Protect supply management, dairy farmers urge PM

Nova Scotia dairy farmers are worried the prime minister might be putting supply management on the table in NAFTA negotiations.

On Sunday during an appearance on NBC’S Meet the Press, Justin Trudeau suggested Canada was considering allowing U.S. dairy products greater access to the Canadian market as part of the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

This prompted the Dairy Farmers of Canada to send a stronglyworded letter to Trudeau on Monday. The Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia will ask producers in the province to contact their MPS.

Supply management, a system that has been in place since the 1970s, protects producers of dairy, eggs and poultry by curbing the import of foreign products through tariffs. It also prevents overproduction by imposing quotas.

The system has been a thorny issue during various trade negotiations, including this round of NAFTA talks. Critics argue it increases the cost of milk products for consumers and inhibits competition. Supporters of supply management maintain that it does not affect prices in a significant way, that it benefits the Canadian economy — especially in rural areas — and that it benefits consumers who are getting a more local product that meets high standards.

Brian Cameron is the general manager of Dairy Farmers of Nova Scotia, the province’s milk marketing board.

Cameron said farmers are spooked by the statement, especially in light of what he said is a trend toward giving away access to Canada’s market in recent trade negotiations.

As part of its World Trade Organization commitments, Can- ada already imports about five per cent of its cheese and five per cent of its butter from other nations. Cameron pointed to the 2016 CETA deal, in which Canada increased access to its market for European cheese producers by another four per cent. The TransPacific Partnership agreement, also signed in 2016, saw additional access equal

to three per cent of Canada’s total milk supply.

“It’s a real concern for our industry but also we think for Canadians, because there’s merit in having our farmers feed our population.”

Cameron said allowing foreign access undermines the supply management system, gives less business to Canadian farmers, and breeds uncertainty in the industry.

“This is the first indication that we’ve had that this government is at all considering including dairy access under NAFTA, because dairy was exempt when NAFTA was originally set out,” he said.

“The agriculture minister has said he supports supply management, but giving additional access for dairy or any other commodity at the trade table is harmful. How can you say you support something if you turn around and hurt it?”

Though Nova Scotia only has about 210 licenced dairy farmers, who produce around two per cent of the Canadian supply, Cameron said it’s a big part of the agricultural economy, as well as many rural economies.

On top of that, Cameron said dairy makes up close to 40 per cent of the value of agricultural production, and if you add in other supply managed industries, that figure is close to 50 per cent.

Cumberland- Colchester MP Bill Casey agrees.

“To lose supply management, I feel, would have a huge impact on the province of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, and even more in the rural areas,” he said.