Battlefords-Lloydminster MP Gerry Ritz has welcomed the inclusion of repeal of Country of Origin Labelling in the funding bill currently before the United States Congress.
Ritz, the Conservatives’ International Trade critic, and agriculture critic Chris Warkentin supported the repeal efforts in a press release Dec. 16.
But Ritz, a longstanding COOL opponent, also took the opportunity to urge the Liberal government to keep up with retaliatory measures until the legislation is made final.
“We are heading in the right direction, but we have been in this position before. The Liberals have the capacity to do more than just sit around and wait,” said Ritz.
“I have been fighting this discriminatory program since before it became law. The Liberal government needs to be clearer about their position and continue with the retaliatory process in case things derail.”
The spending bill must be passed by both the House of Representatives and Senate and signed by President Barack Obama for the repeal to come into force. Meanwhile, Canada was poised to receive final WTO authorization to retaliate Friday after being awarded the right to $1 billion in trade sanctions against the United States last week.
