Madam Speaker, I listened closely to the hon. member. He never used to be a demagogue. Of course, he also used to be a Liberal. No doubt, at the time, he was not a demagogue, because that would have been a contradiction. However, since then, he has changed his position with regard to his party and also, clearly, with regard to demagoguery.
I must tell the hon. member that the bill before us today does not weaken the role of the Canadian Wheat Board. If the member was listening carefully to my remarks a bit earlier today,—and I am sure that he was—he would know that the tribunal ruled in favour of Canada. The United States appealed that decision and Canada won again on appeal.
It is important for us to pass this bill before the deadline to ensure that we can continue to protect the Canadian Wheat Board. We are not abandoning it. This bill seeks to better protect it.
The hon. member attempted to draw a parallel between that and milk supply management. Last Friday in this House I asked a question of the Minister of International Trade, in which I asked him to take all necessary steps particularly under GATT article 28 to block those who want to erode the supply management system. The minister replied very clearly and I will share his reply with the hon. members. He first of all congratulated me. I will spare you that part. He then said the following.
Let me assure the House that the Minister of Agriculture and I will work as hard as we possibly can, leaving no stone unturned, to protect supply management and our milk producers. The number one thing that we have to get through is the WTO negotiations where we have worked to date, along with the supply management, to protect those industries.
So on Friday, in response to my question, the minister confirmed the government's commitment to protect supply management.
Secondly, as the hon. member is well aware, we also held a division on this motion which originated with one of his colleagues, and the government members supported it. We all collectively supported the motion calling for protection of the supply management system. Even a little earlier today I referred to it. The text of the motion by his colleague, the hon. member for Montcalm, which we all supported, including the ministers present, reads:
That, in the opinion of the House, in the current World Trade Organization negotiations, the government should not agree to any concession that would weaken collective marketing strategies or the supply management system.
Then, his colleague's amendment, which reads:
and should also seek an agreement establishing fair and equitable rules that foster the international competitiveness of agricultural exporters in Quebec and Canada.
There is the motion and the amendment proposed by his colleague, which we all supported. So, with all that support, the hon. member ought not to be claiming today that the bill before us weakens our systems. It is intended to give them an even more solid foundation.