Thousands march in support of farmers, against trade concessions

MONTREAL — Half a dozen tractors rolled through the streets of downtown Montreal Sunday as thousands of people marched in support of farmers who say they’re threatened by the U.S.Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

Many in the crowd brandished signs and kitchen utensils and pushed shopping carts as they joined a march organized by Quebec’s farmers’ union.

The union, known by its French language acronym UPA, says Canada made “unprecedented” concessions in the dairy sector during negotiations for the USMCA deal.

President Marcel Groleau argued that producers in Quebec have to pay higher wages and meet higher environmental standards than those in the United States and Mexico.

He called on the Quebec and federal governments to support local products and make sure any new imports have to meet the same standards Quebec producers are bound by.

“The security of a nation depends first and foremost on its ability to feed itself,” he said.

Canadian dairy farmers stand to lose 3.59 per cent of their market to U.S. producers under the new trade deal, although the federal government has promised to compensate producers for their expected losses.

The marchers, many of whom were bused in from all over Quebec, stretched over several city blocks as they wound their way through Montreal’s downtown.

They later filled a public square in the city’s entertainment district, where booths were set up to hand out Quebec food products including apples and hot chocolate.