House of Commons photoWon his last election, in 2015, with 59% of the vote.
International Trade June 3rd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, earlier, I told my Liberal Party colleague that we will continue to defend supply management. I said yes.
In answer to this question, I have to say no because the question was whether we will dismantle supply management. We will continue to promote supply management.
International Trade June 3rd, 2015
Yes, Mr. Speaker.
International Trade June 2nd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, when a government signs a free trade agreement with another country, it is because that agreement is good for the entire Canadian economy. I can assure members of the House that in the negotiations that are currently under way we are going to promote supply management and all of the other industrial sectors.
I would like to tell my colleague that the past is an indication of the future. We have signed agreements with over 37 countries and regions around the world, including the most recent agreement with the European Union. In all of those agreements, we have protected the supply management system, while allowing other industrial sectors to export their products to other countries without tariffs and without quotas.
International Trade June 2nd, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I want to again point out to my colleague that Canada has signed free trade agreements with a number of countries and that we have always promoted and protected the supply management system. We are doing the same thing in these negotiations. We are well aware of the importance of supply management for dairy, egg and poultry producers.
We are going to continue to defend this system as we have in the past, while ensuring that we sign an agreement that is in the best interests of all of Canada's industrial sectors—not just the agricultural sector, all of our industrial sectors.
International Trade May 28th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to inform my colleague that we will be signing a free trade agreement very soon, I hope, with the Asia-Pacific countries, as we have done with other countries such as South Korea, while protecting and promoting supply management.
The three pillars of supply management are production control, producer pricing and import control. We have always defended the supply management system.
To my colleague, I would say that in keeping with our practice, we will continue to defend our farmers' interests.
International Trade May 25th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I would like to tell my colleague that we will continue to defend the trade interests of every industrial sector in Canada, including the agriculture sector, through the negotiations of this free trade agreement.
I would like my colleague to know that our government's past actions bode well for the future, since we have signed free trade agreements with the European Union and South Korea and have been able to protect supply management and the agriculture industry.
As always, our government will only sign a free trade agreement if it benefits every sector in Canada.
International Trade May 5th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, what has the Bloc Québécois done for agricultural producers in Quebec and Canada? Nothing. What will the Bloc Québécois do for them? Nothing.
What we have been doing since 2006 is negotiating free trade agreements and providing economic freedom while protecting the principles of supply management. That is something concrete, and I am telling agricultural producers in Quebec that the past is an indication of what the future holds.
Tourism Industry May 5th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the tourism industry is an $89 billion industry in Canada. It is a very important industry, and that is why, last fall, my provincial colleagues and I reached a Canada-wide consensus. It was not the NDP that did that. It was our government that reached a consensus with the provinces to ensure that there is reinvestment in the United States. That is what we are going to do because we want more travellers from the United States to come and visit our beautiful and great country.
Tourism Industry May 5th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased that NDP members at least took some time to read the budget. They know that we are putting more money into the tourism industry and more money into U.S. advertising. It is very true. This is good news. Members in the industry asked us to put more money into the U.S. to attract more U.S. travellers to Canada. That is something we are going to do. It is a done deal.
International Trade May 5th, 2015
Mr. Speaker, the past is an indication of the future. In the past, we have signed free trade agreements with many countries, including the European Union and South Korea. We have always made sure to promote the interests of all industrial and agri-food sectors. I would invite the opposition members to support these free trade agreements because we know that freedom brings prosperity to Canada.