Mr. Chair, I am pleased to take part in this take note debate on supply management in Canada. I know my Liberal colleagues are excited to hear me speak on this matter.
However, I want to start off on a very serious note. In my home province of Manitoba we are suffering quite a bit from a lot of rain. The fields are very wet and people have not been able to get their crops in. It is a very serious time. I know all members in the House want to express their concern about what is happening to farmers in southeast Manitoba and also to the west, where heavy rains have created a lot of damage. I want to urge both the provincial and federal governments to help our farmers in a significant way.
I invite the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to tour that area. Farmers want to know that the people in Ottawa care about them. There is no better way of demonstrating that than having high-level officials, like the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, tour that area and see what can be done. I leave that with the minister.
We have other pressures in agriculture. It is not just the weather. I know the Minister of the Environment, as much as we would like to blame a Liberal, is not responsible for the weather, but there are things the Liberals can be doing.
I want to state that the management of supply and the control of prices of dairy, poultry, and eggs are important elements in maintaining the economic strength of many parts of this country, particularly in my riding of Provencher in southeastern Manitoba. Indeed consumers, producers, and processors across Canada have all benefited from the implementation of supply management in these agricultural sectors.
I see it every day in my riding. People who have been involved in supply management have not only remained in supply management, but the capital at their disposal, because of being in supply management, has enabled them to get into other industries like hog production, which has taken off quite rapidly in the southeast corner of Manitoba.
Supply management has stabilized agriculture and has allowed farmers to expand into other areas without coming to the government. As a Conservative, I see that as a very important factor.
I know the members opposite were looking for a former Canadian Alliance member west of Ontario who actually supported supply management. They are not that rare a commodity in my area, and I am proud to say that I support supply management. I see the benefits that supply management has given to my community.
As the member of Parliament for Provencher, my constituents have consistently called for the protection of the interests of producers in supply managed agricultural sectors, because the facts demonstrate that supply management has benefited not only producers but also consumers and the economy generally. While the supply managed sectors also face difficult issues from time to time, they have faced those challenges without, as I have stated earlier, requiring a massive infusion of tax dollars.
Farmers, generally speaking, are proud to be independent, to pay their own way and to make their own living. This industry has demonstrated that with all the difficulties they have faced, they are the leaders in making their own way and enhancing the economy of this country. At the same time they have provided a fair return for producers, reasonable prices for consumers, and, above all, there have been no complaints about the quality of the products delivered by supply managed sectors.
I was very proud to see the new Conservative Party reaffirm the commitment the Canadian Alliance made to supply management. I know that was a matter of debate at the March policy convention, but I think the convention came down on the right side of that issue.
That policy states that the Conservative Party of Canada believes it is in the best interests of Canada and Canadian agriculture that the industries under the protection of supply management remain viable. A Conservative government will support supply management and its goal to deliver a high-quality product to consumers for a fair price with a reasonable return to the producers.
Canadian farmers are indeed hard working and independent, but I think it is demonstrated that in a world of competition that is crowding our Canadian farmer, cooperation among farmers is becoming increasingly important to make our producers competitive on global markets.
By organizing and developing supply managed systems, our producers are better able to better control their market supply and the prices they receive. That is why the Conservative Party calls upon the government to support farmer-led supply management systems. Governments must negotiate beneficial trade agreements, and when Canadian agriculture faces unfair trade challenges, Ottawa must go to bat for producers on the world stage with high-level delegations.
What is needed is a commitment that the supply managed sector will have input into the creation of a trade negotiating mandate. I want to say more and more of my supply managed farmers who traditionally used to vote Liberal do not vote Liberal anymore. I think they have seen the focus of the Liberal Party moving away from the agricultural areas of Canada and more focused on downtown Toronto. As important as downtown Toronto is, farmers feel neglected. They feel the party has left them behind, and not only do they simply say the party has left them, but with the industry having lost the attention of the government, we have seen mismanagement. Whether that is deliberate or neglect, I would suggest it is neglect. Simply speaking, the Liberal Party does not understand farmers generally and the supply managed sector.
Political pressure has caused the Liberal government lately to verbalize support for supply management. I think it is coming around and saying it has neglected the industry, and now it is starting to verbalize support, but unfortunately just talking does not help.