ProduCers defend supply mAnAgement system
PM among patrons of Sparks Street eatery being hosted by supply-managed farmers
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau popped in Tuesday afternoon to a pop-up “diner” set up on Sparks Street by Canadian food producers touting the benefits of supply management systems in agriculture. The PM sat down at a table with a number of farmers’ representatives to discuss farm support policies that incensed U.S. President Donald Trump at the weekend’s G-7 summit in Charlevoix, Que.
And perhaps thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump’s bitter attacks on the system, #Ottawadiner is trending on Twitter and drawing visitors including MPs. The Egg Farmers of Canada issued an open invitation for Ottawans to meet the country’s egg, dairy, chicken and turkey farmers from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside the National Press Building. On offer was “delicious food made from fresh, local, high-quality ingredients provided by Canada’s supply-managed farmers.”
“The pop-up Downtown Diner is a unique opportunity to learn how the system of supply management helps maintain a vibrant agricultural sector in Canada and delivers food of the highest quality for Canadians,” the egg farmers touted. Farmers issued an open invitation to the event a week ago amid free trade talks but Trump’s complaints about supply management via Twitter Sunday raised concerns, particularly among dairy farmers.
A poll last summer found that three-quarters of Canadians support supply management. Established in the 1970s, it limits dairy, egg and chicken production and imposes steep tariffs on imports beyond a certain amount to keep the market from becoming saturated.