It is a new rule that I just learned. I apologize.
On January 24, I asked the following question of the Minister of Agriculture:
Can we now conclude that the minister is still trying to protect supply management while he is currently negotiating with the Americans the complete abolition, in the next seven years, of tariffs on yogurt and ice cream?
The minister replied, and I quote:
In whatever discussions we may have with the United States the interests of those producers will be front and centre in our thinking.
He also said: "Again I assure the hon. member and all farmers that the interests of Canadian agriculture in all parts of this country are very much on the top of the government's mind."
He obviously did not answer the question and negotiations with the United States have since ended without the matter being resolved. Therefore, it seems to me that we have the right to know more about the negotiations on yogurt and ice cream.
But first, to answer the minister's question, I will remind him that there is no mention of agriculture in the throne speech and that the Prime Minister himself seems not to know and to misunderstand agriculture, judging from comments he has made lately and the fact that he did not intervene in the crucial stages of the GATT negotiations-in fact, he was on holidays at that time-and so far, he has not done anything. He said nothing on behalf of farmers during crucial negotiations that were held recently, last week in fact, while the President of the United States spoke many times to defend American wheat producers. Therefore I would say that the comment of the Minister of Agriculture, to the effect that the vital interests of Canadian agriculture in all parts of this country are very much on the top of the Liberal government's mind, has no foundation whatsoever.
To go back to the point I raised in my question and to which the Minister did not answer, now that negotiations have been completed, it should be possible to get some clarification because farmers, particularly in the dairy industry, are worried since it seems that the government of Canada and the Minister of Agriculture are knuckling under to American pressure.
Can he tell us today, since the GATT takes precedence over NAFTA, that he will fight for the tariffs already put forward to protect ice cream and yogurt in Canada, i.e. 326 per cent for ice cream and 279 per cent for yogurt? Will the government of Canada keep fighting for these tariffs for those two commodities in Canada? And will they try to settle this issue by appealing to a panel with the Americans so that we get some clarification and some peace for farmers in that industry?