Billions promised to farmers hit by free-trade agreements

OTTAWA — The Trudeau government is promising billions of dollars to compensate dairy, egg and poultry farmers hurt by Canada’s recent free-trade agreements — industries concentrated in voterich Quebec and Ontario.

The $3.65 billion the government is setting aside includes $2.15 billion to help farmers who lose income because of trade deals with Europe and countries on the Pacific Rim, both of which make it easier for foreign egg, dairy and poultry producers to enter the Canadian market. That is in addition to a $250-million, five-year fund established in 2016 to compensate dairy farmers for the European Union deal.

The budget earmarks $1.5 billion for farmers who lose money when they sell production rights in the supply-management system, which limits egg, poultry and dairy production in Canada. To gain the right to sell supplymanaged products, farmers have to buy “quota,” often from existing producers who want to leave.

The system also limits foreign products by slapping steep tariffs on imports beyond a certain level, which raises their price at the grocery store and makes them less attractive to consumers. Allowing more foreign-produced food into the Canadian market will increase competition for products from Canadian farmers.

“To ensure that Canada’s dairy, poultry and egg farmers can continue to provide Canadians with high-quality products in a world of freer trade, we will make available an income protection program for supply-managed farmers, along with a measure to protect the value of quota investments these farmers have already made,” Finance Minister Bill Morneau said in his prepared budget speech.

The budget does not provide details on how or when the money will be distributed to farmers and producers, who have long railed against any move that would expand foreign involvement in those sectors. But the government appears to be hoping the promise of compensation will provide a salve to supply-managed farmers.