Mr. Chair, I am very pleased to speak to you about the supply managed sectors in Canada, our dairy, poultry, turkey, egg and hatching egg farmers who work hard across Canada day after day to provide Canadians with tasty, high-quality and affordable food.
Over the past few decades, supply management has contributed greatly to stabilizing the sector not just in my home province of Quebec but throughout Canada.
The system has been successful for the entire value chain. In a consumer based sector, supply management is advantageous to all parties: consumers, processors and producers.
As far as consumers are concerned, I feel they are often forgotten in our discussions about supply management, and yet they are the cornerstone of the entire sector.
At a time when “consumer is king”, supply management has delivered a wide variety of food products to consumers while respecting the environment—food that is innovative, varied, safe and of excellent quality.
How did supply management fulfil this mission? By being aware of the needs of processors and producers, by enhancing the ability of the system to react to the changing needs of the market and by taking the necessary steps to develop in a modern, effective, efficient and forward-looking sector.
Producers under supply management have always listened to the consumers. They have offered the diversity and broad range of products that consumers were looking for, even demanding. They stayed committed to quality. They stayed committed to value.
They are industry leaders when it comes to implementing food safety and quality assurance systems on the farm. They have also effectively combined these programs with similar initiatives in the processing sector in order to create a true system of food safety from the farm to your plate.
In terms of the processing sector, supply management has given processors a constant and predictable supply of products that satisfy and exceed Canada's strict standards in food quality.
Insofar as producers are concerned, there is no doubt that supply management has provided them with a stable, predictable income and a reasonable return on their work, which has enabled them to raise their families and guarantee that the market will be supplied. At a time when agricultural incomes are at some of their lowest levels in history in certain sectors, supply management remains a productive, viable approach in Canadian agriculture.
Against this background, as we all know, Canada is facing considerable pressure in the agricultural negotiations at the World Trade Organization, dealing with some key points for the supply management system in Canada.
I want to assure this House that our government is determined to defend Canada’s ability to choose how its products are marketed, including through such orderly marketing systems as supply management.
The Government of Canada will continue to work closely with the provincial governments and the full range of stakeholders in this sector to advance these matters and all other facets of Canada’s negotiating position at the WTO.
Similarly, we are following the negotiations at the WTO closely and intend to do everything in our power to eliminate the trade-distorting international trade subsidies and unfair practices of some of our international competitors.
We are searching for solutions that benefit everyone, which means that we feel very strongly about defending the interests of all producers.
The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food as well as the Minister of International Trade have adopted a policy of openness and consultation with the directors of GO5 Coalition for a Fair Farming Model, Supply Management, and will continue in this approach in the weeks to come, as talks in Geneva intensify.
Last month, the two ministers met with leaders of major groups in the national agri-food sector to share their views on Canada's approach to negotiations with the WTO in 2006.
As pointed out by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food on that occasion, Canada continues to work very hard at the WTO to ensure that international rules are as fair as possible for Canadian producers and processors.
WTO negotiations are entering an intense phase as Canada and other members of the WTO work towards completing the Doha round by the end of the year.
The stakes are high for Canada. Canadian farmers are world-class competitors. We must protect and defend the interests of the entire Canadian agriculture sector by supporting strong international trade rules that contribute to fair trade.
Farmers and the entire sector play an important role in cooperating with the government to help it achieve, at the end of these negotiations, a positive result that will strengthen the Canadian economy and benefit the entire agriculture and agri-food sector. For this reason, the ministers will continue to work in close cooperation with the sector during the weeks and months to come.
In conclusion, I would like to say that supply management is an appropriate, effective approach to agricultural production in domestic-oriented sectors.
Supply management not only allows farmers to obtain reasonable prices on the market but it also guarantees consumers the quality of their food supply. It also offers a forum in which all members of a value chain can work together for the common good.
Supply management has proven its effectiveness over the years by achieving its goals and objectives. It has evolved and has been improved in the interest of farmers and consumers alike.
Supply management has been the preference of dairy, poultry and egg producers, and I can assure my colleagues that Canada will continue to support this choice.