I thought he was an ag critic too. Those of us from western Canada know that the Canadian Wheat Board is a completely involuntary organization. If we grow wheat in western Canada, we have to be part of it whether we want to be or not. Supply management is voluntary. If people want to, they can buy into the quota.
The Wheat Board is primarily international. It has some domestic marketing as well, but its main purpose is to market wheat internationally for farmers. Supply management is domestic.
Fifty per cent plus of the farmers in western Canada want a change in the Canadian Wheat Board. They want out of it. The vast majority of people who participate in supply management are very happy with the system and it is supported by its participants.
I had a chance to go to the trade talks in Geneva in late April. One thing he needs to understand is that the Canadian Wheat Board has already been sacrificed by the government. I do not know if he knew that or not, but it gave away the financial guarantees. It gave away the initial price guarantees. It gave away any of the foreign programs to sell the grain. It gave it way without getting anything back.
The only thing left, which is the part that most western Canadians want rid of, is the monopoly. He needs to be aware that the Wheat Board has already been sacrificed. Supply management people need to be paying attention to what the government is doing and ensuring that they do not get caught in the same situation.
Just to make the point again, western Canadians want the same choices that other farmers have such as in Ontario. We watched our grain sold for less money than we could get ourselves. We have watched our farmers go to jail because they wanted to sell their own grain.
If he would like, I am more than willing to sit down with him at some point and help him to understand this issue a little better. We have worked together at the agriculture committee. We have tried to help him there and I would like to continue to help him understand the agricultural issues, if I can do that.
He said that the NDP needs to send a message to rural Canada. No kidding. One of the reasons the NDP have such a hard time electing members in rural western Canada is because of the message he delivered tonight, which is one of anger and bitterness. Farmers do not want to hear that. They want a positive message such as we are bringing. They want choice. They want to get out there, do their business and be successful at it.