Monsieur le président, j'ai été nommé à ce poste le 12 décembre, et dès le 22 décembre, j'avais réussi à amener la Saskatchewan, la dernière province récalcitrante, à signer l'accord de mise en oeuvre du Cadre stratégique pour l'agriculture.
The Prime Minister has told me very directly that he has a strong interest in agriculture, and he believes, as I do, that the agricultural industry in this country is an industry of national significance, one that should be supported by this government and by governments across this country. Mr. Chairman, I was appointed to this position on December 12, and by December 22 I managed to get Saskatchewan, the final holdout province, to sign on to the agricultural policy framework implementation agreement.