They completely undermine the system we have in place, and actually serve to aggravate the problem by further dampening market prices. Just the speculation about how much and how long the EU and U.S. may spend is contributing to that very problem, right now. Let me assure you, I'm not happy with the actions taken by the EU and U.S., in part because we know Canada could not possibly win a battle of national treasuries. We need to level the playing field for farmers worldwide. I know Canadian producers can compete, not with the U.S. treasury, but with American farmers.
American farmers know that too.
That's why they take the opportunity of an election to press their case for protectionist measures. It's a chance to continue what we started over four years ago when we signed on to the WTO Agreement at the end of the Uruguay Round. As a major agricultural exporter of a whole range of commodities and processed products, Canada benefits from more secure and improved access to foreign markets. Canadian farmers enjoyed record exports over the last four years, easily exceeding industry targets. This same four years brought farmers record cash receipts.