As Parliament resumes, Foothills MP, John Barlow, is already hard at work advocating for the agriculture sector.

Barlow, who's the Conservative Party's newly appointed Shadow Minister of Agriculture, along with Conservative Associate Ag Critic, Richard Lehoux, sent a letter to the Liberal's Agriculture Minister calling for immediate action on the file in areas such as the Canola trade spat with China.

In the letter to Minister Marie Claude-Bibeau, they say while Canadian canola sits in the bins across Canada, the Government's support has been "underwhelming".

"There is no reason why it should have taken months for your government to follow through on the Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer's call to take the Chinese government to the WTO (World Trade Organization)," the letter reads.

They say in order to reverse the trend, the Liberals must act on the Conservative's recommendations.

The outlined recommendations in the letter include the Government's immediate withdraw from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, to increase inspections on all Chinese imports and examine possible retaliatory tariffs on Chinese imports.

The letter highlights a number of other actions they'd like the government take, such as providing compensation for supply managed sectors, reduce taxes and support farmers with mental health challenges.

"You can take these mental health issues seriously by first addressing the review of the Business Risk Management which is critical," the letter says.

Barlow and Lehoux conclude the letter by saying they will continue to fight for the ag sector and hold the Minister to account.

They say they're looking forward to meeting at the her earliest convince.

 

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