Ralph Goodale

[Devco, December 8th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, rather than hyperbole, insults and innuendo, what I am concerned with is a proper solution with respect to the future of Devco. In that respect I have been consulting very closely with the board of directors who are charged with the responsibility for managing Devco. I have had the opportunity on several occasions to meet with the premier. I have had the opportunity to meet with representatives of the union. I will continue that close consultation in the interests of arriving at the proper result, not just a hysterical one.

[Canadian Wheat Board, December 8th, 1998]

And the opposition applauds mythology.

Under the new legislation we have adopted, there will be, for the first time ever, a board of directors, two-thirds directly elected by farmers. It will be those directors, including those farmers, who make the determination about what should be released publicly and what in the interests of commercial confidentiality needs to be retained. It will be producers on the board of directors—

[Canadian Wheat Board, December 8th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, if anything, the hon. member is very persistent in his mythology.

[Canadian Wheat Board, December 8th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the independent election co-ordinator, KPMG, is investigating the problems. Additional external professional expertise is being acquired to ensure absolute accuracy, including an audit if that is necessary. The problems will be corrected as rapidly as possible.

It should be noted it is because we have had a very open, public and totally transparent process in the hands of an independent professional that any problems have been quickly identified and the corrective action taken.

[Forestry, December 8th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the action in defence of Canadian forestry practices is already well underway.

We have an established program where we bring buyers from around the world to Canada to actually see for themselves what Canadian forestry practices are like; not to rely on misleading advertising in the newspaper but to come here and examine the situation and see for themselves.

Experience has shown that when they come to Canada, when they see our practices as administered primarily by the provinces, in this case British Columbia, they go away with a much different view of Canadian forestry practices. Many of them dramatically change—

[Points Of Order, December 4th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I will be obtaining later today the formal text as signed. I was referring to the notes but they include the specific language that I referred to. I would be happy to present the formal document as soon as it is available, which I presume will be in the next hour.

[Agriculture, December 4th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, that is very much the spirit of the agreement. I would repeat that there are no quantitative limits and no caps on Canadians exports. There is no new audit of Canadian grain marketing systems.

It is agreed that all sanitary and phytosanitary issues are to be resolved on the basis of sound science and sound science alone. We have built in insulation against U.S. trade harassment possibilities, either those that are self-initiated by the U.S. administration or those that are launched by individual states.

We want to defuse border tensions and facilitate two way trade. We believe this agreement will help.

[Agriculture, December 4th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, the minister's objective is obviously to make the most definitive announcement at the earliest possible date. He and his cabinet colleagues are working very much in that direction.

I would also note that one of the points clearly made by Premier Romanow when he campaigned against former Premier Devine in Saskatchewan was that in dealing with agricultural programs, especially disaster programs, it was important to avoid the ad hockery and the chicanery of Mulroney and Devine. We intend to follow that same pattern.

[Agriculture, December 4th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, more specifically Canada and the United States reaffirmed their commitment as contained in the international trade agreement to ensure that all necessary measures were taken to meet the obligations contained in the agreement, including their observance by state and provincial governments.

The United States has an obligation to ensure that its citizens obey the law.

[Agriculture, December 4th, 1998]

Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to confirm today that we have signed an understanding with the Americans. It is a good result from the Canadian perspective.

There are no quantitative limitations, no caps, on Canadian exports. There is no new audit of Canadian grain marketing systems. It is agreed that all sanitary issues at our border will be resolved on the basis of sound science and sound science alone. There will be no political interference.

We have built in insulation against U.S. trade harassment possibilities, either self-initiated by the administration or provoked by individual states. We want to diffuse the border tensions and facilitate—