These comments are direct quotations from the Hansard
documents.
WTO Negotiations
Mr. Charlie Angus (Timmins—James
Bay, NDP): Mr. Speaker, my question is for the trade minister.
We are trying to get a
sense in Canada whether the government will stand up for our farmers at
the WTO. We want to know if it will invoke article XXVIII. We are hearing
some prevarications from agriculture, but we want to know where trade
stands on this.
Will the government invoke
article XXVIII to protect our domestic market from the flood of modified
milk imports?
Hon. Andy Mitchell
(Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lib.): Mr. Speaker, as hon.
members would know, we had a four hour take note debate in the House last
night on supply management.
We had an opportunity to
have a very thorough discussion on article XXVIII. We made it very clear
that our primary objective as a government is to achieve a result from the
WTO negotiations that will allow us and allow our producers to choose
supply management as their choice for domestic marketing.
That is what the
government stands behind. It is what it stood behind for 35 years. It is
what we will continue to stand behind as we move toward the future.
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