Kent MacDonald

On a point of order, I voted “nay”.

Thank you, sir. Good morning, Minister. We know that Canada and the agriculture sector, in my mind, get overlooked sometimes. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture has a goal of increasing our GDP. It's $150 billion now, and one in nine jobs are in agriculture. It has significantly contributed to the Canadian economy. I think the goal of increasing that $100 billion over 10 years to $250 [more]

Anyway, Mr. Chair, if it was heard incorrectly, I said “nay”.

Thank you. Minister, in Atlantic Canada, the new food strategy is well received; I've had a lot of positive comments. The ability to have regional hubs again was the case decades ago, but the big grocers went to national distribution. To complement those regional hubs, we're going to need investments in transportation and infrastructure. In particular, my pet peeve is that Atlantic Canadian [more]

I'll move on to my next question. Is the African swine fever zoning that was announced this week a model that will be transferable? I lived through BSE and the total shutdown of beef exports from Canada, and it cost the industry millions and millions of dollars. Is zoning something that the federal government will be looking at in the future to alleviate animal diseases? We can't do that [more]

A lot of farmers are concerned with the price of fertilizer this spring, so can you update us on what type of role the federal government can play in an input strategy that will give us more self-reliance in fertilizer in Canada?

You spoke earlier about the contribution to the Competition Bureau. I worked for many years trying to bring in the Grocery Code of Conduct with the Dairy Farmers of Canada. The big grocers came into that program, I will say, kicking and screaming. They certainly weren't receptive to it at first. This money that's going into the Competition Bureau is better placed so that consumers will get fair [more]

Mr. Speaker, Canadians understand that food security is national security. In fact, a Nanos Research survey released this month for Dairy Farmers of Canada found that 94% of Canadians believe it is important that Canada maintain as much control as possible over its food supply. The survey also found significant support for Canadian farmers and the supply management system, which helps ensure a [more]