Mr. Speaker, it is already a challenge for me to not go over my allotted time. I will try to give my speech in six minutes, knowing that I will have the remaining four minutes another day.
I am going to address everyone. This is the moment of truth. This is the time for action. We are sick of the old promises and old policies. Today, a promise was made to defend supply management. However, the promise was made by members of the political party that made the first concessions, so I have a hard time believing them.
I want my speech to unite people. We need to listen to the farmers who are on the ground, much like we should be listening to members when they are giving speeches. The president of the Union des producteurs agricoles made a public statement this morning, calling on all parties in the House to adopt this bill, because farmers are tired of promises.
On November 18, the chair of the Producteurs de lait du Québec issued a press release. It was not a partisan message urging people to vote for the Bloc Québécois. It simply encouraged members to vote in favour of this fundamental and necessary bill. We do not want to hear that laws can be amended. Come on. We just voted on a bill on training for judges. No one pointed out that a future government could repeal that act. We passed it, and we are moving forward.
Passing legislation would give us uniquely effective ways of protecting the industry. We want concrete action. I may seem angry, but that anger is justified because it is on behalf of farmers and processors. These people are waiting.
As mentioned earlier, we are not just talking about breaches in supply management. In the most recent agreement, the government went so far as to limit our exports to other countries, countries that are not even part of the agreement. That makes no sense whatsoever. What is the next step? This request to limit exports of milk proteins was made because of class 7. The Americans wanted to limit our exports to other countries because of the existence of class 7.
The Government of Canada caved on both fronts. Not only did we lose class 7, but we now have export limits imposed on us. Furthermore, it is unbelievable that the Canada-United States-Mexico agreement, or CUSMA, came into effect on July 1 rather than August 1 like it was supposed to, according to all of the commitments that had been made. It is shameful that we have gotten to this point.
Pierre Falardeau said, “If you lie down, they will stomp on you. If you remain standing and resist, they will hate you, but they will call you 'sir'.” In the latest negotiations, the Canadian government chose to lie down. That is a problem. It is time to stand up. We will help the government with this bill. The solution is right here. This is the moment of truth. When the time comes to vote on Bill C-216, we will know who truly stands up for agriculture. This is what the sector wants. People need it. A total of 18% of the dairy market is being given up. For other sectors, it is between 7% and 10%. That is huge. Nobody is keeping promises.
This evening, the Liberals are telling us that we must vote for them, that they are not interested in this legislation, that they will deal with the supply management issue and that they will defend it. How can anyone stand for that yet again? That means nothing to farmers, which is why they are ending their silence today, speaking out about a bill and calling on all parties here to set partisanship aside and work together. Supply management is the lifeblood of our regions. It keeps our rural communities alive.
When we talk about supply management, we often think of farmers. Some might say they have an advantage, because there are quotas. No food is wasted most of the time. Of course, there was a crisis this year under exceptional circumstances. Still, the supply management system has proven its effectiveness, since farmers were able to adjust very quickly. Unlike most other sectors of the economy, they did not ask the government for any assistance. All they want is the compensation that they were promised but that has not been delivered.
How can we trust a government that tells us not to worry, that it will compensate us, but that has yet to pay out one red cent two years on? The government has delivered only one cheque out of eight in the dairy sector. It has given nothing to egg farmers, nothing to poultry farmers, and nothing to processors. The amounts were determined over a year ago, but nothing is happening. By providing legislative protection for supply management, we are forcing future governments to show some backbone. That is the solution.
How much time do I have left, Mr. Speaker?