Canada's NDP

Skip to main content

March 29th, 2019

Liberals Block Agriculture Committee from Inviting Ministers to Appear Concerning Canola Crisis

OTTAWA – To address the current trade ban of Canadian canola seed by the Chinese government, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food convened today on Parliament Hill for an emergency meeting called for by NDP Agriculture Critic, Alistair MacGregor.

“I made strong arguments as to why the Agriculture Committee needs to hear from Agriculture Minister Bibeau and International Trade Minister Carr, to question them on what steps are being taken to rectify this situation,” said MacGregor. "Our canola producers should not pay the price for Liberals mishandling the dispute with China."

The canola sector contributes $26.7 billion to the Canadian economy and provides 250,000 related Canadian jobs. With the stroke of a pen, China put 40% of one of our most valuable agricultural exports, representing $3.6 billion to the industry, in jeopardy.

“What’s to say this won’t happen again in the future with other agricultural exports in two months or two years, and what’s the government’s contingency plan?” stressed MacGregor. "The Agriculture Committee is the appropriate body to hear from the ministers responsible for this file. It’s shameful that today, the Liberal members of the committee blocked inviting Minister Bibeau and Minister Carr to appear.”