Speech (House debate)

{
    "time": "2024-01-29 19:45:00",
    "attribution": {
        "en": "Mr. Blake Desjarlais",
        "fr": "M. Blake Desjarlais"
    },
    "content": {
        "en": "<p data-HoCid=\"8166987\" data-originallang=\"en\">Mr. Speaker, I am really happy that my hon. colleague mentioned this, because it is an important question that seems simple as to its facts but is actually quite complex in terms of how the supply chain truly works. I will say this: The costs that are being borne by our farmers, the costs that are being borne by cattle producers like my family, and the costs that are being borne by the truckers who are moving the food are all increasing. That is true, and I want to thank my hon. colleague for making that clear.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8166988\" data-originallang=\"en\">However, the part I hope she can hear clearly is that it is not Canadians who are benefiting from this. It is not even the government that is benefiting from this. It is the megacorporations that, at the time of input increase, increased not only the base cost of goods but also the profit margin of those goods. That is the definition of \u201cprofiteering\u201d. We used to be a country that, in the face of profiteering, would clamp down on it. We only need to look at World War II to see how Canadians used competition to ensure a fair price. We used government apparatus to ensure consumer fairness.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8166989\" data-originallang=\"en\">My answer to my hon. colleague is that although I agree with the premise that, of course, these things are going up, the solution to remove the carbon tax, which is about four cents on one hundred dollars' worth of groceries, will not do the dramatic reduction of the cost of goods that we need. What we need is true competition in the megacorporations. We need to break them up and limit the profit motive at some reasonable degree. It cannot be infinite.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8166990\" data-originallang=\"en\"> I do appreciate the question, and the solution, of course. If four cents is something that is valuable to the member, then sure, but I am more interested in ensuring that our system of economy produces a system that is fair, to guarantee consumer power, rather than ram it over.</p>",
        "fr": "<p data-HoCid=\"8166987\" data-originallang=\"en\">Monsieur le Pr\u00e9sident, je suis tr\u00e8s heureux que ma coll\u00e8gue ait soulev\u00e9 ce point, car c'est une question importante qui peut sembler simple dans les faits, mais qui porte en r\u00e9alit\u00e9 sur des aspects tr\u00e8s complexes du fonctionnement de la cha\u00eene d'approvisionnement. Je dirai ceci: toutes les d\u00e9penses que doivent assumer les agriculteurs, les \u00e9leveurs de b\u00e9tail comme ceux de ma famille et les camionneurs qui transportent les aliments augmentent. C'est la r\u00e9alit\u00e9, et je tiens \u00e0 remercier ma coll\u00e8gue de l'avoir pr\u00e9cis\u00e9.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8166988\" data-originallang=\"en\">Cependant, j'esp\u00e8re qu'elle comprendra que la situation ne profite ni aux Canadiens ni m\u00eame au gouvernement. Celles \u00e0 qui elle profite, ce sont les m\u00e9gasoci\u00e9t\u00e9s qui, lorsque le co\u00fbt des intrants a augment\u00e9, en ont profit\u00e9 pour augmenter non seulement le prix de base des marchandises, mais aussi leurs marges b\u00e9n\u00e9ficiaires sur celles-ci. C'est la d\u00e9finition m\u00eame du mercantilisme. Autrefois, notre pays r\u00e9primait s\u00e9v\u00e8rement cette pratique. Il suffit de regarder ce qui s'est pass\u00e9 pendant la Seconde Guerre mondiale pour constater que les Canadiens avaient fait jouer la concurrence pour garantir des prix justes. L'appareil gouvernemental \u00e9tait intervenu pour d\u00e9fendre les int\u00e9r\u00eats des consommateurs.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8166989\" data-originallang=\"en\">Voici ma r\u00e9ponse \u00e0 la question de ma coll\u00e8gue: bien que je convienne que, \u00e0 la base, le co\u00fbt des intrants augmente, abolir la taxe sur le carbone, qui repr\u00e9sente environ 4 \u00a2 par tranche de 100 $ d'\u00e9picerie, n'entra\u00eenera pas la r\u00e9duction spectaculaire du co\u00fbt des marchandises dont nous avons besoin. Nous avons besoin d'une v\u00e9ritable concurrence entre les m\u00e9gasoci\u00e9t\u00e9s. Il faut les d\u00e9manteler et plafonner les profits \u00e0 un degr\u00e9 raisonnable. La recherche de profits ne doit pas \u00eatre illimit\u00e9e.</p>\n<p data-HoCid=\"8166990\" data-originallang=\"en\">Je remercie la d\u00e9put\u00e9e de sa question et, bien s\u00fbr, de sa solution. Si une \u00e9conomie de 4 \u00a2 lui est pr\u00e9cieuse, grand bien lui fasse; toutefois, ce qui m'int\u00e9resse surtout, c'est de faire en sorte que notre syst\u00e8me \u00e9conomique soit \u00e9quitable, qu'il garantisse le pouvoir d'achat des consommateurs au lieu de les saigner.</p>"
    },
    "url": "/debates/2024/1/29/blake-desjarlais-7/",
    "politician_url": "/politicians/blake-desjarlais/",
    "politician_membership_url": "/politicians/memberships/4616/",
    "procedural": false,
    "source_id": "12534402",
    "h1": {
        "en": "Orders of the Day",
        "fr": "Ordre du jour"
    },
    "h2": {
        "en": "Committees of the House",
        "fr": "Les comit\u00e9s de la Chambre"
    },
    "h3": {
        "en": "Public Accounts",
        "fr": "Comptes publics"
    },
    "document_url": "/debates/2024/1/29/",
    "related": {
        "document_speeches_url": "/speeches/?document=%2Fdebates%2F2024%2F1%2F29%2F"
    }
}