Canadian sellout

There are 165 dairy farming operations spread across our province, one of which is operated by me and my family.

The development, prosperity and future of our industry are now unclear after the new United States Mexico Canada Agreement were released that can be described, at best, as a sellout.

The unveiling of USMCA happened in Ottawa, without much fanfare here in PEI. Indeed, it seems that our voice in the federal cabinet Lawrence MacAulay, who just so happens to be the Agriculture Minister, hightailed it back to Ottawa before this second shoe dropped.

At least Wayne Easter, as a former dairy farmer, had the decency to almost admit to local media that the Liberal government sacrificed our domestic dairy production to make a deal.

The Canadian government has now given away a total of 18 per cent of dairy farmers life time possible annual income forever. That also means 18 per cent less milk for ADL means less market, less milk production, less jobs and less income.

This betrayal is another hard blow to our Island dairy industry, making it more difficult for family farming operations to survive.

For Trudeau to call his deal, “a good deal” speaks almost as loudly as Lawrence MacAulay’s silence.

I can start to understand Lawrence’s silence, because only months ago he got up in Ottawa and at every strawberry social on the island to claim that there will be zero concessions to supply management for the Canadian dairy farmers.

Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me.

I for one, am not fooled. It is clear our MP, the Agriculture Minister, no longer represented the interests of his constituents or his portfolio. Bloyce Thompson, Eastside Farms Inc., P.E.I.