ARE WE SOURING ON DAIRY QUOTAS?

Most don’t know what supply management is

With NAFTA negotiations expected to start within weeks, one of the touchiest issues for the Canadian government will be supply management — the quota system the dairy lobby fiercely protects and politicians fear to tread on.

It seems Canadians, however, take a more openminded view.

And they take it despite knowing very little about what supply management actually is or what products it affects.

A poll of 1,500 people conducted in June and July by the Angus Reid Institute concludes a majority of Canadians are OK with using supply management as a bargaining chip during NAFTA talks, with 26 per cent saying we should immediately offer to scrap the system and 45 per cent saying that should only be a last resort.

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Numerous studies show that supply management, which allots production quotas to certain Canadian farmers and puts heavy tariffs on imports, raises the price of milk, cheese and eggs for Canadian consumers. Other countries target it during free trade discussions as an egregious form of protectionism. But Canada’s politicians tend to treat it as an untouchable issue, thanks in large part to the organized power of the dairy industry.

The Angus Reid Institute poll shows that when supply management is explained to people, their views on it tend to be nuanced, with about a third of people willing to accept higher prices in exchange for protecting a regulated Canadian industry that creates reasonable profits for farmers and ensures quality products.

Opponents of a supplymanaged system tend to argue for more consumer choice and lower prices.

But the poll also shows that most people have no idea what it is.

One question asked: “Since the early 1970s, some farms in Canada have operated under a system called ‘supply management.’ How aware are you of this system?” A majority in every province said they know nothing about it, with most others saying they know just a little. An average of just four per cent of respondents said they knew a lot about it and could explain the system’s pros and cons (this includes five per cent of respondents in both Quebec and Ontario).

The poll then asked people to name products regulated by supply management. Only 51 per cent identified milk. The next highest product, named by 42 per cent of respondents, was beef, which is not supply-managed.

Even among the very small group who declared they knew a lot about supply management and could discuss it in detail, one in three incorrectly named beef or pork as a supply-managed product, and one out of five failed to correctly identify a single supply-managed product.