Mr. Speaker, as the member representing Waterloo—Wellington, a riding with over 30% of its economy rooted in agriculture and agri-food, and having been born and raised and still living on the family farm, I am especially proud of our Canadian food producers.
Our farmers and food producers have contributed greatly to our high standard of living by providing Canadians with food of excellent quality and value.
Thanks to the efforts of our agricultural community the average Canadian family spends only 9.8% of its income on food, much less than its American, British, French and Mexican counterparts who can spend up to 50% of their income on food.
Incredibly, Canadian families earned enough between January 1 and February 7 to pay for an entire year's worth of groceries.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, has recognized the outstanding job of our agricultural community and so should all of us. Our farmers and food producers deserve our encouragement, appreciation and heartfelt thanks for helping make Canada the best place in the world in which to live.