Harper government should heed calls for freer trade in dairy, poultry
Vancouver Sun, Canada
Harper government should heed calls for freer trade in dairy, poultry
Abandoning protectionist policies will reduce consumer prices, analysts say
By Peter O’Neil, Vancouver Sun
17 November 2011
The Harper government should bite the political bullet and agree to start dismantling the controversial supply-management system for dairy, poultry and egg farmers to boost Canada’s access to robust Asia-Pacific markets, analysts said Wednesday.
The Harper government should bite the political bullet and agree to start dismantling the controversial supply-management system for dairy, poultry and egg farmers to boost Canada’s access to robust Asia-Pacific markets, analysts said Wednesday.
Their calls for trade liberalization in that sector came as Trade Minister Ed Fast continued to assure Parliament that the government won’t sacrifice those farmers to participate in Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade talks.
The analysts said a strong TPP deal, involving the U.S. and some key Asia-Pacific economies, is too important to be compromised by a controversial Canadian protectionist policy.
"While it may be awkward politically, Canada must be willing to revisit current supply-management arrangements," said Jock Finlayson, executive vice-president of the Business Council of B.C., which just produced a report underlining the importance of the Asia-Pacific region to the B.C. economy. "The supply-managed segments of agriculture should not be dictating the country’s trade policy."
Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced Sunday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hawaii that Canada is joining Japan in seeking participation in the TPP trade deal talks.
The current participants are the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and Brunei.
Opposition MPs have been hammering the government all week, saying it is prepared to abandon the sector.
But both Fast and Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said the Conservative government will stick to its 2011 campaign promise to protect the status quo.
The supply-management sys-tem sets production quotas for dairy, egg and poultry farmers while protecting them with import tariffs of well over 200 per cent, which acts to keep consumer prices in Canada far higher than in the U.S.
Fast, the MP for Abbotsford, said the government believes it can negotiate a successful deal, and meet the key objectives set out by other participating nations, while adhering to its campaign vow.
While there are only about 13,000 quota holders in Canada, they are considered politically influential in a number of ridings. They have also shown a willingness to bring their farm equipment to disrupt traffic on Parliament Hill.
Rick Barichello, of the University of B.C.’s faculty of land and food systems, said Wednesday it would cost taxpayers a staggering $25 billion to buy them out because of the soaring value of the quotas.
Yuen Pau Woo, president of the Vancouver-based Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, said dismantling supply management would be politically difficult but economically beneficial for Canada regardless of trade considerations, since it would reduce consumer prices for milk products, eggs and poultry.
"I think the government has to go into negotiations with supply management on the table. Otherwise it would not be a credible negotiation," Woo said.
