Madam Speaker, it is a pleasure to respond to the hon. member's concern.
There have been bilateral negotiations on agriculture and agri-food trade between Canada and the United States for the past several weeks, and I would like to assure and clarify to the hon. member that those negotiations are not completed and are still ongoing.
Many rumours have been spread about what is under discussion and what the outcome might be, and I stress they are rumours with respect to the commodities being discussed.
I would like to say clearly that the government is working to defend the interests of Canadian agriculture in these negotiations and that all sectors of agriculture and agri-food production in all parts of Canada are being considered and are being addressed with high priority.
There are a number of outstanding agri-food trade problems with the United States dealing with a number of commodities, as we know. The minister attempted to settle these in a bilateral framework in Geneva in December, but time did not allow the concentrated and detailed effort that was needed. Unfortunately, the situation was too hectic at that time, but of course negotiations have continued. That also did not mean that these problems went away.
The minister met again with his U.S. counterpart on January 8, and negotiations have been and are still continuing.
I want to state clearly that Canada will not trade off one commodity against another. Negotiations for each commodity are taking place on their own merit and are self-contained.
In this context we should recall that a GATT panel in 1989 ruled that Canada's import quotas on ice cream and yogurt products were not consistent with article XI. Canada accepted that finding and sought to reach an agreement and a solution to this problem in the course of a bilateral trade negotiation.
The government is seeking a solution that will provide stability for Canadian dairy farmers, producers, and processors.
I wish to underline that the government's only priority is an agreement that is in the interests of Canada.
The government remains committed to ensuring that our supply management system can continue to operate effectively.
The government also remains committed to ensuring that we have the best possible access to U.S. markets for products we
export there. We will carefully examine any proposed settlement with the U.S. against these commitments.