Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to respond to the member for Lisgar-Marquette.
The debate today is about hundreds of thousands Canadian men and women who directly or indirectly depend upon the grain sector for their livelihood. Today's debate is not just about political politics and political party posturing. It is about a western organization that has built the country and has done a tremendous job in making the prairies a better place to live. It has built an economy that does not just stop in the prairies but goes on to grain shippers in Montreal and to bakers from Vancouver to Halifax. They all benefit from the system.
When I hear some of the comments being made I question if some Reform members really understand the implications and strengths of the Canadian Wheat Board and what it has done for the nation.
Experts make it very clear that the Canadian Wheat Board has been a vehicle by which we have become world renowned. We have become a very great nation, the bread basket of the world, as was quoted by the Reform Party earlier.
I see hundreds of thousands of Canadians who rely upon a very good system. As a matter of fact it is among the excellent of the world. I am concerned that for some cheap political points there are shots and attacks on the wheat board.
I do not believe for one minute that any of the claims made by the member a couple of moments ago have been substantiated. The RCMP looked at some of the questions he raised and has tried to investigate the claims that have been put forth. To my knowledge there has not been at any point during the investigation any concrete evidence of the claims that have been put forward.
The Canadian Wheat Board is a very important institution. It has served a great purpose. As we start debate on the wheat board or whether dual marketing is the direction to go, I do not believe we should at any time pre-empt a process that is in place.
The government has set a panel in place to listen the concerns of every group involved in the way the Canadian Wheat Board operates and in the way we market grains in the country, listening to all opposing and supporting points of view.
There is absolutely no question the panel is to make certain it hears from all sectors of the economy, every interested group, and reports back to the government. It is critical if we spend this much time listening to the people publicly on what the panel is attempt-
ing to achieve that we should allow the panel to report back to the minister and make certain all stakeholders are involved in the final decisions that are, made.
The minister will receive those comments from the panel at the end of this month.