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Agriculture and Agri-Food

During question period on agriculture, Jacques Gourde of the Conservatives said the government is closing seven agricultural research centres to save money, arguing this hurts the future of farming and food supply while the government spends billions on other priorities, and asked the minister to reverse the decision. Heath MacDonald of the Liberals replied that there are 17 research centres across the country, that research is done together with provinces, territories, universities and the private sector, and that funding will continue. He also pointed to upcoming announcements and listed other measures he said support farmers, including allowing Prairie farmers access to strychnine, updating farm rules, expanding aid programs, and a new tax break for farm equipment.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

Official text

4 statements

Jacques Gourde

Conservative
“The government is closing seven farm research centres. This hurts our ability to prepare for the future of farming. I want the minister to reverse this decision.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, when it comes to investing in agriculture, the Liberal government turns a blind eye. When it comes to investing in research centres dedicated to agriculture, not only does it turn a blind eye, but it turns away entirely. The future of Canadian agriculture is now preparing for the next generation. The closure of seven research centres in Canada reduces our ability to innovate and prepare for the future of agriculture. The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food needs to show leadership. Will he reverse his decision before it is too late?

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Heath MacDonald

Liberal
“We have 17 research centres across the country. We work with universities, provinces, and businesses to do this research. We will keep funding it because it helps industry.”

  • Government answer in Question Period

    Clarity 46 of 100

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, from the very beginning, I made it clear that we would work with the provinces, the territories, academia and the private sector to ensure that we have strong, effective research centres across this country. We have 17 of them across the country. We have been doing research for 140 years, and we are going to continue. We have been working with Laval. We have been working with the University of Saskatchewan. We have been working with the University of Alberta. We have been working with the governments in those provinces. We are going to continue to build research in this country because it is needed, but we are going to do research for industry, not for the opposition.

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Jacques Gourde

Conservative
“The government is closing seven farm research centres to save money, while wasting billions on other projects. This hurts our food supply. I want to know why the government keeps failing Canadian farmers.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, agriculture is just a drop in the bucket for the Liberals, who are spending $6.6 billion on the Cúram program, $19 billion on consultants, and $100 billion on a high-speed train that will ruin entire farming communities in Quebec and Ontario. Saving $23 million a year by closing seven research centres in Canada is completely unacceptable. This decision is a direct attack on our country’s food security. It is not too late to fix this mistake. Why do the Liberals historically always let Canada’s agricultural communities down?

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Heath MacDonald

Liberal

Linked statement

“Our government is supporting Canadian farmers. We have new research coming soon. We are also letting Prairie farmers use strychnine, updating farm rules, expanding aid programs, and creating a new tax break for farm equipment.”

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, it is always said that politics is a bit of theatre, but that was pretty good, I must admit. Let me say this. We are going to continue to build the agriculture community in this country. We know how important it is. There are going to be good-news announcements coming up very shortly in reference to research. We are working extremely hard. We are granting an exemption for the use of strychnine in Alberta and the Prairies. We are moving to change the mandates of the CFIA and the PMRA. We are adding pasture rentals to AgriStability, enhancements to the APP and new funding for AgriMarketing, and we are introducing the productivity superdeduction. We are just getting started.

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