Exaggerated inf luence

Re: The great NAFTA divide? Tom Blackwell, June 28

It has become increasingly clear that a large part of the angst that has emerged in Canada-USA relations can be traced back to an intractable position on our supply management system for dairy products. It is also increasingly clear that the power of a dairy cartel to control the political process in Canada vastly exceeds its importance to the national economy.

We currently have a Liberal government and a Conservatives opposition who are equally supportive of the dairy cartel with little linkage to national interests in a $380 billion trade relationship with the USA. Canada is vastly more dependent on trade with the USA than the obverse. Every day of uncertainty causes an equally disproportional cost to the Canadian economy.

On top of the evangelical commitment to abandon the energy industry, it is now evident that our “fact driven” commitment to political decision making is simply an ideological position stranded from the economic reality upon which our future prosperity as a nation is based.

It is high time that the NAFTA negotiators resolve their differences with a commitment to economic facts without resorting to retaliatory countervailing duties as a substitute for national interests and not the narrow interests of a lobby group with an egregiously exaggerated influence in our political process. Raymond Foote, Ottawa

The Canadian dairy industry is the biggest (possibly only) stumbling block to reworking NAFTA. According to estimates, the powerful dairy lobby spends about $120 million per year to successfully lobby in Ottawa, including leaders of both the Liberals and Conservatives.

Approximately 10,900 millionaire dairy farmers force Canadians from coast to coast to pay two-three times world average prices for dairy products. Now, 10,900 millionaire dairy farmers may cause millions of Canadians to lose their NAFTA-related jobs if the agreement is cancelled.

Protecting the dairy farmers is simply not worth it. George Freedman, Richmond Hill, Ont.

DEREK RUTTAN / POSTMEDIA NEWS FILES “It is also increasingly clear that the power of a dairy cartel to control the political process in Canada vastly exceeds its importance to the national economy,” says letter writer Raymond Foote.