Madam Chair, I am happy to say that I do agree. I hear that from my farmers every weekend when I go home, whether it is in the coffee shops or at the round tables we like to host with them.
A number of great statements have been made about our tackling of market access, the development of the new market access secretariat, which is a combination of trade relations and sound science that is administered by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. It is well recognized around the world.
When I go country by country re-opening markets I am constantly asked, “Where has Canada been?” Australia has been aggressive. The Americans have been aggressive. Even the EU has been aggressive marketers of its products. Where has Canada been?
It is tough to explain that we had 10 or 13 years where it did not matter what agriculture did. Programs drove trade down. It shrank. We relied more on the American market. We have to get past that. We have to work harder on these other markets, and we are doing that.
Other countries and organizations welcome our top quality Canadian products. The consistency and quality of the supply is second to none. We are not just bragging about our own products. Other countries are talking about top quality Canadian products.
In the course of hard red western wheat, of course countries use it around the world to blend to make the other stuff that they buy cheaply palatable, and they will continue to do that.
I had the opportunity to visit some pasta and flour mills in Morocco that use an inordinate amount of Canadian product. They like it. They are happy with the consistency of the Canadian product. I was dismayed at what they called a number one in the sample bag from our Canadian Wheat Board, but I will take that up with Wheat Board officials in the coming weeks.
Every industry is buoyed by the fact that we are reopening those markets. We are becoming less reliant. We are putting less eggs in that American basket, if the House will excuse the pun. However, we continue to work with our American neighbours to make sure that the free flow of goods is fair and that their restrictions are not affecting our producers in a negative way.
We have also begun to work a lot more closely with the Koreans to access their market.
We are not scared to go to the WTO. Rules-based trade is where everyone should be. Canada was a great contender at the table in Geneva, making our argument, and making sure that we had access to those new markets while we safeguarded our domestic systems here at home. It is a great responsibility, but one that I share with my colleague the Minister of International Trade. We are both very proud to represent Canada on the world stage.