The U.S. maintains a large surplus in dairy trade with Canada.
Actually, this isn’t a myth, but it is extremely misleading. It is a useful soundbite for supporters and politicians. Between 2010 and 2016, U.S. exports into Canada of ultra-filtered milk did indeed…
Supply management “protects” the family farm.
This is sheer nonsense. In Canada, the rate of consolidation has actually been higher in the supply-managed dairy, poultry and egg sectors than in most other agricultural sectors. Whereas in the 1970s…
Supply management helps “Canadian agriculture.”
Wrong again. It actually hurts the majority of Canadian farmers, including beef, pork, grain, oilseed and pulse producers, who would benefit from more global trade – many of whom right now are…
It doesn’t affect Canada’s trade negotiations – see how many trade deals we’ve signed?
Of course we have signed trade deals, but in protecting supply management we have always had to sacrifice on other things. As is abundantly clear with the U.S. right now, every trade…
The dairy and poultry industries in Canada will not survive without supply management.
Not only do all the other agriculture industries in Canada manage just fine without supply management, it is possible for an industry to transition away from heavy protection and for it to…
Without supply management, we’ll get U.S. milk produced with growth hormones.
For the recent Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) trade deal with the European Union, Europe insisted that beef coming from Canada be extra-hormone-free, and we are meeting that requirement. There is…
We can’t compete with our colder climate.
It defies logic to claim that the climate in southern Quebec is different from immediately across the border in New York or Vermont. Note that most of the major dairy state of…
There are no export opportunities; the global milk market is suffering a major glut.
As with all commodities, global prices fluctuate. There has been a recent slowdown, due to a number of factors, including a Russian ban on dairy imports from various countries and the discontinuation…
Putting a price on pollution is a new, untested idea
Pollution pricing and carbon pricing are proven ideas that have worked for decades. The U.S. reduced pollution that causes acid rain by 34% in 14 years by putting a price on it.…
Only very high carbon prices are effective
People and businesses respond to price changes-even low ones. B.C.’s carbon tax, which grew from $10 to $35 per tonne over 10 years, has lowered both per-capita gasoline and natural gas use…
