Free trade has left many losers in its wake

RE: Trump’s milk shake puts dairy industry on notice (May 1)

Sylvain Charlebois says that maintaining supply management for dairy has come at a tremendous cost. Cost to whom? Yes, we pay more for dairy than they do south of the border. But we pay more for lots of goods because we have a smaller, less dense population, a colder climate, (somewhat) higher wages, public health care — the list goes on. And we also ensure there are farmers still operating in Canada, creating Canadian jobs and a stable system of dairy production.

Is this really so bad? Are farm jobs not as valuable as auto or wood or any other sector? And do we not have a unique problem, living next to the United States where they can produce everything more cheaply because of market size, access to capital, cheaper wages, etc.?

If everyone starts to buy American milk at Walmart, maybe they’ll save money. But there goes another set of jobs and Canadian control. Whatever changes are made to the marketing board should be made slowly and cautiously. Free trade has left a lot of losers in its wake — many Canadians among them. Carol Town, Hamilton