House of Commons Debates VOLUME 146 Ï NUMBER 049 Ï 1st SESSION Ï 41st PARLIAMENT OFFICIAL REPORT (HANSARD) Friday, November 18, 2011 Speaker: The Honourable Andrew Scheer CONTENTS (Table of Contents appears at back of this issue.) 3255 HOUSE OF COMMONS Friday, November 18, 2011 The House met at 10 a.m. I will begin my remarks by saying that I believe the entire process and the federal government's treatment of this bill has been a sham and a travesty from the word go. We are of the view that the fast- tracking of this bill does a disservice and an injustice to the very Prayers prairie farm producers whose livelihoods would be dramatically affected and impacted by this bill. GOVERNMENT ORDERS The public should know, if they are not already aware, that the extreme fast-tracking of this bill resulted in only two committee MARKETING FREEDOM FOR GRAIN FARMERS ACT hearings of four hours each where not a single farmer was heard. There was no consultation, no co-operation, no accommodation of The House proceeded to the consideration of Bill C-18, An Act to the reasonable concerns that have been brought forward by reorganize the Canadian Wheat Board and to make consequential producers, farm organizations and people in the rural areas who and related amendments to certain Acts, as reported (with would be affected by the loss of their shortline railways, the producer amendment) from the committee. cars, and all the thousands of things that are impacted by abolishing Ï (1005) the Canadian Wheat Board. None of them have been given voice and [English] none of them have had the opportunity to be heard in the context of this debate. SPEAKER'S RULING The Deputy Speaker: There are 11 motions in amendment I would caution the government that, when it does this habitually, standing on the notice paper for the report stage of Bill C-18. The this chronic, habitual abuse of parliamentary procedure, it threatens motions will be grouped for debate as follows: Group No. 1 will to undermine the very integrity of our parliamentary democracy. I include Motions Nos. 1 to 6; Group No. 2 will include Motions Nos. have been here 14 years and I have never seen anything like it in my 7 to 11. life. The government has lowered the bar and I am concerned that it is doing irreversible damage to the integrity of our parliamentary The voting patterns for the motions within each group are institutions. available at the table. The Chair will remind the House of each pattern at the time of voting. I would remind the government that good governance is a MOTIONS IN AMENDMENT fundamental prerequisite for prosperity. The government thinks that its ideas have primacy over all other Canadians' ideas, that no other Mr. Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre, NDP) moved: voices need to be heard as it implements its agenda. It has a That Bill C-18 be amended by deleting Clause 2. legitimate right to put forward legislation but it does not have a right That Bill C-18 be amended by deleting Clause 3. to undermine, sabotage, diminish and erode the fragile construct that Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP) moved: is the Canadian Parliament. That Bill C-18 be amended by deleting Clause 6. That is the frustration that we have on the opposition benches. The Mr. Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre, NDP) moved: Conservatives represent a majority in the House of Commons but That Bill C-18 be amended by deleting Clause 7. they do not represent a majority of Canadians. How can they be so That Bill C-18 be amended by deleting Clause 9. arrogant as to assume that the other 60% of Canadians who did not vote for them and who maybe do not support their agenda do not That Bill C-18 be amended by deleting Clause 12. have a right to be heard? He said: Madam Speaker, I thank my seconder, the member for Sudbury, for reinforcing our opposition to this bill and helping us to No one has a monopoly on good ideas. Canada in itself is a fragile move these amendments. I also want to recognize and extend my construct. The Parliament of Canada is a manifestation of that co- gratitude to the member for Saanich—Gulf Islands for doing her part operation that keeps this fragile federation together. The government to try to correct what we believe is an extremely flawed and even, is chipping away and eroding, and I honestly do not even think it may I say, dangerous piece of legislation. realizes the damage it is doing. 3256 COMMONS DEBATES November 18, 2011 Government Orders I will move to the motions that we have put forward today seeking 15 down to 5, which would include a chairperson and a president. to ameliorate and mitigate some of the impact of this bill. I will say We think it is ridiculous. It is an appalling notion and we seek the from the beginning that I am sick and tired of the cutesy names that support of all members of Parliament. If they have any kind of a the government is inventing for all of its pieces of legislation. This commitment to good corporate governance, surely they would agree bill is not about marketing freedom. It is about the freedom to sell that the duly elected board members, elected by prairies farmers in grain for less. the 10 districts, would be the better stewards of the Canadian Wheat Board in whatever manifestation is left after the bill undermines and With every one of its bills, the government makes up some guts it. editorialized comment and tries to put it off as the actual name of the bill. The real name of this bill is an act to reorganize the Canadian Wheat Board, but I believe it is an act to abolish the Canadian Wheat Clause 3, the second amendment we have put forward, is in a Board. Step by step, incrementally, the government is on this similar vein. It would delete clause 3 because it is undemocratic to ideological crusade to abolish what we believe is a great Canadian change this. It would leave no direct input and say from prairie institution, and one of those manifestations of a unique Canadian co- farmers into the operations of what remains as the shell of the operation that is acting in the best interests of the producer instead of Canadian Wheat Board. in the best interests of the big agrifood giants that will be the beneficiaries of this huge transfer of wealth. The one thing we know about this bill is that it would take I appreciate my colleague from Saanich—Gulf Islands participat- hundreds of millions of dollars out of the pockets of prairie farmers ing in this debate today and moving meaningful, reasoned and put it into the pockets of the shareholders of the big agricorp and amendments. We encourage the Conservatives to at least entertain agrifood conglomerate giants that have been salivating over this the fact that these are coming from a representative group that is market share ever since the Wheat Board was first created. larger than the group that they claim to represent. There are 60% of Ï (1010) Canadians represented by the opposition members here. They did not vote for the Conservative Party. For the Conservatives to claim It is no surprise that Brian Mulroney is on the board of directors of that the May 2, 2011, election gave them a mandate to run Archer Daniels Midland, one of the big three that will gobble up this roughshod over democratic process and parliamentary procedure by market share. He billed $650,000 worth of billings in the last two fast-tracking the bill and denying the right of legitimate voices to be years alone as a member of the board of directors. People do not get heard is, in and of itself, a travesty. that kind of money just for attending board meetings. They get that kind of money for using their influence to push the government into something that is not in the best interests of farmers. It is in the best There is a reason that corrupt nations are poor. We should take a interests of a very special privileged few, and that is the Cargills, moment and reflect on some of the consequences of allowing our Viterra and the other agrifood giants. institutions to be eroded. I recently read a book by a former Liberal member of Parliament, Roy Cullen, called The Poverty of Corrupt An example of how the Conservatives are trampling on the Nations. It is hard to say which came first, if they are poor because democratic rights of prairie farmers and denying them the right to they are corrupt or if they are corrupt because they are poor, but the vote is that, by virtue of this bill, they will fire all 15 members of the two are inexorably linked. The Conservatives are taking us down a board of directors, 10 of whom were elected by prairie farmers, and road where we are undermining not only our democratic institutions replace them with a board of four members appointed by the but the integrity of our Canadian democracy. government. It is a $6 billion a year corporation, one of the largest and most successful grain marketing companies in the world, and the Conservatives will appoint four of their stooges. I presume they have Hon. Wayne Easter (Malpeque, Lib.): Madam Speaker, I did picked them out already.