Lost his last election, in 2011, with 25% of the vote.
Agriculture February 12th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, the approach taken by the Government of Canada was an approach that was first developed by sitting down and talking with the industry, talking with the Canadian Cattlemen's Association, talking with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and all the provinces. They told us that they want us to get out there to market Canadian beef around the world, to show consumers around the world that in fact Canadian beef is some of the safest beef in the world.
Agriculture February 11th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, first and foremost I want all hon. members to know that this document was a document speculating not on the opening of the U.S. border, but on Canada's support at the OIE to get it to recognize specifically our North American situation. It was obviously over pessimistic.
In fact since that time, borders have opened. For instance, the United States has opened its border to Canadian beef under the age of 30 months. We have heard today that Macao, another island country, will be opening up its borders shortly to Canadian beef.
Agriculture February 9th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member said, the international peer review panel reported in the United States last week, and it had reported to us. It has not tell us the same things as it has told the Americans because there are different situations depending upon the country.
As I told the hon. member, first and foremost what is important is that Canada and the United States co-ordinate these measures. That is why next week officials will be sitting down with our American counterparts to do exactly that.
Agriculture February 9th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member said, first and foremost what is important is that the Government of Canada, in co-ordination with both Mexico and the United States, bring in regulations that are North American-based.
I had the opportunity of meeting with my American and Mexican counterparts. We got an agreement to work toward that, and next week will be the first set of meetings where we will sit down and work toward co-ordinating a North American approach to BSE.
Agriculture February 5th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the hon. member for his interest in Canadian farmers and farm families. As the hon. member should know, the Government of Canada has a science based regulatory system which assures Canadian consumers and world markets that in fact the food they eat is not only some of the highest quality but some of the safest food in the world.
An environmental assessment is a key component of this. The hon. member can be assured that nothing will go on the market until it is first studied in terms of its environmental impact, its impact on animal feed and also its impact on--
Agriculture February 5th, 2004
Mr. Speaker, first, I would like to thank all hon. members who last night participated in a take note debate. I thought all hon. members gave the Government of Canada a lot of information that we needed and we will use in terms of our deliberations.
As the hon. member knows, and as I said last night, the Government of Canada has responded in a couple of different areas. First and foremost in terms of out marketing Canadian beef, and second, looking after those Canadian farmers and farm families with programs to ensure there are dollars in their hands to help with the impact that BSE is having on them.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy February 4th, 2004
Mr. Chair, I rise on a point of order.
When I agreed to do my questions and comments which actually took a little longer than a half hour, I was guaranteed that our last speaker would in fact get on the list. I hope that is still the case. We have only about 10 minutes left and we do have one more speaker.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy February 4th, 2004
Madam Chair, I rise on a point of order.
It has been mentioned a couple of times about emergency debates. It is important for the Canadian public to understand that it is the Speaker of the House of Commons who rules on whether or not a debate is an emergency debate. It has been mentioned here, accusing that somehow this is not important to the government because the government did not rule it to be an emergency debate. It is the Speaker of the House who does that.
Madam Chair, through you, they are challenging the Speaker. It is very important to know that is the rule which governs. I wish the hon. member would read the standing orders and understand that.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy February 4th, 2004
Madam Chair, I thought I heard my hon. colleague say that he wants us to open up the border to American beef, feeder cattle coming across. I wonder if that is the point he wants to make.
What we should be doing in this case is basing the decisions on science and that is exactly what we have done. What we need to do is to recognize again that this is a North American issue. If the Americans were to look at the science--and I believe they will look at the science because the science is overwhelming--then at that point we should open our border but certainly not before.
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy February 4th, 2004
Mr. Chair, first of all on the blood, I have never made any statement that we would be refusing to do that. What I have said is that I need to sit down and consult with the industry.
The Americans have moved on this. We have done other issues differently than them. Our two countries are different in our responses, but in essence, we are doing effectively the same thing. We are assuring our consumers that the beef they eat is safe. We may very well move on blood, but I want to be able first to consult our interests involved.
I am not going to jump higher overnight because of the Americans, and I do not think that is the approach Canadians would want me to take. What they would want me to do is to consult with Canadians first and then sit down and work with Americans on the larger issues.
One issue which is left is the issue of SRMs in feed, and I have had an opportunity to talk with Tommy Thompson, the secretary of health in the United States, about how we might work together and coordinate our efforts in that area.
There were a number of questions with regard to compensation and transition money. I recognize that in a lot of cases there are a lot of forms to fill out. I have asked my officials to look at those to ensure that they are done as easily as possible and that we work very hard in terms of getting out these dollars as quickly as possible to the farmers who need them.
I think that is what is important, that we get dollars out on the ground because farmers certainly need those dollars now.
Let us look at the whole question of testing. Different countries do different things in different ways. Essentially what they are trying to do is regain their consumer confidence to keep those consumers on side. Japan had to do things differently. Europe had to do things differently because it had a different situation. We cannot compare the situation it had with the situation we have had here in North America. We have had two cases. The risk is different and what the international organization has said is that depending upon where the risk level is, we may need to do certain things differently.
The OIE has recognized this. It has recognized that what we are doing in Canada is what we should be doing. It made recommendations to the Government of Canada on which we are following through, and that is what is most important.
What I believe is important, and hon. members would certainly agree, is that this is an issue which should not be taken on a partisan basis and I thank those hon. members across the way who have done that. This is a serious issue to many Canadian farmers and farm families. I want to give those families the assurance tonight that the House of Commons can sit down and debate this issue in a way that looks toward solutions and not toward political gains.