Mr. Speaker, last week Canadian farmers, supported by our Conservative government, celebrated a great victory over American protectionism when the World Trade Organization ruled against the United States mandatory country of origin labelling policy.
This is the fourth time the WTO has ruled in Canada's favour and denounced this protectionist policy that has been costing our meat industry billions of dollars on an annual basis.
Let me be clear that this decision is final. There are no further appeals for the Obama administration.
Canada's allies in the U.S. Congress have begun to take steps toward repealing COOL. However, until this policy is reversed, our government will be seeking authority from the WTO to impose retaliatory measures against U.S. exports.
Unlike the opposition parties, which have been mute on the issue of COOL for years now, our Conservative government continues to stand on the side of Canadian farmers and ranchers, and we will continue to protect all hard-working Canadians throughout the retaliatory process.