Mr. Speaker, over the years I have travelled around Peterborough riding in good economic times and bad. During this time I have seen firsthand the ongoing contributions of supply managed agriculture to the rural economy and way of life.
Milk, poultry and eggs provide a steady flow of funds which ripple into local economies. This allows rural areas which are a vital part of our country's national fabric to continue to thrive in today's changing marketplace.
Supply managed farms, their workers and families work in a very sophisticated competitive environment. As a result the quality of farms and farm workers in these sectors is extremely high.
Our rural areas have benefited from the presence of supply management. Consumers benefit from high quality products and stable, reasonable prices. It is easy to see why Canada's effective use of supply management in agriculture has been a model around the world.