Five Canadian associations provide an op-ed article describing the need to protect small farm businesses.
An op-ed from Egg Farmers of Canada, Dairy Farmers of Canada, Chicken Farmers of Canada, Turkey Farmers of Canada, and the Canadian Hatching Egg Producers.
Canada is an attractive trading partner for many nations. Arguing that countries would abandon trade talks simply because we aim to protect our domestic dairy, poultry, and egg sectors is unsupported rhetoric.
Comprehensive trade deals are just that—comprehensive. Turning supply management, and the livelihoods of our farmers and rural communities, into a scapegoat does our nation a great disservice.
Trade laws and policies are in place to balance the needs of all sectors, and this is precisely what Bill C-282 aims to accomplish.
Canada has negotiated 15 trade deals and only the last three agreements have required negotiators to concede market access on our domestic supply-managed sectors. This track record demonstrates that safeguarding supply management does not hinder Canada's ability to secure beneficial trade deals, nor does it imply that Bill C-282 would hold the entire Canadian economy hostage. Instead, this important bill provides a clear negotiating stance that can expedite other trade talks and yield positive results for a broad range of Canadian sectors.
With geopolitical tensions growing and international supply chain vulnerability fresh in our minds, it is even more important today to shore up Canada’s access to essential food items to feed our growing population and this is central to the mission of the supply-managed sectors.
Internationally, there is growing recognition that countries must take into account their national circumstances and the need for measures that support farmers and their domestic rural communities.
In fact, the World Farmers’ Organization, which brings together farmers’ organizations and agricultural cooperatives from all over the world, recognizes the role of orderly marketing and supply management in their trade policy.
To put that into perspective, farmers from all over the world have agreed that the optimal trade outcomes are achieved by keeping a balance between export-oriented and domestic sectors.
Outside of providing a steady stream of high-quality food, the supply-managed sectors create the equivalent of 339,000 full-time jobs across Canada and contribute $30.1 billion to our GDP as well as $5.95 billion per year in tax revenues.
This economic impact is good for everyone. And with the vast majority of Canada’s nearly 15,000 farms being family-run businesses set in rural locations – versus the large farms we see more and more in the US—protecting supply management with Bill C-282 is also a direct way to preserve the Canadian way of life.
Farmers believe that all individuals and families should have reliable access to safe and nutritious food. Supply management ensures that Canadians have access to a steady supply of high-quality, locally produced dairy, poultry and egg products, produced right here within our borders, by Canadian farmers that follow rigorous standards in animal welfare and food safety.
Let’s keep putting Canadian self-sufficiency first and take supply management off the table.
[signed]
David Wiens, President, Dairy Farmers of Canada
Roger Pelissero, Chair, Egg Farmers of Canada
Tim Klompmaker, Chair, Chicken Farmers of Canada
Darren Ference, Chair, Turkey Farmers of Canada
Brian Bilkes, Chair, Canadian Hatching Egg Producers