Dairy News
Canadian dairy farmers protest trade deals
Thursday, 02/06/2016Ottawa, June 2, 2016 : Hundreds of dairy farmers, with tractors and cows in tow, marched on Canada's parliament Thursday to protest trade deals they fear will eat away at their closely-guarded domestic market share.
The protestors want the government to compensate farmers if it ratifies trade deals with the European Union and the Asia-Pacific region.
They also decried the tariff-free import of a milk protein known as diafiltered milk from the United States, for use primarily in cheese. This cost Canadian producers about Can$220 million (US$168 million) last year, according to Dairy Farmers of Canada.
The two trade deals could deal an additional Can$400 million hit.
"To ensure the continued sustainability of the supply management system, the government needs to work with us to tackle these challenges head on," Dairy Farmers of Canada president Wally Smith said.
The dairy farmers have refused to cede their supply managed industry, in which marketing boards control price and supply is restricted through domestic production quotas and high import tariffs.
The previous Tory administration had negotiated a more than Can$4 billion package for farmers negatively affected by the Trans-Pacific Partnership or EU trade deals last year.
But it was not approved before October elections that brought a change in government and the new Liberal government has been mum on the matter.
Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay said Thursday the new government aims to help modernize Canada's dairy industry and ensure that it thrives "in an ever-changing global economy."
The Tories, now in opposition, have called for a gradual phasing out of the supply managed system.
"In order to satisfy one small but powerful lobby, we restrict the development of thousands of other farming businesses across the country," Tory leadership hopeful Maxime Bernier said.