Kent MacDonald

Mr. Speaker, the member would be fully aware that this government is committed to port development, whether it is in Churchill, Manitoba, or in Vancouver. There is a large expansion being discussed. That would alleviate a lot of the struggles with the export of grain, particularly in the fall. We speak to ranchers in western Canada, and obviously it is the same everywhere. We all harvest in a [more]

Mr. Speaker, I would say first, with regard to the transportation links, obviously, in the region of the province and country that I am from, we have a ferry service that is essential to commercial business and the export of potatoes, fish and many other commodities that leave P.E.I. We are a province of 180,000, and P.E.I. has been called the million-acre farm. What we grow, we have to export. [more]

Mr. Speaker, I disagree with the member's statement. What this bill would do is give certainty to industry. The act would take concrete steps to strengthen labour relations by requiring earlier bargaining in complex cases. It would gives unions and employers more time to identify issues, access mediation services and reach negotiated agreements before a strike or a lockout. The bill would develop [more]

C-39 Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill, the building Canada strong act. We find ourselves living in an extraordinary time of global transformation. We are witnessing unprecedented shifts in global trade patterns, rapid advancements in technology and heightened geopolitical uncertainty. The agreed-upon ways of doing business are being challenged across the globe every single day. It is [more]

There was a particular source of funds carved out for indigenous in budget 2025 as well. Chief Woodhouse Nepinak, we see project-based funding, and I see the Abegweit First Nation moving more towards long-term, own-sourced generation of revenue in their community. Is that model getting carried out across the country? You need long-term funding sources. One project at a time is not going to fix [more]

Thank you, Madam Chair. Thank you to the witnesses. Chief Woodhouse Nepinak, I'm not rebutting what's been said, but in budget 2025, the federal government outlined $2.8 billion for indigenous housing, and we are committed to working with all partners on that. We know housing has to develop more rapidly and that we need a more effective delivery process. You commented twice that there's no [more]

On a point of order, I voted “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]

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

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]

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]