Mr. Speaker, my colleague from Kamloops, Thompson and Highland Valleys is absolutely correct. My comments were directed to the Reform Party members, not to the other parties in opposition. My apologies.
With the exception of the Reform Party, everyone understands the importance of this bill and is prepared to support it.
Getting back to the Reform members, who claim the Americans would be entitled to all sorts of reprisals against Canada, this is absolutely false. If they bothered to check, to read NAFTA or the agreements between us and the World Trade Organization, they would realize that the U.S. has no more right than any other country that is a party to these agreements to seek reprisals with impunity. They must adhere to certain prescribed standards.
If the Americans decide to go outside the rules they themselves have agreed to, that is a whole other story. Once again, this situation gives an insight into the mentality of the official opposition, for when the Americans bark, the Reform hides out, of fear for their bite.
We have heard a number of Reform members claim that there would be reprisals in the area of agriculture. Unfortunately, they tend to forget that, yes, it is true that agriculture is an essential sector of our economy, one that is vital to the well-being of our nation and its people. No one can deny that fact, but it is also true that culture is of equal importance. One provides food for the body and the other for the spirit. Unfortunately, they tend to neglect the second aspect all too often.
I realize—