Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
I think that, as members of Parliament, we are all aware of the fact that the food banks in our ridings are currently overwhelmed. But when we talk about food, we're also talking about agriculture. That's why our party introduced Bill C‑234, which proposes to give our farmers a break on the carbon tax. We were very pleased to see that the elected representatives of Canadians, that is to say the members of the House of Commons, voted overwhelmingly in favour of Bill C‑234. We were very happy to see that the NDP was with us, and even happier to see that the Bloc Québécois was too.
The bill is currently being studied by the Senate, as provided for in our constitution and political system. However, we're finding that some senators are talking a lot and extending the time for debate on this issue. And yet, as we speak, food banks are overflowing with requests and lacking in donations. We have to understand that we need our agriculture if we're going to feed people, and that people need to be fed, especially in the current situation where, as we know, everyone is struggling with the cost of inflation.
Last week, we asked, through a motion and a debate in the House of Commons, that the Senate pass this bill quickly so that we could move forward. Unfortunately, like you, we saw that the members of the Bloc Québécois decided to vote against this request. That's their choice and it's up to them, but it's still curious that Bloc Québécois members agreed on Bill C‑234, but that they also agreed that senators are taking all the time necessary and stretching the time for debate in order not to pass this bill. We can't, on the one hand, democratically accept a bill and, on the other, let senators take all the time they need to delay the passage of a bill duly passed by the elected representatives of the people. That's why this motion seeks to get to the bottom of Bill C‑234.
I would also like to remind you that we were expecting the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to appear before the committee two weeks ago. Unfortunately, during the week he was scheduled to appear before our committee, he preferred to take part in almost every oral question period in the House. He even spent an hour in the Senate to answer questions from senators. It's an excellent idea to answer questions from senators, except that he should have first appeared before the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development to answer our questions, as we had requested. It seems that he didn't have time to appear before our committee, but that he had time to attend all oral question periods, make an announcement and hold a press conference, and even go to the Senate. That's a shame.