As you may have heard, a political dispute with China is impacting Canadian producers – including many right here in our riding.
Two major companies – Richardson International Ltd. and Viterra Inc. – have recently had their export permits revoked for baseless reasons. Since then, the Canola Council of Canada has said that its members have reported Chinese importers are unwilling to purchase their products.
This is a serious situation, and we need the Prime Minister to act immediately to resolve this matter.
Approximately 40% of canola exports go to Chinese markets. And it appears that not only canola is being affected. Other agricultural products that rely on export to China are being quietly sidelined by Chinese buyers.
When our producers lose a major export market, it affects the whole supply chain. It creates a ripple effect that impacts agricultural businesses across the country.
The issue at hand is clearly not the quality of Canadian agricultural products – we know we produce some of the best in the world. Rather, it is a failure of the Liberal government to protect our export markets and show leadership on the international stage. Canola is not the first agricultural product affected by this failure. India has implemented massive tariffs on lentils, and despite the Prime Minister’s photo-op trip to India, these have not been lifted. Durum Wheat exports have been severely impacted by new Italian trade policies – and the list goes on.
It is the Government of Canada’s job to manage these trade relationships and secure market access for Canadian products. Under Justin Trudeau’s leadership, the Government has plainly failed to do so. While he was focused on trying to politically interfere in SNC Lavalin’s criminal prosecution, Canadian agricultural producers have been suffering.
The Prime Minister’s failure to deal with threats posed by the Chinese government is just the latest foreign policy fiasco this government has embroiled itself in. Conservatives will continue to press the Government to address these failures and get our Canadian agricultural products to market.
I can be reached in Ottawa at martin.shields@parl.gc.ca. My Brooks office can be reached at 403-793-6775 or martin.shields.c1@parl.gc.ca, and my Strathmore office at 403-361-2980 or martin.shields.c1B@parl.gc.ca. Please don’t hesitate to contact me about any federal issue.
