The Minister, who was delighted to have been with you here last year, has asked me to extend his best wishes. I would like to begin by congratulating you on your hard work. You ve done a good job of giving farmers and ranchers a say in the future of your industry. Organizations such as yours contribute valuable input to the government whether it s on farm income, the environment or on rural issues.
Annual conventions are, by nature, forward-looking events.
Looking ahead, I believe there are some real and exciting opportunities for growth in the agri-food industry. But in order to achieve that growth we must first address some of the immediate issues affecting our industry here at home and abroad. So today, I would like to talk to you about what the Government of Canada is doing to assist the industry in addressing these issues. I would also like to take a few minutes to highlight how we intend to help the sector capture the opportunities in the life science economy. First, we re working to level the global playing field and to eliminate the trade distorting subsidies that are having such a devastating effect on international prices, and in turn, on your pocket books.