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Adjournment Proceedings

2026-04-30 Sitting 114 Showing 1–4 of 4

A bill to extend various temporary tax breaks, increase government spending on benefit programs, and give the Minister of Health new powers to override environmental protections on pesticides. During debate, the Conservative member tried to discuss increasing domestic food production, while the Liberal member talked about affordability programs but did not directly address food production.

Official Hansard ↗

Grant Jackson

Conservative 6:25 p.m.

“What is the government doing to increase food production? The other guy didn't answer. Try again.”

Official Hansard

Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to rise today. Last week, I asked the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food about the sorry state of food affordability in Canada and what exactly the government was doing to increase food production in this country. It makes sense to me that if we grow more and produce more food, the price of food should come down. It is not impacted by tariffs that we have seen, nor by inclement weather in other parts of the world, which often affects prices in this country. Unfortunately, the response I got was anything but an answer. The Minister of Agriculture went on to list a whole bunch of programs that have nothing whatsoever to do with food production or increasing it in this country. Therefore, I would like to give the member across the way another crack at the same question. What exactly is the government doing to increase food production in Canada, and when will the Liberals finally recognize that when regions like mine that grow the food cannot even afford to buy it, the rest of the country is certainly in crisis?

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Jennifer McKelvie

Liberal 6:25 p.m.

“We want Canadians to think we're doing a lot to help on food and housing prices. We introduced Bill C-30. Lots of benefits in there. Money for greenhouses. A food security strategy. Extending the homebuyers' plan grace period. Reducing the Canada Pension Plan contribution rate. We don't want you to think about what it costs, whether it will work, or what got us here. Just focus on how much we're doing.”

Official Hansard

Madam Speaker, our government is relentless in its efforts to make life more affordable for Canadians. Many hard-working Canadians continue to face affordability pressures as the cost of essential goods, housing and everyday expenses remains high. This is why our actions have been focused on ensuring Canadians keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets. The spring economic update, “Canada Strong for All”, which our government delivered on April 28, includes the next steps toward meeting our objective of building a stronger, more resilient and more affordable country. We recently introduced Bill C-30, an act to implement certain provisions of the spring economic update tabled in Parliament on April 28. It is a key piece of legislation to help ease the sting of higher prices. Let us begin with the rising cost of food, which is a major concern for Canadians. On June 5, more than 12 million Canadians will receive additional support through the new Canada groceries and essentials benefit. The spring economic update, via Bill C-30, is proposing additional measures to support Canadians even more as they deal with the financial squeeze of food bills. The passage of Bill C-30 would help growers supercharge domestic food production in Canada with tax changes that would allow the immediate expensing of greenhouse buildings. The measure is projected to provide $41 million of tax relief over six years. The government is also committed to developing a national food security strategy. The strategy would make it easier for Canadians to access affordable and nutritious food and build Canada's resilience and capacity to meet domestic needs. Bill C-30 would amend the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act and the Pest Control Products Act to include the consideration of food security and the cost of food. Bill C-30 also promises to help address housing affordability concerns. It is clear: The high cost of housing is putting significant pressure on household budgets, especially for younger Canadians. Our government recognizes that many Canadians who have recently purchased their first home or are planning to do so could benefit from a boost to their cash flow. That is why Bill C-30 proposes extending the grace period during which homebuyers are not required to start repaying their homebuyers' plan withdrawals from their RRSPs. The proposed extension is from two years to five years. This change would deliver cash flow relief of up to $4,000 per individual per year over three years, during which time they would not be required to repay the amount into their RRSP. There is more in Bill C-30. The legislation proposes an important change to the Canada pension plan to ensure Canadians keep more of their money in their bank accounts. The CPP is the cornerstone of Canada's retirement income system, providing stable and predictable pension income to millions of Canadians. To help address affordability pressures faced by so many households, Canada's ministers of finance unanimously agreed in April to reduce the contribution rate for the CPP. The change would lower the contribution rate in the base CPP from 9.9% to 9.5%, effectively January 1, 2027. This 40-basis points reduction to the CPP contribution rate would translate into annual savings of up to $133 for an employee earning $70,000 a year, with equivalent savings for their employer. The change would do this while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the CPP. As members can see, our government is moving swiftly to improve affordability. We have already accomplished so much, and these are only the latest examples of how we are working hard to lift some of the barriers off Canadians.

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Grant Jackson

Conservative 6:30 p.m.

“You talk a lot, but you aren't saying anything. The question was about food production. You never said 'food production'. The agriculture minister never says it either. Food prices are high. We need to grow more food. Feed Canada. Feed the world. You have no plan for food production.”

Official Hansard

Madam Speaker, that is pretty much par for the course with the Liberal government, unfortunately. The question was specifically about food production, and I am not sure the Liberal member across the way used the two-word phrase “food production” at any point in that entire answer, which is par for the course, even more sadly, for the agriculture minister in responding to my questions during question period. He and his parliamentary secretary are clearly too busy tonight to answer these questions. It is an important measure that we need to be addressing because this country needs to grow more food to meet our domestic needs, to bring prices down for Canadians, as well as to continue to feed the world, which so many people from my region and across the Prairies do. It is very disappointing that the Liberals have no plan to increase food production in Canada.

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Jennifer McKelvie

Liberal 6:30 p.m.

“I know people have trouble paying for food. The government should make a big plan to fix it. Our plan will have a nice name: 'national food security strategy'. It will magically create cheap, healthy food for everyone. We really care about the little guy. We put people first. We believe in a Canada where everything is for everybody.”

What they said. What they meant.

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