Mr. Speaker, first of all, I will be sharing my time with my colleague from Vegreville—Wainwright.
I am pleased to have this opportunity to talk about the significant steps taken by our Conservative government to ensure the prosperity and sustainable development of the Canadian livestock industry.
It is not difficult for the Bloc to request an emergency debate. In any event, that is all it is capable of doing. Action has been taken by this side of the House and we are proud of the work being done right now on behalf of all Canadian producers.
Our government is guided by a fundamental principle in developing each of its agricultural programs and policies. This principle is simple but important: put farmers first. When farmers prosper, the entire agricultural community of rural Canada prospers. Our Conservative government knows full well that although there are many challenges facing the livestock industry, there are also many opportunities. It is at that level that we can say that we deliver the goods. We do not need any lessons from anyone in this House, especially not the Bloc, which is destined to never do anything for agriculture.
On the international scene, our government is working very hard, day after day, to find new markets for Canadian products and to maximize our position in our current markets. I thank my colleagues on this side of the House, as well as my industry colleagues for their excellent work in that regard. Our government realizes that access to international markets is vital to the economic success of Canadian livestock products and livestock producers.
The world knows that our livestock products and our genetics products are the best in the world. The same goes for our finished products and breeding stock. Fortunately, we are here so the world can benefit. Our government is working very hard to help these products reach international markets.
We are the ones who did everything possible to protect and improve access to the American market and to other important markets for our country's livestock producers. We are actively engaged in fighting the latest bid by R-CALF to close the border, since it is important to protect our producers. We worked hard to get Canada full access to the Philippine beef market and partial access for Canadian beef exporters to the markets in Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia and Russia. Furthermore, we are working non-stop to resume beef exports to the Korean and Chinese markets.
Moreover, our government has an ambitious negotiation program for developing bilateral free trade agreements. Canada is currently negotiating free trade agreements with a number of major markets for exporting Canadian beef and pork to Korea, Latin America and the Caribbean, in particular.
Our objective is to maintain and improve the competitiveness of our beef and pork exporters on these markets by removing tariff barriers to the export of Canadian products.
I am pleased to point out that, in November, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food met in Brussels with his counterparts from the United States, India, Japan and the European Union. In January, our minister went to Mexico, where, at every opportunity, he tried to maximize market access for Canadian cattle producers. That is what I call good work on the part of our government. At every one of these meetings, the minister was proud and pleased to hear all the good people had to say about world renowned Canadian livestock products.
Our government knows that the promotion of animal health in Canada is a foundation for success on export markets. That principle is at the heart of our food safety, agricultural and international trade policies.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency plays a pivotal role in our country's efforts to ensure the safety of our food and the health of the animals and plants on which we rely to be sure that our food is safe. We are proud of the science-based work of the agency, which is recognized worldwide.
The agency works in cooperation with national and international authorities to prevent and limit the spread of animal diseases, and ensure that international trade policies are based on sound and current science. Science-based policies are essential to trade. We all got confirmation of that with BSE.
When the crisis hit, borders all over the world started being closed to Canadian beef, cattle and meat products, with disastrous consequences for Canadian producers. I think that even the Bloc Québécois and the NDP will agree that the actions taken by the government of the day to repair the prejudice were inadequate. Recently, however, thanks to the hard work and determination of this Conservative government, dozens of countries have now reopened their borders to Canadian beef. As I said earlier, Russia and the Philippines recently reopened their borders to Canadian beef and, more importantly for our producers, on November 19, the United States gave the green light for Canadian beef to start coming across their border again. The industry is the first to recognize that this was the result of excellent work on the part of this Conservative government.
A highlight of this process was when Canada was officially categorized as a controlled risk country by the International Office Epizootics. This is yet another example which shows that the hard work done by the agency and by our government produces results for Canadian livestock producers across the country. That recognition is an endorsement of the measures implemented by our government to eradicate BSE in Canada. This remarkable recovery after the BSE crisis is testimony to our government's sound policies and initiatives.
Investing in science and innovation is another means used by our government to build a strong foundation for our producers, and it is a priority that was non-existent under previous governments. Through strategic investments in that sector, we are helping build a prosperous future for our producers and for the whole agricultural sector. Innovation is the key to helping producers innovate and seize new opportunities. We are there to help them.
