Ralph Goodale

[Canadian Wheat Board, June 11th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, I take from the hon. member's preamble that he has now conceded the basic point about single desk selling.

The hon. gentleman should review the submissions made to the Western Grain Marketing Panel by the Millers and Bakers Association of Canada. It supported the Canadian Wheat Board before the Western Grain Marketing Panel.

It is possible that some new and more flexible ways can be devised in terms of pricing mechanisms pertaining to the Canadian Wheat Board. I will very anxiously await the advice of the Western Grain Marketing Panel at the end of this month. When we have its report we will each be in a better position to make sound decisions for the long term, rather than constantly jumping the gun like the knee-jerk Reformers.

[Canadian Wheat Board, June 11th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, members of the Reform Party have asked a number of questions in the past, indicating their opposition to the Canadian Wheat Board. Those questions have been answered, but they appear to be impervious to logic.

Let me try another tack. I would like to quote the May 9 edition of the Manitoba Co-Operator and particularly remarks made by Mr. Ken Beswick, a former commissioner of the Canadian Wheat Board who recently resigned. Mr. Beswick said: ``I am in no way saying the board is not an effective marketer. I think that it is among the best in the world at marketing grain. It stands toe to toe with the heavyweights out there in the global environment. And I think from my window at the board I would not advocate the elimination of single desk selling''.

[Food And Agriculture Organization, June 10th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is in the process of organizing a world food summit which is to be held in Rome in November of this year.

The preparations for that summit began last year here in Canada when we hosted the 50th anniversary celebrations marking the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization which was first established in 1945 in Quebec City.

Canada is now in the process of putting together a position paper to represent the views of Canadians. On June 7 representatives of the agricultural, forestry and fisheries sectors were involved in consultations on that paper together with representatives of the provinces.

Canada intends to be thoroughly represented at the world food summit in Rome because we do take very seriously our international responsibility with respect to alleviating hunger in the world.

[Criminal Law Improvement Act, 1996, June 10th, 1996]

moved that Bill C-17, an act to amend the Criminal Code and certain other acts be read the second time and referred to the Standing Committee on Justice and Legal affairs.

[Employment, June 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, whatever the marketing system, if the grain supplies are low and the volume of grain is simply not there to move, there is nothing that either the government or the opposition can do to magically increase the volume.

I would point out that we are anticipating a good production season in 1996. We anticipate Canadian grain volumes will be substantially improved. With prices in the world, that is once again good news for farmers.

Recently the House enacted amendments to the legislation pertaining to transportation generally, and grain transportation in particular. Those changes in legislation should improve the regulatory system to make sure that we are evolving toward a system that is faster and cheaper and more efficient and one in which the benefits are fairly shared among farmers, shippers and the railways.

[Employment, June 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the principal difficulty affecting Prince Rupert this year is a common difficulty that is affecting all Canadian grain ports and that is, quite frankly, a shortage of supply.

The hon. gentleman will remember that a couple of years ago the predicament was exactly the opposite with a huge volume of grain and congestion in the grain handling and transportation system.

The good news in this situation is that supply and demand have become far more balanced. It is far more favourable from the farmers' point of view. The volumes in Canada at the present time are lower than they have been historically. In fact, around the world grain supplies are probably at a 20-year low. As a result of that, prices have increased dramatically to the farmer's advantage.

The difficulty facing Prince Rupert is that grain supplies are lower now than they have been in a long time.

[Agriculture, June 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, buried in this series of questions is an ongoing attack by the Reform Party against institutions like the Canadian Wheat Board and against marketing systems like supply management.

We are vigorously defending the Canadian supply management system because we believe our position is legally correct as a matter of trade law, because supply management over the last 25 years has served Canadians, both producers and consumers, very well, and because we undertook to Canadian agriculture that we

would defend supply management. We will not succumb to the blandishments of the Reform Party.

[Agriculture, June 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the representations contained in the latter part of the hon. gentlemen's question I am sure will be music to the ears of the Minister of Industry, who is responsible for internal trade negotiations.

I hope the hon. gentleman would use his good offices in a constructive manner to encourage the provinces, which have the jurisdiction in a number of the areas to which he has referred, to co-operate constructively with the Government of Canada so we can make progress in a reasonable timeframe toward greater internal trade freedom.

It is an anomaly when there are more internal trade restrictions within Canada than there are between Canada and some foreign jurisdictions.

Specifically on the issue of our trade performance, I am happy to report the most recent statistics indicate our agri-food exports have now surpassed $17.4 billion worth. We are well on our way to the $20 billion target.

[Agriculture, June 5th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the Reform Party continues to make demands for pre-emptory changes in the Canadian grain marketing system.

The hon. gentleman will know opinions in western Canada about best methods of grain marketing are divided and those on both sides of the question hold their opinions very sincerely and strongly. There has been a debate on this issue in western Canada for many months. Much of that debate has generated over time far more heat than light.

For that reason we have attempted to bring some focus and some logic into the discussion by establishing the western grain marketing panel, within which all of the various points of view can be addressed in a thorough, logical and transparent manner.

The membership of that panel, including nine prominent Canadians, includes every range of opinion on grain marketing from one extreme to the other. The panel is working very hard and very well together.

We expect to receive the report from the panel by the end of this month. Once we have that report we will all be in a position to make logical, fair and decent decisions for the future. I think it would be highly inappropriate to pre-empt that process now.

[Agriculture, May 29th, 1996]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is correct to say that for fiscal, trade, diversification, innovation and efficiency reasons a number of former subsidy programs have been brought to an end. In every case appropriate transitional measures or gradual phase out measures or other adaptation measures have been put in place to smooth the process of transition equitably all across the country.

The hon. gentleman comes from Saskatchewan and might refer specifically to the end of the WGTA subsidy. Part of the adaptation in that case is the WGTA adaptation fund with $300 million over the next couple of years to help smooth out the process of changing the freight pooling system, to assist the alfalfa dehydration and compressed hay industries and also to help enhance rural infrastructure like rural roads which are of critical importance in the prairie region.