be clear. It is because of Liberal policies that the private sector is hemorrhaging jobs, making the affordability crisis more acute. Will the Liberals admit that Conservatives were right and scrap their carbon and fuel taxes that are killing Canadian jobs?

Mr. Speaker, the numbers do not lie. The levers that the Liberals are pulling are obviously wrong, with 73,000 private sector jobs lost and youth unemployment at more than 14%. It is clear that young Canadians are being locked out of the workforce, cannot afford housing and cannot afford food, while the Prime Minister jet-sets to cocktail parties with global elites. Will the Liberals admit that their policies and fiscal plan have failed? Will they adopt the Conservative youth jobs plan that will give Canadian youth hope to build a future here at home?

Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise in the House. I will be splitting my time with the hon. member for Peace River—Westlock. The focus of my speech today is going to be on what the difference is between free trade and fair trade. As members have heard today, Conservatives are not opposed to the United Kingdom's accession to the CPTPP. However, what we are frustrated with is that once again the Liberal government has backed down when Canadian business and industry need it the most. We have heard a number of times from my Liberal colleagues today that they understand the unfair advantage that beef and pork producers in the United Kingdom and the European Union have over Canadian producers, and that they feel for them, yet once again, when the Liberals could have had some leverage to try to address the non-tariff trade barriers, the Liberal government has done absolutely nothing. In fact it has ignored the issue by trying to fast-track the accession of the United Kingdom into the CPTPP. Let us be clear: There is some leverage. The United Kingdom cannot join the CPTPP without Canada on its side. A unanimous agreement must happen for a new member to join this trade agreement. To put our agriculture commodities, producers and farmers at risk as part of this agreement without resolving some long-standing trade issues is a failure of the current government. In 2024, Canada exported approximately $100 billion of agriculture and agri-food products around the world. The sector employs 2.3 million Canadians and is $150 billion of Canadian GDP. To put that in perspective, that is more than the automotive and aerospace sectors combined. That is the impact of Canadian agriculture. However, while we are seeing success in some parts of the world, we are seeing a reversal of our success in the United Kingdom and the EU. I want to highlight just how stark the contrast has been with respect to what is going on with Canada, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Under the trade continuity agreement, the United Kingdom has imposed non-tariff trade barriers that have literally shut out Canadian beef and pork exports to the United Kingdom and to the European Union. We are not just raising rhetoric here; the facts speak for themselves. I will start with beef as the first example. In 2024, Britain exported 42 million dollars' worth of beef from the United Kingdom into Canada. Last year, in the first half of 2025 alone, that number was already at $28 million. The amount of beef imported into Canada has increased year over year. In contrast, in 2024, Canadian beef exported to the United Kingdom was just 25,000 dollars' worth. Last year, the amount of Canadian beef imported into the United Kingdom was zero. While the United Kingdom's imports continue to flood into Canada, there is no reciprocal or fair trade going the other direction. The Liberal government has been at the helm for more than 10 years and has done nothing to resolve this, as we have seen the discrepancy in those numbers continue to increase. Pork is no different. In 2024, the United Kingdom exported nine million dollars' worth of United Kingdom pork to Canada. In the first half of last year, that number was already at $3.6 million. By contrast, Canadian pork exports to the United Kingdom in 2023 were zero. In 2025, we were at $120,000, pennies on the dollar compared to what is being brought into Canada. I want to highlight that it is not any different when we look at the numbers in the European Union, where the trade imbalance is just as bad. In 2024, the European Union exported 92 million dollars' worth of beef to Canada, while Canadian beef exports to Europe fell by 40%, down to only $14 million, less than a quarter of what is being imported into Canada. Pork is much the same. From the numbers we have seen, the discrepancy continues to grow. This is yet another failure by the Liberal government to stand up for Canadian producers. It is signing onto these agreements or shepherding the United Kingdom into the trans-Pacific partnership without addressing any of these long-standing issues. The United Kingdom will not recognize our carcass-washing practices here in Canada, which are of a higher standard than what is done in the United Kingdom and the European Union. It is simply a non-tariff trade barrier that the Liberal government refuses to address. The United Kingdom does not recognize our breeding and hormone practices and animal livestock protection practices here in Canada, even though the standards are recognized around the world. Instead of addressing these non-tariff trade barriers, the Liberals are willing to hold the hand of the United Kingdom, ignore those problems and ensure it is joining the trans-Pacific partnership. We do not oppose the United Kingdom's being a member of that critical trade partnership. What we are concerned with or oppose is the fact that the Liberals are not addressing any of the long-standing non-tariff trade barriers before being a partner to the United Kingdom's joining that trade partnership. The secondary issue is that the CPTPP has been an outstanding trade partnership, in that all of the decisions in the trade relationships have been science-based. We have not had any of the non-tariff trade barriers and shenanigans that we are seeing currently between Canada and the United Kingdom. However, if the United Kingdom joins the CPTPP, our concern is whether it would be bringing that philosophy with it to the agreement. Into what has been a very solid partnership among a number of countries, we would now perhaps welcome non-science-based decision-making and non-tariff trade barriers, for all intents and purposes throwing a wrench into a wheel that has been running very smoothly. However, this is not the first time we have seen the current Liberal government fail when it comes to Canadian agriculture and trade. Only a few years ago, for example, we had a deadline with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and the World Organisation for Animal Health for Canada to get negligible risk status for BSE. I was at a conference with ranchers from across Canada and members of CFIA when CFIA said it forgot about the deadline, forgot to apply for negligible risk status and that it would have to wait until the next year. It made it sound like just “Sorry about that. The government forgot.” That cost Canadian ranchers tens of millions of dollars in lost market access. It took us more than 20 years to regain that access after the BSE outbreak. We have also seen that when the Liberal government has said now and again that it will address the specified risk material, SRMs, which is once again an additional step we have to do in Canada. It costs our producers about $60 a head to deal with SRMs. The United States does not have to do it, and it puts our producers at a competitive disadvantage. Time and again the Liberal government says it is going to address the SRMs. Time and again it has failed to do so, and that irritant is still in place. Every single time Canadian producers need the Liberal government the most, it is nowhere to be found, and now, when we need to be focused on research and development and sanitary and phytosanitary to push our standards around the world, the Liberal government's response is to close seven research centres across Canada. Two of them, in Lacombe, Alberta, and in Nappan, Nova Scotia, focus on the beef industry and the things we do here in Canada that we need to convince the rest of the world to meet or exceed their standards. Last, I would be remiss if I did not mention the other issue that the Liberal government did not address, and that is British pensioners' not seeing their pensions indexed to inflation, which happens in the United States. Our cousin in the United Kingdom is not allowing the same rights to 100,000 Canadians who are suffering with that indignity here in Canada, including my wee mother-in-law from Scotland, who is also not seeing her pension indexed. I know she would like to be treated just like British expats right around the world.

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the question from my colleague, who is doing a great job as the chair of the agriculture committee. I spend time pretty much every day speaking to producers right across the country. I will say that there is guarded optimism. There is no opportunity to take advantage of these trade agreements, because they do not trust that the elements of those trade agreements will actually come true. We have seen that in what is going on with the United Kingdom and the European Union, in the games that have been played, certainly with China, and in the inability of the Liberal government to rebuild our most important trade relationship, which is that with the United States. More than 70% of our agricultural commodities go south across the border.

Mr. Speaker, I apologize, but I am not aware of the amendment that my colleague moved at committee. However, I want to be clear that our agriculture stakeholders have changed their position. They want to support the United Kingdom, in good faith, joining the CPTPP. They are upset because the Liberal government should have addressed these issues before the continuity agreement expires and before the United Kingdom's accession to the CPTPP. We are a party of free traders. Our agriculture groups are free traders. They rely on that. Again, our point is that the Liberals had the leverage to address this issue and failed to do so.

Mr. Speaker, my colleague brings up an excellent point. The Prime Minister has gone to the United Kingdom on a number of occasions, and he is on his way there again later this week or next week, I believe. It is his second home, for all intents and purposes. He keeps talking about his close relationship with the Government of the United Kingdom and the EU. He calls himself a European. Why is he not resolving any of these issues? The Prime Minister says he has this close relationship, and our agriculture commodities could be taking advantage of these opportunities, not only in the United Kingdom but certainly around the world. The Prime Minister is a big talker, but there is no delivery. That is where we are seeing the frustration coming from Canadian farmers.

Mr. Speaker, the agriculture minister gave his word to farmers that he would support a request for emergency use of strychnine. Prairie farmers were devastated last season, with some losing 20% of their yield. Denying the request from Alberta and Saskatchewan is another Liberal broken promise when farmers needed help the most. It is also further proof that the agriculture minister does not have clout at the cabinet table. Will the minister keep his word to farmers? Will he reassess this decision with a lens on economic impact and food security?

Mr. Speaker, he is disappointed. The agriculture minister gave his word to farmers. He gave his word to the provinces. He broke that promise again when farmers needed him the most. This summer, and I cannot understate this, if we do not have access to strychnine and the gopher population continues to explode, the damage on the Prairies will be catastrophic. Again, will the minister keep his word to farmers? Will he reassess this decision, or will he see another disaster on the Canadian Prairies?

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to get up and speak to my colleague's private member's bill, Bill C-237, an act to amend the Fisheries Act. It is probably a little surprising to some of my colleagues that a member of Parliament from southern Alberta would get up to speak to a bill on Canada's Fisheries Act. Many people in the House may be surprised to learn that my riding, in southwest Alberta, is one of the top destinations in North America for fly fishing. I want to compare the issues we are facing in southern Alberta to what my colleague is trying to raise here in the House with his private member's bill. In fact, southern Alberta is one of the top destinations in North America for fly fishing. Whether it is the Bow River, the Highwood, the Sheep or the Oldman River in the very southern part of my riding, tens of thousands of people come from all over the world to experience fly fishing in southern Alberta. I know how important this industry has become to my constituency and the businesses in my riding. More than 4,000 people are employed in the fishing industry in southern Alberta. A number of very successful businesses rely on the tourists who come to southern Alberta as part of the fishing industry. I think of Flys Etc. in High River and Oldman guiding down in Crowsnest Pass. Many of these businesses have become successful by attracting fishermen from across North America to come and experience western Canadian hospitality. That is why it is important to talk about the impact that the recreational fishing industry has on small rural communities like mine and certainly like those in Newfoundland and Labrador that my great colleague represents as well. I was doing a bit of research on some updated numbers about the impact that the fishing industry has had in Alberta. We are talking about more than $250 million in revenue just from the fly fishing industry in Alberta. I know that is very similar to Newfoundland and Labrador. There are almost 6,000 businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador that are reliant on recreational and commercial fishing. That is a huge part of their economics and certainly of their rural community economy as well. All my colleague is asking for is to expand the opportunities for the growth of recreational fishing in Newfoundland and Labrador. I found it interesting that my colleague from Prince Edward Island talked about the importance of enforcement. The Liberal government has had more than a decade to follow through on enforcement on fisheries right across this country. In fact, a previous Liberal fisheries minister lost her job because she failed so miserably in enforcing the laws around the Fisheries Act. I will just briefly touch on the elver fishery issue in Nova Scotia, which has ripped communities apart. All that has been asked for is that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and the Liberal government, stand up and enforce the rules that are in place, something it has failed to do for more than a decade. In contrast, my colleague has gone from one community to another in his riding, consulting with commercial and recreational fishers, asking them what they need to grow this industry. All he is asking for in this bill is some flexibility. I have travelled across Alberta and into Saskatchewan and B.C. to do some fishing, which I enjoy. I know I would be extremely disappointed if I had travelled all the way to Newfoundland and Labrador to go fishing on one of the designated days as a recreational fisher when I can go out onto the water, to find out that the water was too rough, or there was a storm blowing in, and it was just unsafe. However, I would not have been able to postpone my trip until the next day because of some arbitrary rules around opening the recreational fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador. The amount that we are talking about here is, in the larger scheme of things, really quite insignificant. We are not asking for those recreational fishers to be able to take more fish out of the water. We are just asking for more flexibility around the days they could go out on the water. We would still have accountability and transparency, while enforcing the rules. There is some enforcement as part of this bill. That is something the Liberals have failed to do in the more than a decade they have been in government, despite the engagement and cries for action from fishers from coast to coast to coast. Overall, Bill C-237 would just expand and strengthen the overall management framework for Atlantic fisheries in Canada. Some great points were made by my colleague from New Brunswick, the member for Tobique—Mactaquac, and my other colleague from Newfoundland and Labrador has talked about this extensively as well. We talk about the amount of fish that the seal herds in Atlantic Canada are consuming compared with what we are asking for as part of this bill. The seal population has grown so out of control that it is consuming more fish than the entire Atlantic commercial and recreational fishing industries combined. When we compare some of these things, we really have to look at what the source of the fish population concerns may be. It is certainly not a handful of recreational fishers who are looking to fish only on a Tuesday or a Wednesday rather than adhering to these very arbitrary numbers. I find the Liberals' inability to enforce the rules that are already in place frustrating. I am going to compare that to something we are dealing with. I talked about the seal population being out of control. We are dealing with something very similar in western Canada, in the Prairies, with the Richardson's ground squirrel. The population has grown so out of control that many farmers in Alberta and Saskatchewan are seeing upward of a 20% yield loss in their crops and, even more so, damage being done to native grazing land and grassland where cattle are being raised and finished. We have asked the Liberal government to support an emergency application for the use of strychnine that was brought forward by Alberta and Saskatchewan. The agriculture minister promised he would support those applications that came in early October, but now we are told that the agriculture minister has changed his mind. He has broken yet another promise to Canadian prairie farmers with the government not supporting the emergency use of strychnine to deal with the overpopulation of Richardson's ground squirrels. There are no other options, and the consequences of that are putting our food security and the economic viability of many prairie farmers at risk. I compare that to a similar situation with this private member's bill. Instead of dealing with the root cause of the problems, which would be an overpopulation of seals, or enforcing the rules that are in place, whether that is in commercial fishing in Newfoundland Labrador or the elvers fishery in Nova Scotia, the Liberal government seems to put its head in the sand and hope that it will all take care of itself. We have seen that is certainly not the case, and these things do not take care of themselves. They require a stiff spine and tough decisions by the government, and certainly a minister, whether that is the Minister of Agriculture or the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, to show some intestinal fortitude and ensure that the rules are being followed. That is what we are asking the government to do on many of these types of issues, and certainly this one is no different. What my colleague from Newfoundland and Labrador is asking for is some stability and predictability for individuals who would come to Newfoundland and Labrador to participate in the recreational fishing industry. I want to conclude with this. We cannot underestimate the value of this industry to provinces and territories right across this country. As I highlighted, many people would be surprised by the impact the fly fishing industry has in southern Alberta. It is probably one of my riding's most critical industries. The same can be said, if not more, for Newfoundland and Labrador. All we are asking for is some flexibility to grow what could be an impactful industry, which would have a very low impact on the environment and climate but a very high impact on the local economy in Newfoundland and Labrador. That is why I would encourage my colleagues in the House to at least send Bill C-237 to committee so it can be studied further.

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are shutting down agricultural research, and now their red tape is literally choking the life out of agri-food businesses. A survey said that 90% of agri-food business owners believe that Liberal policies are putting the future of Canadian agriculture at risk. Red tape and regulations have already increased Canadian food inflation to 7.3%, by far more than double the rate in the United States. Experts are clear: Red tape, inflationary spending and the industrial carbon tax are increasing the cost of food production. How expensive do groceries have to get before the Liberals stop strangling Canadian farmers?

Mr. Speaker, the minister is right: It is not the farmers who are making the money. This is why 90% of agri-food business owners say that Liberal policy is restricting their ability to be productive and grow, and 70% of Canadian farmers are telling their kids not to take over the family farm. This is devastating for the future of Canadian food production and food security. It is making Canada less productive, less competitive and less food-secure. Canadians are already paying among the highest grocery prices in the G7. Why is the Liberal government so determined to drown farmers in red tape and taxes and make food unaffordable for Canadians?

Mr. Speaker, I am tabling a petition on behalf of more than 600 of my constituents who signed this petition about the Canada pension plan. They are concerned by amendments that the Liberal government made to the pension plan in 2018. They are worried about the security of their pensions, especially those with disabilities. The news that the Liberal government may be dipping into the Canada pension plan to pay for some of its overspending is a concern to my constituents. I would table this petition on behalf of the residents of Foothills.

Mr. Speaker, Canadian farmers are worried that an announcement by Beijing today means there is no deal to reduce tariffs on canola. On January 16, the Prime Minister said that he was engaged in a “new strategic partnership” with the People's Republic of China. He stated, “By March 1...Canada expects that China will [reduce] tariffs on Canadian canola seed to a combined rate of approximately15%.” Today Reuters said that Beijing has delayed a decision on canola tariffs until March 9. No decision means no deal. Why did the Prime Minister mislead Canadian farmers about having a deal to reduce canola tariffs for Canadian farmers?

Mr. Speaker, it is wild to hear the foreign affairs minister claim that they support science when the Liberals are literally attacking agricultural research. They are shutting down research centres in Lacombe, Indian Head, Guelph, Quebec City, Portage la Prairie and Cumberland County. Meanwhile, they spend $19 billion on consultants, $33 million on a prison farm and $22 million on beans for women for empowerment in Congo. Why is the Prime Minister dismantling the foundation of Canadian food security just to fund his foreign virtue signalling?

Madam Speaker, my colleague was talking about honesty and how important it is. I recall sitting in the House over the past 10 years or so. At some point, the Liberals were telling Canadians and members about opposing the carbon tax while the world is burning. I remember the former health minister asking how Conservatives would dare go on a summer vacation with their kids in the car while the planet is burning. However, the second it was politically advantageous, the Liberals got rid of the carbon tax. Who is really being dishonest with Canadians? Is it the Conservatives, who talked about the impact the carbon tax was having on Canadians financially, or is it the Liberals? The second it was politically viable, they threw their principles out the window and eliminated the carbon tax, only to put in an industrial carbon tax and a fuel standard tax that picks up right where the other left off.

Madam Speaker, I will be splitting my time with the outstanding member for Regina—Lewvan. Before I get to the essence of my speech, I would ask for the indulgence of the House for just a couple of moments. In small towns like ours, hockey is the fabric of life. Unfortunately, in my riding yesterday, that fabric became frayed. Heartbreak struck southern Alberta yesterday when three members of the Southern Alberta Mustangs were killed on their way to hockey practice. J.J. Wright and Cameron Casorso of Kamloops, and Caden Fine of Birmingham, Alabama, were killed on Highway 2. Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak to a number of residents of that community and hear about those hockey players. They were more than just athletes; they were outstanding young men who epitomized the values of southern Alberta: commitment, hard work and dedication to community. The residents talked about these hockey players volunteering at the senior centre, playing shinny on the street with young local kids, or going out of their way to clean up the arena after a hockey game. To the families of those hockey players, and certainly the driver, who was not at fault, I want everyone to know that our thoughts and prayers are with them. I want to thank all the colleagues in the House who have approached me today with their condolences as well. I would say to the Southern Alberta Mustangs hockey organization, the billets, the families and the volunteers, that we share their grief. I would also like to take a moment to thank U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra, whom I called in a bit of a panic last night. One of these hockey players was from Alabama, and his family members were beside themselves about how they were going to deal with this tragedy and get their son home. He called me immediately last night and walked me through the process, which I shared with the family. From my residents, I share a heartfelt thanks to the ambassador. Finally, on behalf of the entire Foothills community, we send our deepest condolences to the hockey organization, the families, the people and the volunteers in Stavely and all of southern Alberta. We are with them in this time of unimaginable sorrow. Now it is hard to move on, but I am very thankful for that moment. We are talking about another big issue, certainly, for families in Foothills and right across the country, which is food inflation and the inability of families to afford to put food on the table. I would like to go back to where this debate actually started, which was before Thanksgiving of 2023, when the now finance minister got up in front of the House and said that he would stabilize food prices by Thanksgiving. That did not happen. Then Prime Minister Trudeau got up and announced the GST rebates, once again to stabilize food prices, and that was the second promise broken. The Liberals got up and said they had this grocery code of conduct, which would be a vital tool that, once implemented, would lower grocery prices. That has been implemented, and every single expert we have talked to has said that the grocery code of conduct was never designed to lower food prices. Every single time the Liberal government stands up and talks about its promise to Canadians to lower and stabilize food prices, it is another promise broken. Therefore, members will have to excuse me, my colleagues and certainly many Canadians when the Prime Minister got up in front of a grocery store and once again brought out the same tired Trudeau GST rebate that did not work the first time and tried to sell it to Canadians once again as the salve for their inability to afford grocery prices. As the Leader of the Opposition said earlier in his speech, I found it very interesting that before the Prime Minister got up and made his announcement, all the grocery prices were removed from the shelves behind him. It was probably the first time he has been in a grocery store and had to actually look at the prices. He said during the election campaign that he did not grocery shop for himself and did not know the price of strawberries. He has people who do that for him. Real Canadians are facing a real problem, which is their inability to afford groceries. What has happened as a result of Liberal policies is that Canada now has the highest food inflation in the G7, twice that of the United States. The Liberal whip was proselytizing earlier today, saying that this is a global problem, and how dare the Conservatives and Canadians blame the Liberals for this issue. If it is a global problem, why is it that in Canada, food inflation is at twice the rate of the United States, our closest neighbour and most active trading partner? The U.S. is not facing these same problems. Let us take a look at what we have in Canada compared to what they have in the United States. Why is Canada facing food inflation at a rate far outpacing our nearest neighbour? Number one is the industrial carbon tax. Does the United States have an industrial carbon tax? No, it does not. An industrial carbon tax increases costs on every link in the supply chain. I do not know of any economy on the planet where they increase taxes and expect it not to also increase the prices of the products that economy produces. That is number one. Number two is the fuel standard tax. We say it is a hidden tax, but the Liberals say it does not even exist, that it is imaginary. Well, how do the Liberals have an imaginary tax in their budget? Maybe their budget is also imaginary, and I am sure many Canadians wish that were the case. In the Liberal budget, it says it will cost Canadians 7¢ a litre on gas and diesel, a tax that will go up to 17¢ a litre in four years. Again, I would ask any economist: If taxes on fuel are increased, would they not expect that to also increase the cost of products at the end of that production line? Well, of course they would. I can guarantee that Shell, Esso, Petro-Canada and Costco are not eating that 17¢ a litre. It is going directly to the drivers who drive the food, farmers who grow the food, processors who process the food and certainly retailers who sell the food. The United States also does not have a plastics ban on food packaging. The United States also does not put tariffs on fertilizer that it imports into the United States. The United States also does not have new bulk labelling rules on fertilizer. Canada is bringing in those new rules. With just the P2 plastics ban, the bulk labelling on fertilizer packaging and the new plastics labelling rules, experts in the industry say those three things combined will add $15 billion to the cost of products in Canada. That is not imaginary. Those are very real numbers that will be passed on to the consumer. No industry is going to absolve or absorb those costs. Let us go through a very simplistic supply chain. That product, and everything that makes that product, is going to be transported by train, car and/or truck, processed, packaged and then transported to the retailer. Every step along the way, it is paying that tax. Thus, those taxes will be passed on to the consumer, driving up food prices. Now the average Canadian family is going to be spending almost $18,000 on groceries, double what the weekly grocery bill was under the Conservatives. It was $160 a week; now it is $340 a week. Those are facts, not imaginary, and they are a result of these taxes that are put on by the Liberals. In my last minute, I want to mention that yesterday the Minister of Foreign Affairs made a comment that at a time when certain countries are cutting research, at a time when academic freedom is under attack, we believe in science and we believe in research. I found that hilarious, as the Liberals have announced that they are shutting down seven agricultural research centres across Canada, and there is not a region of Canada that is not being targeted: Indian Head, Saskatchewan; Lacombe, Alberta; Quebec City, Quebec; Nappan, Nova Scotia; and Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. There is a great comment in the National Post, which I thought encapsulated this very well: On large scales and long timelines, public agriculture research translates into more affordable, more secure food. Science takes time, so it’s likely going to be years before we can fully quantify [the impact of] what this loss means for the country. At a time when the Liberals are talking about supporting research and science, they are closing down seven critical research centres in Canada, going back to tired Liberal policies like a GST rebate that did not lower grocery prices last time and is not going to lower the price of a single item at the grocery store this time either. They need to support our motion, an actual plan to address affordable food in Canada.

Madam Speaker, perhaps Canadian consumers would wish the Liberals had stopped at the consumer carbon tax, but when we have a consumer carbon tax, and then we add an industrial carbon tax, a fuel standard tax, a P2 plastics ban, bulk labelling on fertilizer and now new labelling rules that, as I said, add $15 billion to the cost of producing food, that is why we see food inflation go from something that may have been manageable to now being 6%, or twice the rate of the United States, which does not have the same regulatory regimes and uncompetitive tax policies.

Madam Speaker, my colleague's question gives me an opportunity to comment on another point made by my colleague, the whip of the Liberal Party, who talked about how he does not like to hear from the food professor. They only like their experts, but not ours. I want to articulate the fact that when we quote the food professor, we are many times talking about the food price report. As my colleague mentioned, energy was an issue in there, related to the cost of food and the reliance on energy. We need to ensure that we have more options when it comes to energy security, which means food security, but the food price report was written and put together by dozens of different scientists from across the country. This is not just one expert whom we are quoting. This is a document produced based on the work of dozens and dozens of scientists and experts right across the country.

Madam Speaker, I think that is an excellent point. This is the difference, in terms of why the Liberals were willing to throw their principles away and get rid of the consumer carbon tax. They made the mistake of actually having it on receipts and bills, where Canadians could see it. That is why they have no problem increasing the industrial carbon tax and the fuel tax. They are right. They can say it is imaginary because consumers cannot see it, because it is not on the bill. If they want to do it right, put it on the—

Mr. Speaker, the Liberals are literally the definition of insanity. Three years ago, the finance minister promised Canadians that the Liberals would solidify food prices. Today, he is tabling the tired Trudeau policy that failed the first time. The only results of Liberal policy are that Canada has the highest food inflation in the G7, twice that of the United States, and Canadian families are paying almost $18,000 a year just on food. Will the Liberals support a real affordability plan and cancel their hidden taxes on food, or will they continue with this insanity?

Mr. Speaker, this is going to hurt the Liberal member, but under a Conservative government, the average weekly food cost was about $160 a week. Now it has more than doubled under the Liberals to $340 a week. The fact is that Liberal policies are driving up food prices to Canadians. The fact is that 2.2 million Canadians are using a food bank every single month. The reasons for the food prices are not secret: It is an industrial carbon tax and a fuel standard tax, driving up the costs on food, fuel, fertilizer and farm equipment. Again, will the Liberals support a real food affordability plan, a Conservative plan, or will they continue to drive up food prices?

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told Canadians to judge him by “their experience at the grocery store”. Well, what Canadians see on the shelves now is Liberal failure. The food price report confirms what Canadians already know: Food prices are out of control and are going to get worse. In 2015, when the Liberals took office, the average weekly food bill was about $160. In a decade, it has doubled to $360. That is $17,500 to feed a family of four in Canada. That is unbelievable. The food price report told Canadians that it is going to get worse with the largest increase ever, another $1,000 a year for a family of four. Instead of lowering prices, the Liberals are piling on taxes that make it more expensive to grow food, transport food and buy food. Food inflation in Canada is 50% higher than the Liberals' own target. It is rising 48% faster in Canada than it is in the United States. It is time to end the misery. Will the Liberals not end the hidden taxes on food so Canadians can afford Christmas dinner?

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister said he should be judged by the price of food at the grocery store. The food price report gave the Liberals a failing grade. It confirmed that food prices are going to increase by $1,000 a family next year, a cost they simply cannot afford. Canadians did not need a report to tell them that. They are experiencing it every single day. Canadian food banks are on the brink. In Foothills, the Okotoks Food Bank served more than 21,000 families last year. That is unbelievable. Why is the Prime Minister forcing Canadians to food banks instead of reducing taxes on farmers, fuel and food?

Mr. Speaker, this did not happen yesterday. A decade ago, when the Liberals took office, the average weekly food bill was about $160 a week. A decade later, it has doubled to $340 a week. That is $17,500 to feed a family of four. That is unbelievable in a country like Canada. Canadian food banks cannot manage the load. These are not just strangers. These are friends, families, co-workers and neighbours, all relying on food banks. Why is the Prime Minister sticking to his ideology, increasing taxes to grow the food, transport the food and buy the food, instead of lowering those taxes so Canadians can afford a meal?

Mr. Speaker, the Prime Minister told Canadians that he should be judged by the price of food at the grocery store. Well, the verdict is in and the Liberals have failed. Canada's food price guide said Canadians will spend $1,000 more on groceries next year, the highest increase in years. When the Liberals took office, the average weekly food bill was about $160. In a decade, it has more than doubled to $340 a week. Why is the Prime Minister breaking his promises to Canadians and increasing taxes on farmers, on food and on fuel?

Mr. Speaker, Canadians will have a very different point of view. They know that these food price increases, as is in this report, are a direct result of the Liberals' industrial carbon tax, fuel tax and inflationary spending. The Prime Minister himself said that he should be judged by the price of food. By his own metrics, he has failed. When the Liberals came to office, the annual food budget was about $8,300 a year. In a decade, it has doubled to $17,500 a year. Will the Prime Minister get rid of his taxes on food, so Canadians can afford a Christmas dinner?

Madam Speaker, it is always a pleasure to rise in the House on behalf of the constituents and families in Foothills, my farmers, my ranchers, my agri-food processors and certainly my families and entrepreneurs. Bill C-15, the budget implementation act, is anything but a plan for prosperity. It is a blueprint for higher taxes, higher debt, higher inflation and higher costs for the people who feed and power this economy. I could probably summarize the Liberal budget in two ways: It is a budget of over-promising and underdelivery. In the previous election, the Prime Minister promised Canadians fiscal restraint, transformational change and fiscal discipline. Once again, the Liberals failed to deliver on any of those things. I would warn the Liberals that they cannot build the Canada of tomorrow, which all of us want to see, if they are mortgaging the future. This is exactly what the budget has done, with almost $80 billion in additional debt burden on the backs of Canadian taxpayers. As a result of this, our standard of living is eroding. That is a concern for an entire generation of young Canadians, who are starting to accept that this type of debt and deficit is becoming the norm. Others have certainly noticed. For example, out of the 48 countries tracked by the OECD, Canada is expected to rank second worst in per capita growth from now until 2030. Canada has the worst per capita growth in the G7, with more than a 10% drop in investment per worker. A decade ago that certainly was not the reality for Canadians. Under the previous Conservative government, we had the wealthiest middle class in the world. We had a balanced budget. We were respected by our most important and trusted trading partners. For the most part, Canadian families had hope. Instead, the Liberal government has chosen to burden and throw gas on the inflationary fire, with $90 billion in new spending and a $78 billion deficit. Unbelievably, the Liberal government's deficit is twice that of the previous prime minister, Justin Trudeau, with a deficit and reckless spending that sent his finance minister packing. I find it incredibly interesting that only a year ago, the Liberal members were scrambling, outraged at the reckless spending of the predecessor, but now they are standing and cheering deficits and spending that are twice that of Justin Trudeau. It is incredible how things have changed on the Liberal benches and how easily they will twist themselves just to ensure that they win an election. To put this in perspective, the cost of just maintaining that debt is more than $50 billion a year. That is more than what the federal government is transferring to provinces in health care. Instead of building hospitals, hiring doctors and nurses, or expanding ports and repairing highways, more than $50 billion in taxpayer money is going just to service the Liberal debt. That is an incredible number. I hope Canadians who are watching here today understand the consequences and ramifications of those kinds of numbers. For Canadians, it is very hard to fathom that. For Canadians who are standing in line waiting for a family doctor or waiting hours on end in the emergency, I want them to think about the fact that we have solutions for those problems. However, instead of funds going to solve those problems, they are going to pay down just the interest on Canada's credit card as a result of the Liberals' out-of-control spending. As typical Liberals, they promise one thing during an election and do the exact opposite once they are elected. During the election, they promised transformational change and generational investment. However, what they have delivered is intergenerational debt, and it will take generations of Canadians to try to pay this back. Canadians are not fooled. Even some of the Liberals' best friends are not fooled. I would like to mention some headlines that have come out since the budget was released. We have, from the Toronto Sun, “[The Prime Minister's] budget as unsustainable as a Trudeau budget”; from the National Post, “Liberals should be kept far away from the economy”; from The Globe and Mail, “The Liberals' growing deficit of trust”; and from the Liberals' favourite publication, the Toronto Star, “Once again, [the Prime Minister] doesn't quite live up to the hype”. These warnings are coming in when Canadians are struggling as they never have before. Food Banks Canada reported that more than two million Canadians are being forced to line up at food banks every single month. That number has more than doubled over the last five years. It is unbelievable that four out of five Canadians now list food security as their number one financial burden. How does that happen in a country as wealthy as Canada, or seemingly as wealthy, until the Liberals got out of control with their spending? This is hitting all of us in our ridings. For example, at the Okotoks Food Bank, in one of the largest communities in my riding, food bank use is up 200%. In the first seven months of last year, it had about 15,000 users; it now has more than 45,000. In my small hometown of High River, more than 100 families are using the food bank every single week. That is absolutely unbelievable in a country like Canada. Food banks were never designed to be the backbone of a social safety net, but that is exactly what has happened under the Liberals. The food banks are now becoming a primary source of groceries for too many Canadian families, when they are supposed to be the source of last resort. This is a new reality Canadian families are facing. I want to touch on a subject about which the Liberals are really gaslighting Canadians. They are trying to say that the hidden taxes the Liberals have put on food prices are imaginary. They are not imaginary. In fact Canadians are seeing the impact of these taxes every single week when they try to go to the grocery store and put food on the table. How can these taxes be imaginary when they are actually included in the Liberal budget? In the Liberal budget, the Liberals say they are going to maintain the escalator tax on beer, wine and spirits. It is actually connected to inflation, so the Liberals cannot even say how high the escalator tax is going to be when it hits on April 1. It says in the budget that they are going to maintain the Liberal fuel standard, which adds 17¢ a litre for farmers who grow the food, truckers who move the food, and certainly the retailers who sell the food. In the budget, the Liberals also say they are going to strengthen, which means increase, the industrial carbon tax, which increases the cost of literally everything. It not only increases those costs but also drives investment and industry out of Canada. As my colleague from Saskatchewan mentioned earlier, we have seen the consequences of that when a $1 billion new potash terminal is going to be built in Vancouver, Washington, not Vancouver, British Columbia. Nutrien is one of the largest potash producers in the world, based proudly in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, but one of Canada's crown jewel industries is not investing in Canada. It is investing in the United States because of a regulatory regime in Canada that is unnavigable and because of high tax rates. It simply cannot carry the burden. That is just the latest warning sign that we have seen as a result of Liberal taxes and a regulatory regime that are driving investment away. In fact more than $50 billion in investment has fled Canada since the Prime Minister was elected last spring. Since 2015, and this is a staggering number, 670 billion dollars' worth of resource projects have been either shelved or delayed as a result of the high taxes and regulatory regime of the Liberal government. I just want to name a few of the projects that would certainly impact everybody across Canada. The Teck frontier mine, the northern gateway pipeline, energy east, the Saguenay LNG project and Pacific NorthWest LNG have all been shelved as a result of the Liberal government. Imagine the jobs that Canadians would have, had these projects gone ahead. Finally, I want to mention this: The Liberals continue to say they are in a trade war, but we cannot be in a war if we have already surrendered. They have backed down on everything. Conservatives stand ready to work with anyone who is committed to getting Canada back on track and unleashing our resources like agriculture, mining and energy to provide Canada with the tools we need to face these challenges, to be successful and to have hope. Conservatives are willing to get that work done, and that is why we cannot support the budget, because the Liberals are certainly not willing to make those sacrifices.

Madam Speaker, my short answer is that I do not. Every time the Prime Minister goes away, it gets worse for Canadians. I will talk just about agriculture. The Prime Minister goes to India, and India puts 30% tariffs on Canadian yellow peas. He goes to the United States, and the United States increases tariffs for Canadians. The Liberals send a delegation to China, and what does China do? It increases tariffs on Canadian agriculture products from 25% to 100%. Canola, peas, pork, beef and seafood are now all being tariffed at record rates. The Prime Minister goes to the United Kingdom, and what does he get? Absolutely nothing. We get zero beef and pork imported by the United Kingdom and the European Union. However, what comes the other way? Beef imports into Canada from the United Kingdom are up 150%. Every time the Prime Minister goes somewhere, when he comes back, it is worse, except that he somehow gets great deals for Brookfield and enriches his own pockets.

Madam Speaker, I just want to touch on a couple of things in my colleague's question. I think he has highlighted very well that the budget is about what is not there. What is not there is the details. The Liberals talk a lot about spending, but the success of a budget is not about how much we spend; it is about the impact that spending is going to have. We do not see anything about expanding ports, repairing highways, diversifying trade or how we will get our products to market. To the member's first point, yes, the biggest issue with the budget is not what is missing; it is a lot of fanfare and no details. On the member's second question, I would agree. I have not had a chance to read the bill he mentioned. It is something the Bloc is very passionate about, and certainly I think all of us are. My colleague from northern Alberta talks about human trafficking and human slavery. I think we would all support cracking down on those issues.