Mr. Speaker, before I answer the member's question I would like to correct what I said earlier, that Mexico had released its negotiating position. It was Costa Rica, not Mexico. I wanted to correct that for the record.
The member's question is very surprising. We know what the situation is in Europe and in England. We know how much it has cost that country. Never has the government ever protected the safety and the public health of Canadians more than on the important issue of meat. It was Canada's duty to stop the importation of meat. We defended public health for the security of Canadians. It had absolutely nothing to do with the trade challenge that we are having with the Brazilians at the WTO.
The dispute between Canada and Brazil on the aircraft issue is to be dealt with at the WTO panel. We do not want to contaminate our relationship with Brazil. When the government made a stand for public health reasons alone, we would have liked opposition members not to have encouraged the Brazilians who may have believed some of them that it was a retaliation to trade when it was not.