Mr. Speaker, the issue of BST was raised repeatedly by the official opposition but the government never confirmed that it would respect the citizens' right to eat products unaltered by synthetic hormones.
Without even a debate on the use of biotechnology in food production, the government is presenting consumers with a fait accompli. As a matter of fact, Health Canada has already authorized the marketing of experimental milk produced with somatotropin imported from the U.S.
It is not the interests of consumers that the government is looking after, but the economic interests of pharmaceutical companies such as Monsanto, which is lobbying Health Canada like never before.
The government must stop dragging its heels and extend the moratorium on somatotropin so that the interests of consumers will be protected in the future.