Premier Kathleen Wynne and Jeff Leal, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and Minister Responsible for Small Business, released the following statement in support of Ontario dairy farmers and processors:
"The supply-management system allows hard-working Ontario farmers and processors to consistently meet the demand for safe, high-quality products for Ontario and Canadian consumers. Our government continues to strongly support the integrity of Canada's supply-management system, both nationally and in Ontario, which has served producers, processors and consumers well for almost half a century.
We commend Ambassador David MacNaughton and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for their support of supply management and the mutual benefit of the existing dairy trade with our U.S. partners.
Ontario is the biggest customer of 20 states, and the second-largest of eight more. New York and Wisconsin have Ontario as their biggest customer, with Ontario-New York trade totalling $24.8 billion and Ontario-Wisconsin trade totalling $8.2 billion in 2015. Both states enjoy a trade surplus with Ontario, which supports hundreds of thousands of good jobs on both sides of the border. The agri-food sector is a fundamental driver of the shared economic prosperity of Ontarians, New Yorkers and Wisconsinites, with more than $28.8 billion exchanged in Ontario-U.S. agri-food trade in 2016 alone.
Today, Ontario wrote a letter to Governors Cuomo and Walker underscoring the value of this economic partnership and the good jobs it creates on both sides of the border.
Our partnership with the United States is based on mutual respect and economic benefit. We will continue to closely monitor trade relations between Ontario and the United States and will stand up for the interests of Ontario farmers and processors every time."
Source: Ontario