Mr. Chair, in answer to the parliamentary secretary’s question, we are very aware that there are agricultural sectors other than those under supply management. However, when he answers in this way, when he says they will defend supply management but there are other sectors as well, is he not setting the stage to some extent to protect the other sectors? The government might just be forced to make a few concessions in the area of supply management. He says it is a sector where farmers can earn their costs of production plus a bit of a profit. That is supply management. However, it seems to me that they need to state this much more clearly and say frankly that everything was on the table at the beginning of the negotiations, but now the Europeans need to understand that we do not want supply management touched. Why wait for the very end of the negotiations if they have no intention of making concessions in this area?
In the House of Commons on December 14th, 2010. See this statement in context.