Honourable senators, I rise today to respond to the Speech from the Throne that was delivered in this chamber on September 23, 2020, by Her Excellency Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada, on behalf of the government.

The speech laid out the priorities of the government, presented in four areas: Protecting Canadians from COVID-19; Helping Canadians through the Pandemic; Building Back Better, A Resiliency Agenda for the Middle Class; and, The Canada We’re Fighting For.

I must say, I was extremely disappointed by the lack of attention to Canadian agriculture in the speech. The government frequently speaks about its commitment to agriculture, yet the sector never seems to make the cut into their top priorities.

To me, this is unfathomable, given the importance of agriculture in the daily lives of all Canadians, and especially now, given the issues highlighted by the COVID‑19 pandemic. Furthermore, agriculture is intrinsically connected to so many other areas, including climate change and the environment, the economy, natural resources, international trade, intergovernmental relations, rural economic development, health, innovation, industry, transport and much more. While agriculture continues to be a driving force in Canada, this government has continued to neglect the sector by failing to mention agriculture in the Speech From the Throne in both 2019 and 2020.

Today, I will highlight several ongoing problems the agricultural sector and rural communities continue to face. They are issues that I hope will be on the government’s list of priorities during this parliamentary session.

With respect to the Barton targets, in 2017, the government’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth, chaired by Dominic Barton, identified agriculture as a key sector for potential growth. The Barton Report set a target to grow Canada’s agri-food exports from $55 billion in 2015 to at least $75 billion by 2025. Many within the industry have set an even higher goal and target of $85 billion.

In order to meet these ambitious targets, we need to do a better job of promoting Canadian agriculture on the world stage. In our 2019 report, the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry made several recommendations to the government about how to grow our value-added food sector, which would provide a huge boost to our industry and assist in reaching the $75 billion by 2025.

It is evident that agriculture can truly be a driver of the Canadian economy and can help us recover after this pandemic, but only if we allow it. To do so, this government must prioritize agriculture both now and into the future. I can only hope that the government sees this opportunity and utilizes it to the advantage of all Canadians.

With respect to international trade, Canadian agriculture is integral to our international trade relationships. We have many important trade partners who are interested in our agricultural products.

Recently, the government has engaged and/or concluded negotiations on a number of trade agreements, specifically the CPTPP, CETA and CUSMA.

These trade agreements were intended to benefit agriculture, and for the most part they do. However, there are certain sectors that have been harmed by them. For example, our supply-managed sectors, namely the dairy and chicken industries, have still not received all of the compensation that they were promised by the government in exchange for them losing some of their markets.

In the case of CETA, Europeans have been taking full advantage of Canadian markets for many products, especially cheese. Unfortunately, Canadians haven’t been able to export their meat due to differing regulations.

At the same time, we have faced trade disputes on the international stage, most notably with China. China stopped accepting Canadian canola, beef, pork and other products. I am aware that this government has been working hard to resolve the dispute with China, and I have asked the Government Representative in the Senate about these disputes, yet we are still seeing these issues with China. We must look elsewhere to make up these shortfalls. While maintaining our trade relationships is an integral aspect of our economy, at the same time, we must diversify to ensure that Canada does not rely on only one market for our exports.

I would like to take this opportunity to again call upon the government to fulfil its promise of compensation for farmers negatively affected by these trade agreements. They cannot continue to wait on empty promises. Moving forward, I hope that the government will be cautious and not engage in deals that will further harm our country’s food producers.

Another issue of concern to the agricultural industry is the interprovincial trade barriers that exist within our country. Earlier this year, I asked a question on this topic to the Government Representative in the Senate, and it is also addressed by last year’s report of the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, entitled Made in Canada: Growing Canada’s Value-Added Food Sector.

I was pleased to hear in this year’s speech that the government would be seeking to eliminate the remaining barriers between provinces to full, free internal trade. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of domestic trade relationships, and it is my hope that the government will move swiftly to address this issue.

It is, quite frankly, offensive that it is more difficult to transport agricultural products across provincial and territorial borders than it is to move them across oceans. I know that these difficulties are due in large part to inconsistent regulations and unnecessary red tape, but without being able to fully benefit from our internal trade, we will not be able to reach our full potential in international markets either.

With respect to access to broadband in rural, northern and remote areas, a major frustration I have heard time and again from folks in rural communities across the country is the limited access to reliable high-speed internet. In this day and age, it is absolutely unacceptable that so many of our rural, northern and remote regions are not connected, which inevitably leads to further disadvantages. It prevents farmers from using smart technology, it encourages young people to leave their communities, and it disproportionately affects Indigenous peoples. Again, this issue has been exacerbated in recent months as COVID-19 pushed many of our regular activities — work, school, clubs, social groups — online.

Yet again, this government’s Speech from the Throne promised to invest in rural broadband infrastructure. Rural, remote and northern communities should not be made to wait any longer for adequate internet access in 2020. They have been waiting six years under this government, and they continue to wait today. I hope that the government’s promises come to fruition during this term.

Another concern is trespassing on farms. While many city dwellers may not have heard as much about this issue, it is top of mind for the agricultural industry. Protestors and activists have been breaking and entering on farms in various provinces to demonstrate their dismay with the meat industry. Of course, they are entitled to express their views, but they should not trespass to do so.

Not only is it stressful for the farmers, their families and the animals they care for, but it causes major biosecurity risks. The arrival of a group of people who do not follow proper biosecurity procedures upon entering the farm poses health risks to the animals that they are supposedly trying to protect. Additionally, there have been multiple instances of animals being harmed. In one case, a scared sow accidentally trampled some of her piglets due to the panic caused by the noise and stress. In more than one situation, protestors have stolen live animals or the bodies of dead ones.

In June of this year, the Government of Ontario passed a bill addressing this very issue, and I look forward to seeing how it works in practice. I do think, though, that there is also room for action to be taken at the federal level. In fact, a private member’s bill was introduced in the other place, and I look forward to seeing this legislation debated in both houses of Parliament.

With respect to climate change, the Prime Minister, through the Governor General, has identified climate change as a cornerstone of the government’s plan. As agriculture and climate change are inherently linked, I was pleased to hear that the government will recognize farmers, foresters and ranchers as key partners in the fight against climate change and support their efforts to reduce emissions and build resilience.

There are many ways in which climate change affects agriculture. There are also many ways — from carbon sequestration to urban farming — in which agriculture will be a crucial part in the fight against climate change. Across the agricultural industry, producers and processors have already been working hard to adopt sustainable practices and emissions. That said, they will need government support to further employ innovative farming methods, maintain soil-friendly practices and ultimately change the way agriculture has operated for decades.

As a long-time member of Ontario’s agricultural community, I am aware of the importance of soil health, but I want to make sure that all Canadians know how integral soil is to the overall health of this country. In the three and a half decades since the Senate’s last report on soil health in 1984, a concerning amount of Canadian soil has been eroded and continues to lose its organic matter. To address this, I intend to propose shortly that the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry conduct a new soil health study that will ultimately support this government’s climate change goals.

The Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act and Canada-wide Clean Fuel Standard: This government has made it clear that the fight against climate change remains one of its key focuses for the upcoming session. While I wholeheartedly support the important goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, I am weary of the impacts of the carbon tax on the Canadian agricultural industry.

The carbon tax has been in effect in New Brunswick, Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta for some time now. It has the honourable and important goal of helping to reduce emissions, but in reality it has been hurting Canadian farmers, and grain farmers in particular.

In response to Bill C-206, An Act to amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture expresses their desire for a change to the existing definition of eligible farming machinery to explicitly allow for natural gas and propane to be used to generate heat for livestock barns and in grain drying. In combination with the change to the definition of qualifying farm fuel, these updates to the bill will have an immediate impact on the livelihoods of Ontario’s farmers.

This government is also proposing a second carbon tax, known as the Canada-wide Clean Fuel Standard, or CFS. A number of stakeholders, including OFA, Canadians for Affordable Energy and agricultural news outlets across the country, have raised concerns regarding the CFS. The new proposed regulations have raised concerns for farmers, as it will introduce crop production constraints and does not address compliance verification.

The agricultural industry understands and supports the call to action to fight climate change. That said, to achieve our goals in greenhouse gas reduction, government and industry must work collaboratively. Canadian agricultural producers and processors need the government’s support in transitioning to greener initiatives, but they also require their support while they seek to change decades-long practices and procedures.

Finally, COVID-19: We all know that 2020 has not played out as we had expected, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. None of us knew that we would be prevented from meeting and moving legislation forward for much of this year. This virus has affected Canadians across this country, and those in the agricultural industry are no exception. Throughout the course of the pandemic, I have stressed the importance of government support for farmers and the agricultural industry, so I will not repeat myself today.

I am proud of Canadian agriculture for its resiliency and adaptability over these past months, and indeed over many years. In spite of tough times, I truly believe that agriculture can come out of this crisis stronger than ever, and that agriculture can be the economic driver to help Canada through this pandemic. Despite its many downsides, the pandemic has given us all reason to reexamine our priorities, develop back-up plans and ensure that we’re ready for anything.

I have spoken today about only some of the issues facing the agricultural industry. There are many others — I have previously spoken in this chamber about labour challenges and the need for a national labour strategy in agriculture, as well as about mental health and suicide prevention among farmers and others in the agricultural industry.

The Canadian agricultural industry works hard every day for us. Let’s work hard for it too. It’s an industry that constantly feels ignored by the government, which I don’t think was helped by including nothing more than a passing reference to agriculture in the past two Speeches from the Throne by this Liberal government. Canadian agriculture needs support. I’m going to continue to support it loudly and proudly inside and outside of this chamber, and I hope I won’t be the only one.

Thank you for listening. Meegwetch.

Yes.

Thank you for the question. I absolutely believe this is an opportunity for the federal government to bring the provinces together.

I also think there is an opportunity for the Criminal Code to be amended. I mentioned in my speech that it would provide an opportunity to further strengthen the Criminal Code so that it has an impact across the country.