Poilievre perspective on interest rate hikes and inflation being spurred by Liberal government

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Pierre Poilievre, leader of the official opposition and the Conservative Party of Canada, spoke at the Canadian Federation of Agriculture annual general meeting held at Ottawa earlier this week. Before he hit the stage, RealAgriculture’s Shaun Haney spoke with Poilievre to capture his thoughts on where he thinks the current government is failing the agriculture sector.

“We have to bring home more affordable food production to Canada by getting the heavy weight of government taxes, regulation, and deficit-driven interest rate hikes off the backs of our farmers,” says Poilievre. “That’s, it in a heartbeat. Let’s bring it home.”

In what could be seen as an election-mode list of what the Conservatives would do differently, Poilievre says that the government has imposed undue costs and taxes on Canada’s farmers that impact our ability to compete globally. He points to labour shortages as another area of focus, saying “We’re also going to get more foreign labor available by speeding up and lowering the bureaucracy to bring in temporary foreign workers and then turn those workers into permanent residents so that we can expand the workforce on Canada’s farms.” (more below the player)

Poilievre says that carbon capture and technological advancements to lower emissions are means to answering Canadians’ call for climate initiatives, and that “punitive taxes” only make the situation worse, adding that there should be a mix of support for farmers making changes, as well as market-driven incentives.

This week also saw the CEOs of three major grocery retailers speak to the standing committee on agriculture, in regards to profits during a time of food inflation. Poilievre says he supports holding grocers accountable and ensuring there is sufficient competition in the marketplace to keep food prices down.

“We want to hold them accountable for the low prices they pay producers and the high prices they charge consumers. Perhaps it means pushing for more competition in the grocery business. That would be it up that would bid up the prices that farmers get to wholesale their product, but also allow for lower prices for consumers. We need more competition. That’s the answer,” he says.

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