News

Rob’s Column – January 4, 2012

January 5th, 2012

Our government, and our nation’s livestock producers, were victorious in the fight against the use of Country of Origin Labelling (COOL) by the United States.
The ruling by the World Trade Organization clearly vindicates our position on the matter – namely, that Country of Origin Labelling is inconsistent with World Trade Organization obligations.
“Our government has always stood shoulder to shoulder with our cattle and hog producers against any unfair treatment, such as country-of-origin labelling, and today marks a clear win for our industry,” said our Minister of Agriculture, the Honourable Gerry Ritz. “This day has been a long time coming but, by working closely with our cattlemen and pork producers, we have paved the way for a stronger and more profitable livestock industry.”
Reducing obstacles to trade between Canada and the United States is essential, given that our countries enjoy the largest and most mutually-beneficial trade relationship of any two countries on the face of the earth. The special relationship we share with the United States provides employment on both sides of the border and the free flow of goods between our nations is vital to the financial health of North America.
This ruling not only ensures that Canadian livestock producers will be given a level playing-field for marketing their products in the United States, but also sets a clear
precedent for all of the trade agreements we have with other countries, guaranteeing fair treatment abroad for Canadian agricultural products.
The Market Access Secretariat, created by our government, has been instrumental in the acquisition of beneficial agreements and terms abroad, particularly within the field of Agriculture, bearing fruit in the form of new trade agreements with a number of countries and improved relationships with existing trade partners.
Our Conservative government is committed to a strong agricultural industry, and the opening of new markets combined with the protection of established markets will provide a bright future for our livestock producers.
As always, I look forward to your letters, e-mails and calls. Write me at: Rob Clarke MP, House of Commons, 502 Justice Building, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0A6. I hope you will find time to visit my website http://www.robclarkemp.ca To contact me via e-mail use clarkr@parl.gc.ca or call my constituency office toll-free at 1-866-400-2334.
Rob Clarke MP
Desnethé-Missinippi-Churchill River