Jim Peterson

[Dairy Industry, May 4th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the hon. member. This House owes him a debt of gratitude for the work he has done on behalf of our milk producers.

As far as our milk producers are concerned, our number one priority is to ensure that supply management is protected even though it is under attack at the WTO.

We have to consider whether or not measures, such as article XXVIII, would be conducive to a good result in terms of supply management at the WTO. However I can assure the House we know at this time that farmers are under attack.

[Dairy Industry, April 15th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the hon. member for the very strong stand he has taken on behalf of our agricultural producers and in particular our milk producers.

Let me assure the House that the Minister of Agriculture and I will work as hard as we possibly can, leaving no stone unturned, to protect supply management and our milk producers. The number one thing that we have to get through is the WTO negotiations where we have worked to date, along with the supply management, to protect those industries.

[Dairy Industry, April 15th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, we certainly respect the supply management system. It is very important for our farmers and all Canadians. We will continue to work very closely with them to protect the supply management system.

[Textile Industry, April 14th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, if the hon. member takes a look at the figures, he will notice an increase in textile and clothing imports of less than 6% this year. We are continuing to monitor the figures very closely. We will be working hand in hand with our international partners.

[Textile Industry, April 14th, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, as the hon. member knows, this year there was a very slight increase in clothing and textile imports. We are, however, consulting the industry. We are monitoring the numbers closely and we are talking with our international partners.

[Budget Implementation Act, 2005, April 12th, 2005]

moved that Bill C-43, an act to implement certain provisions of the budget tabled in Parliament on February 23, 2005, be read the second time and referred to a committee.

[Softwood Lumber, March 23rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I will never settle for anything that is not in the best interests of all Canadians.

[Softwood Lumber, March 23rd, 2005]

Of course, Mr. Speaker.

[International Trade, March 23rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, again the hon. member could not be further from the truth. In every single meeting that the Prime Minister has had with the President over the past year and couple of months, the issue of BSE and the issue of softwood lumber have been at the top of the agenda.

Yes, we have these ongoing disputes, but we are doing something about them. The opposition has not given one constructive suggestion.

[International Trade, March 23rd, 2005]

Mr. Speaker, I want to know if the hon. member endorses what her leader says, that our offer on the table is selling out the store. It is an offer which would return 100% of the deposits to us and replace the duties with a border tax that is paid to Canada.

We are proceeding on the softwood lumber file. The negotiations are ongoing in Toronto. We are supported in these by the industry. We are supported by the 10 provinces. We are supported by the three territories.

This is the way we will act, in concert, to achieve the best result for all Canadians.