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AGRICULTURAL NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE WTO

THE COALITION GO5 CHALLENGES THE PRIME MINISTER MARTIN AND OBTAINS SUPPORT FROM MANY PUBLIC FIGURES

Montreal, October 23th, 2005 - Gathered in the Spectrum, in Montreal, following a walk for solidarity in the streets of the metropolis, 1,000 representatives of the Coalition for a Fair Farming Model, Supply Management, signed a declaration requesting that the Prime Minister Paul Martin and his government make every effort to champion more than ever the Canadian agriculture in the ongoing negotiations with the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Quebec, Canadian and international public figures also expressed their support for an aggressive local agriculture and denounced the harmful effects of the globalization of agriculture as promoted by the WTO.

Mr. Martin: "We want to feed our people first! "

On behalf of the some 30,000 members of the Coalition, the 1,000 signatories claim in particular that the federal government obtains recognition, during the WTO negotiations, of the sovereign right of the States to maintain the policies and measures they consider suitable for agriculture, to feed their people first. This approach would ensure, among other things, the future of a significant side of our agriculture, that is to say the supply-managed dairy, poultry and egg productions, which represent 40 % of Quebec agricultural revenues.

This recognition would allow these productions to maintain the many benefits they provide to the population: feeding local consumers, with local products of quality at affordable prices, while guaranteeing to the farmers an equitable income from the market, without subsidy, and preserving human-sized farms across Quebec and Canada.

The WTO first goal is international trade liberalization. This diktat, if literally implemented to agriculture, could destroy the supply management systems implemented in Canada more than thirty years ago.

The proposals currently tabled at the WTO speak for a reduction of customs tariffs, which are critical tools for supply management. How could we adjust the supply to the demand of Canadian consumers if we cannot keep largely subsidized commodities coming in particular from the United States from crossing our borders at dumped prices?

"Canada showed an unprecedented leadership in obtaining recognition of the right of the countries to adopt a cultural policy preserving their national production and their cultural diversity, especially in spite of the opposition of the United States. One hopes that the government of Canada will demonstrate the same will to defend the agricultural model next December in Hong-Kong, a model that not only advantages the producers, but also the consumers and the society as a whole", declared the president of the Union des producteurs agricoles, Mr. Laurent Pellerin.

National and international support

In the presence of the 1,000 participants brought together in the Spectrum, many public figures from here and elsewhere expressed their support for the supply-managed agricultural model and indicated their deep concerns regarding the globalization of the agriculture as promoted by the WTO.

People who spoke at this event: the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Quebec, Mr. Laurent Lessard; the special adviser of the Coalition GO5, Mr. Pierre-Marc Johnson; the president of Droits et Démocratie, Mr. Jean-Louis Roy; the honorary president of the Réseau des organisations paysannes et de producteurs agricoles d'Afrique de l'Ouest (ROPPA), the Sheik Mouhamady Cissokho, the president of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), Mr. Jack Wilkinson; the president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), Mr. Bob Friesen; the president of the Union des producteurs agricoles, Mr. Laurent Pellerin.

Many public figures also participated by the means of a video, of which: Mr. Albert Jacquard, scientist and researcher; Mr. Ndiogou Fall, president of the ROPPA; Mr. Mark Fried, communications coordinator at Oxfam-Canada; Mr. Pierre Curzi, president of the Union des artistes; Mr. Claude Béland, professor with the UQAM and former president of the Mouvement Desjardins; Mr. Roger D. Landry, former president and editor of La Presse newspaper; Mr. Gérald Larose, president of the Groupe d'économie solidaire du Québec and former president of the CSN; Monseigneur Raymond Saint-Gelais, bishop of Nicolet, as well as Quebec and Canadian dairy, poultry and egg producers.

The complete text of the declaration that will be presented to the Prime Minister, the video document, as well as the biographies of the speakers will be available at: www.go5quebec.ca. You can also find there information on the Coalition GO5, on the agricultural stakes with the WTO, and on supply management.

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