Statement made on 23 June 2011 by Senator Dennis Dawson
Hon. Dennis Dawson:
Honourable senators, if we consider the vote in Quebec, where 85 per cent of the population decided to vote against the Conservative government, it is easy to guess where Quebecers stand on this issue.
Honourable senators, I am speaking to you today on behalf of all Canadian farmers, and on behalf of Quebec's dairy farmers in particular, to whom the government is just as condescending as it is to the entire province of Quebec. What other conclusion are we to draw from the government's decision in the other place to sit on Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day, the national holiday of Quebecers? I assure you that I will not be here tomorrow. I can tell you that right now. I will come on Saturday, if you want.
In Quebec and in Canada, supply management has been working for more than 40 years in the dairy industry, giving producers a stable market in which they can prosper. The UN estimates that countries will spend 21 per cent more on importing food in the coming years.
What is the Canadian government doing to ensure that our farmers, dairy farmers in Quebec in particular, provide their fair share of exports to countries that need food products?
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