WESTERN PRODUCER — John Barlow returned to the House of Commons in late May disappointed that the tabling of a federal budget is not imminent.
The Alberta MP, who Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre once again tapped to be shadow minister for agriculture, said he has seen little change between former prime minister Justin Trudeau and new Liberal leader Mark Carney.
Barlow said the Liberals campaigned on a platform of an existential crisis caused by political rumblings south of the border and talk of 51st state annexation as well as tariff wars with the U.S. and China, but has shown no real sense of urgency since the federal election.
“Does the leopard change its spots and start to take some of these issues seriously? To see no budget in more than a calendar year. They want to come back for three short weeks with all the pomp and circumstance of the throne speech and then take an extended vacation,” said Barlow.
“I think that sends a horrible message to Canadians not to have a budget until next fall or winter. I think citizens expect Parliament to be sitting, get a budget tabled and passed so that they can see what Carney’s vision is for Canada and have a clear picture what our financial situation is.”
That vision includes a plan to deal with the tariff trade wars, pipelines for an energy corridor and moving commodities such as grain on rail.
Barlow sees agriculture and agri-food processing as valuable pillars of Canada’s economy, accounting for more than $100 billion in economic activity every year.
That activity is now threatened with wide-spectrum tariffs and retaliatory tariffs, be it farm machinery, crop-protection products or input costs such as fertilizer.
Barlow also highlighted the unnecessary red tape of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency and Canadian Food Inspection Agency as well as interprovincial trade barriers. A focus of the Conservative party has been to get the PMRA and CFIA restructured and refocused on mandates that emphasize the economy.
“It’s the cost of doing business. These agencies have become more often than not, the number one irritant for farmers. The potential is there to attract additional investment for value added,” said Barlow.
He said his constituents have told him they want the government to focus on “tariffs, access to markets, a reliable supply chain and rebuilding that relationship we have in our most trusted trading partners.”
Barlow said he is still constantly learning despite his years of experience.
“Agriculture is so different from one region to the other. There is always technology and innovation in the field. We grow and make the products in Canada here that the world needs and that is sustainable, affordable quality food products,” he said.
“They are great people to work with. They are people who literally have their hands in the dirt and are real people with real true values in hard work and self reliance.”
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