Mr. Speaker, I am having difficulty sorting out where the hon. member is coming from relative to the Canadian Wheat Board. There is no question that this government showed leadership during the campaign and since the campaign.
I would quote out of the red book what we said on the Canadian Wheat Board and that is what we were elected on: "Canada's agri-food industry needs policies and programs such as supply management, the Canadian Wheat Board and stabilization programs to minimize the impact of market price fluctuations".
We ran on a campaign of strong support for the wheat board and we are continuing to show that. I recognize there is a debate taking place in the west. I have been inundated lately with petitions asking to strengthen the Canadian Wheat Board and expand its powers.
The member wants some components of the wheat board it seems, but not its all. I am wondering if he has anything to comment on in terms of the Canadian Wheat Board advisory committee. The Canadian Wheat Board advisory committee is the legitimate, elected producers who act in an advisory capacity to the wheat board. Clearly, during the last election eight of the eleven were very strong, orderly marketers.
I am wondering what the member's thoughts are relative to the Canadian Wheat Board advisory which is calling for us to maintain the powers of the wheat board, that it is the sole seller of export wheat and barley.