Election 2015 - Talking About Agriculture
Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2015 9:30 amElection 2015 - Talking About Agriculture
[ http://www.nfu.ca/policy/election-2015- ... griculture ]
During this federal election campaign, voters have the opportunity to speak with local federal election candidates about agriculture, farming and food. The National Farmers Union advocates on key policy issues from the perspective of family farmers. Our positions are put forward by grassroots members and adopted through a democratic process of debate and voting at national conventions. The following short summaries of critical issues are resources for your conversations with candidates.
For more detailed information, and information on additional topics, please see the rest of our website.The easiest way to do this is by typing your keyword into the “search” tool in the top right-hand corner of the screen. We have also compiled election-related resources from other organizations that you may find useful.
1. Grain Prices and Transportation
[ http://www.nfu.ca/policy/grain-prices-a ... sportation ]
The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) sold wheat, durum (pasta wheat) and barley for export and for human consumption within Canada on behalf of farmers, returning all proceeds less operating costs. It supplied Canadian millers and food processors, fairly and reliably.
When the “Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act” became law, it immediately dismissed the eight farmer-elected CWB directors, ended the single desk authority of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) on August 1, 2012, and compelled the government-appointed directors to privatize or liquidate the CWB’s assets by 2017. This spring the federal government gave the CWB to G3, a partnership of the multinational grain company, Bunge and the Saudi Arabian agriculture investment company SALIC, in
return for a promise that the new owners would invest $250 million in the company. (More below . . .)
2. Trade Agreements – CETA and the TPP
[ http://www.nfu.ca/policy/trade-agreemen ... ta-and-tpp ]
Canada has signed 12 international trade agreements, concluded but not signed, two and entered negotiations for nine more. The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) are multilateral (involve several countries) and extensive, dealing with most areas of the economy. These agreements are all negotiated in secret, with the details made public only after they are finalized. CETA has not yet been ratified, and TPP is still under negotiation.
While called trade agreements, these pacts are designed to limit the authority of national governments over their own economies and expand the scope and power of multinational corporations. Agriculture is always contentious in these negotiations, as many countries believe it is essential to ensure that their farmers can produce the food to feed their own populations. Often food carries important cultural values as well. The NFU is a member of La Via Campesina (LVC), the international organization of small farmers. In the early 1990s, LVC stood opposed to World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations around agriculture, called for the exemption of agriculture and food from talks, and proposed instead its new concept “Food Soveriegnty” as the proper guiding principle. Today, Food Sovereignty has been embraced around the world, including by the NFU. (More below . . .)
3. Supply Management
[ http://www.nfu.ca/policy/supply-management ]
Canada’s supply management system is an important institution that puts food sovereignty into action. Supply management ensures that Canadian consumers can get the chicken, turkey, eggs, milk and dairy products they require and that these are produced in Canada, avoiding shortages and waste due to excess production; that the farmers producing these commodities receive a fair price that covers their cost of production when they sell to dairy processors; and that Canada’s market is not destabilized by unregulated imports. Supply management is an institution that has made it possible for many small, diversified mixed family farms to remain viable during the continuing farm income crisis in Canada, without the need for government subsidy payments. It also provides predictable supplies of high-quality product to Canada’s food processing and retail sectors, which provides operational efficiency and reduces capital costs.
Today supply management, particularly for dairy, is faced with challenges from within and outside of Canada. Countries that produce surplus milk are pressuring Canada to allow them to sell into our market in an attempt to compensate for their product’s unsustainably low prices by increasing the volume sold. Within Canada, other industries (such as oil and gas) are urging Canada to use supply management as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations to gain concessions for their industries. (More below . . . )
= = =
1. Election 2015: Talking about Grain Prices and Transportation
[ http://www.nfu.ca/sites/www.nfu.ca/file ... 0Grain.pdf ]
Until August 1, 2012, the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) sold wheat, durum (pasta wheat) and barley for export and for human consumption within Canada on behalf of farmers, returning all proceeds less operating costs. It supplied Canadian millers and food processors fairly and reliably.
When the “Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act” became law, it immediately dismissed the eight farmer-elected CWB directors, ended the single desk authority of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) on August 1, 2012, and compelled the government-appointed directors to privatize or liquidate the CWB’s assets by 2017. This spring the federal government gave the CWB to G3, a partnership of the multinational grain company, Bunge and the Saudi Arabian agriculture investment company SALIC, in return for a promise that the new owners would invest $250 million in the company.
Agriculture Minister Ritz broke his election campaign promise that the CWB would not be changed without first holding a farmer vote. The CWB held a non-binding plebescite in which farmers clearly showed their support for the single desk, which the Minister also disregarded. Farmers initiated a legal action to challenge the government’s actions and recover losses caused by ending the single desk. The legal action is still underway.
Today, prairie farmers must sell directly to grain companies, a sector dominated by three giant multinationals: Cargill, Viterra (now owned by Glencore) and Richardson International. These companies buy low (from farmer) and sell high (on the world market). Their profits are enhanced by increasing the margin (the gap between buying and selling price) and volume sold. In contrast, the single desk CWB maximized returns to farmers by developing and serving premium markets that would pay high prices for Canadian wheat. Since 2012, farmers’ prices have dropped to 60% or less than what they would have been if the CWB was still operating, which has taken as much as $7 billion out of Canada’s economy so far.
When the single-desk CWB was selling prairie grain, its audited financial statements were presented to Parliament every year. No financial information has been released since the single desk ended. The private grain trade does not reveal export price information, so there is no longer any meaningful price transparency.
Unlike individual farmers, the single-desk CWB had status as a “shipper” under the Canadian Transportation Act. It could (and did) advocate for farmers to obtain proper service from the railways.
The CWB also coordinated grain shipments from the country elevators right through to the loading of sea-going vessels. Without its coordination, bottlenecks and inefficiencies seriously hamper movement of the crop. International customers are unhappy with the poor service, and the costs of delays are offloaded to farmers through reduced prices. Grain companies take advantage of the situation by charging excess basis (an arbitrary discount on prices) to farmers, while railways lobby for an end to the Revenue Cap (regulated, but profitable, limits on grain freight rates). Railways and grain companies give priority to their most profitable routes and customers, resulting in poor service and worse prices for the rest.
The Canadian Grain Commission, established in 1912, looks out for farmers’ interests by upholding the Canada Grain Act. In 2012 the Act was changed to eliminate inward inspection, a method of ensuring grain companies did not cheat farmers by downgrading grain in the countryside then selling it as high-grade grain to export customers. Additional major amendments detrimental to farmers’ interests were proposed in 2015 in Bill C-48, which died on the order paper when the election was called.
These changes to the grain transportation and marketing system have been very costly to farmers, rural residents, the Canadian economy and purchasers (domestic and international) of Canadian wheat and barley.
What will the next federal government do to improve the grain transportation and marketing system so that it better serves farmers, rural communities, our food system and the Canadian economy?
For more information:
The NFU Election 2015 series - [ http://www.nfu.ca/policy/election-2015- ... griculture ]
NFU website CWB page - [ http://www.nfu.ca/issues/canadian-wheat-board ]
Summary of farmers legal action - [ http://www.cwbafacts.ca/constitutional-and-classaction/ ]
Calculation of farmers’ losses to grain companies -
[ http://www.cwbafacts.ca/2015/02/grain-c ... m-farmers/ ]
NFU brief to CTA on Rail Transportation -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/policy/nfu-response-c ... sportation ]
NFU media release on end of inward inspection -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/story/changes-cgc-rol ... n-says-nfu ]
Key points about Bill C-48’s changes to CGC -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/policy/bill-c-48-act- ... key-points ]
= = =
2. Election 2015: Talking about Trade Agreements and Agriculture
[ http://www.nfu.ca/sites/www.nfu.ca/file ... 0Trade.pdf ]
Canada has signed 12 international trade agreements, concluded but not yet signed two, and entered negotiations for nine more. The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) are multilateral (involve several countries) and extensive, dealing with most areas of the economy. Others are bilateral, such as the proposed Comprehensive and High‐Level Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan. These agreements are negotiated in secret, with details made public only after they are finalized. CETA has not yet been ratified, and TPP is still under negotiation.
While called trade agreements, these pacts are designed to limit the authority of national governments over their own economies and expand the scope and power of multinational corporations. Agriculture is always contentious in these negotiations, as many countries believe it is essential to ensure that their own farmers can produce the food to feed their people. Often food carries important cultural values as well. The NFU is a member of La Via Campesina (LVC), the international organization of small farmers. In the early 1990s, LVC stood opposed to World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations around agriculture, called for the exemption of agriculture and food from talks, and proposed instead its new concept “Food Sovereignty” as the proper guiding principle. Today, Food Sovereignty has been embraced around the world, including by the NFU.
Many groups have highlighted the anti-democratic nature of trade agreements, particularly Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, which enable corporations to sue governments for compensation if new laws limit the company’s future profits. ISDS has become so contentious in Europe that some observers believe the issue could prevent ratification of CETA and the TTIP, a similar deal between the EU and the USA.
The NFU has pointed out that CETA does not benefit beef and hog producers as claimed by government, and the harm to the dairy sector that would result from allowing increased EU cheese imports is significant. CETA, combined with Canada's new, restrictive UPOV '91 compliant seed law, would enable the courts to impose draconian and unjust measures against farmers accused of infringing on Plant Breeders' Rights.
As the most recent round of TPP negotiations concluded in July, Canada’s representatives made a major concession on dairy tariffs – details are secret of course – in spite its promise that keeping supply management was a priority.
Trade agreements are promoted on the grounds that they will open markets for Canadian producers. However, at the same time, they open Canada’s markets for other countries. Most small and medium-sized businesses do not have the capacity to do overseas marketing. Thus, growth in trade will be accomplished by multinational corporations occupying economic space in both trade-agreement countries at the expense of each country’s home-grown local, regional and national-scale enterprises. For farmers, this means that agribusiness corporations can seek out the lowest-cost provider of commodities, pitting farmer against farmer around the world, with prices spiralling ever downward. Compounding this problem, food processing is increasingly done countries with weak (or no) labour protection laws. This puts downward pressure on workers' wages, and shifts production of perishable agriculture products (such as fruit, vegetables and meat) away from Canada. Current agriculture/trade policies accelerate globalization while stalling food sovereignty.
The NFU calls for international relations based on mutual respect for the whole of each society, trade that is conducted fairly without destroying the cultural and economic institutions people have built, and people having a real say in the economic choices that affect their lives.
Will the next federal government develop a national food and agriculture policy that reflects the values of food sovereignty instead of pursuing the ever-tightening noose of corporate control embodied in the Free Trade Agreements?
For more information:
NFU web page on CETA - [ http://www.nfu.ca/issues/canada-eu-comp ... -agreement ]
NFU Brief on proposed trade agreement with Japan -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/story/proposed-compre ... ment-japan ]
NFU Brief to Senate Ag Committee on International Trade Priorities -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/story/nfu-brief-senat ... iorities-0 ]
NFU Brief to House of Commons Ag Committee on Agricultural Impacts of CETA -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/story/agricultural-impacts-ceta ]
NFU Fact Sheet on CETA - [ http://www.nfu.ca/story/fact-sheet-will ... ers-canada ]
NFU web page about UPOV ’91 seed law - [ http://www.nfu.ca/issues/save-our-seed ]
NFU Fact Sheet on Seed and CETA -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/sites/www.nfu.ca/files/CETA and C-18 Fact Sheet - June 2014.pdf ]
NFU Brief on Growing Forward 2 -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/story/growing-forward ... y-says-nfu ]
= = = = =
3. Election 2015: Talking about Supply Management
[ http://www.nfu.ca/sites/www.nfu.ca/file ... gement.pdf ]
Canada’s supply management system is an important institution that puts food sovereignty into action. Supply management ensures that Canadian consumers can get the chicken, turkey, eggs, milk and dairy products they require and that these are produced in Canada, avoiding shortages and waste due to excess production; that the farmers producing these commodities receive a fair price that covers their cost of production when they sell to dairy processors; and that Canada’s market is not destabilized by unregulated imports. Supply management is an institution that has made it possible for many small, diversified mixed family farms to remain viable during the continuing farm income crisis in Canada, without the need for government subsidy payments. It also provides predictable supplies of high-quality product to Canada’s food processing and retail sectors, which provides operational efficiency and reduces capital costs.
Today supply management, particularly for dairy, is faced with challenges from within and outside of Canada. Countries that produce surplus milk are pressuring Canada to allow them to sell into our market in an attempt to compensate for their product’s unsustainably low prices by increasing the volume sold. Within Canada, other industries (such as oil and gas), and sadly, some agriculture sectors, are urging Canada to use supply management as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations to gain concessions for their industries and commodities.
Supply managed sectors are economically stable, in contrast with pork and beef, which are subject to price volatility and currency fluctuations that trigger government safety-net payments. We would encourage trading partners to adopt their own supply management systems modelled after Canada’s and adapted to their own domestic situations instead of seeking to prop up their dairy sectors at the expense of Canadian farmers and their communities.
To conclude the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), Canada gave the EU an additional 5 percent of our cheese market, bringing Europe’s total share of our market to 9%. If CETA is ratified, this concession will shrink Canada’s total dairy market, taking away income from our farmers and all who work in related food processing and supporting businesses. The federal government promises to compensate dairy farmers for these losses, but if it honors that promise tax revenues will have to be used to replace money EU dairy take out of our economy.
Supply managed sectors are valuable elements of Canada’s economy and form a stable foundation for many rural communities while ensuring Canadian consumers can rely on a safe, wholesome, steady supply of dairy products.
Will the next federal government resist international and corporate pressure and instead promote and strengthen Canada's supply management system?
For more information:
Op Ed by Jan Slomp, NFU President - Conference Board of Canada’s ideas for changing Supply Management are ill conceived and self-serving - [ http://www.nfu.ca/story/op-ed-conferenc ... nd-self-se ]
Media release - The NFU Rejects Completely Martha Hall-Findlay’s Anti-Supply Management Report -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/story/nfu-rejects-com ... ent-report ]
Dairy Farmers of Canada - [ http://www.milkledowneffect.ca/ ]
NFU Brief to House of Commons Ag Committee - Agricultural Impacts of CETA -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/story/agricultural-impacts-ceta ]
Op Ed by Randall Affleck, NFU Board member - Proudly Canadian: Viable, Modern Dairy Sector -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/story/op-ed-proudly-c ... iry-sector ]
[ http://www.nfu.ca/policy/election-2015- ... griculture ]
During this federal election campaign, voters have the opportunity to speak with local federal election candidates about agriculture, farming and food. The National Farmers Union advocates on key policy issues from the perspective of family farmers. Our positions are put forward by grassroots members and adopted through a democratic process of debate and voting at national conventions. The following short summaries of critical issues are resources for your conversations with candidates.
For more detailed information, and information on additional topics, please see the rest of our website.The easiest way to do this is by typing your keyword into the “search” tool in the top right-hand corner of the screen. We have also compiled election-related resources from other organizations that you may find useful.
1. Grain Prices and Transportation
[ http://www.nfu.ca/policy/grain-prices-a ... sportation ]
The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) sold wheat, durum (pasta wheat) and barley for export and for human consumption within Canada on behalf of farmers, returning all proceeds less operating costs. It supplied Canadian millers and food processors, fairly and reliably.
When the “Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act” became law, it immediately dismissed the eight farmer-elected CWB directors, ended the single desk authority of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) on August 1, 2012, and compelled the government-appointed directors to privatize or liquidate the CWB’s assets by 2017. This spring the federal government gave the CWB to G3, a partnership of the multinational grain company, Bunge and the Saudi Arabian agriculture investment company SALIC, in
return for a promise that the new owners would invest $250 million in the company. (More below . . .)
2. Trade Agreements – CETA and the TPP
[ http://www.nfu.ca/policy/trade-agreemen ... ta-and-tpp ]
Canada has signed 12 international trade agreements, concluded but not signed, two and entered negotiations for nine more. The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) are multilateral (involve several countries) and extensive, dealing with most areas of the economy. These agreements are all negotiated in secret, with the details made public only after they are finalized. CETA has not yet been ratified, and TPP is still under negotiation.
While called trade agreements, these pacts are designed to limit the authority of national governments over their own economies and expand the scope and power of multinational corporations. Agriculture is always contentious in these negotiations, as many countries believe it is essential to ensure that their farmers can produce the food to feed their own populations. Often food carries important cultural values as well. The NFU is a member of La Via Campesina (LVC), the international organization of small farmers. In the early 1990s, LVC stood opposed to World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations around agriculture, called for the exemption of agriculture and food from talks, and proposed instead its new concept “Food Soveriegnty” as the proper guiding principle. Today, Food Sovereignty has been embraced around the world, including by the NFU. (More below . . .)
3. Supply Management
[ http://www.nfu.ca/policy/supply-management ]
Canada’s supply management system is an important institution that puts food sovereignty into action. Supply management ensures that Canadian consumers can get the chicken, turkey, eggs, milk and dairy products they require and that these are produced in Canada, avoiding shortages and waste due to excess production; that the farmers producing these commodities receive a fair price that covers their cost of production when they sell to dairy processors; and that Canada’s market is not destabilized by unregulated imports. Supply management is an institution that has made it possible for many small, diversified mixed family farms to remain viable during the continuing farm income crisis in Canada, without the need for government subsidy payments. It also provides predictable supplies of high-quality product to Canada’s food processing and retail sectors, which provides operational efficiency and reduces capital costs.
Today supply management, particularly for dairy, is faced with challenges from within and outside of Canada. Countries that produce surplus milk are pressuring Canada to allow them to sell into our market in an attempt to compensate for their product’s unsustainably low prices by increasing the volume sold. Within Canada, other industries (such as oil and gas) are urging Canada to use supply management as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations to gain concessions for their industries. (More below . . . )
= = =
1. Election 2015: Talking about Grain Prices and Transportation
[ http://www.nfu.ca/sites/www.nfu.ca/file ... 0Grain.pdf ]
Until August 1, 2012, the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) sold wheat, durum (pasta wheat) and barley for export and for human consumption within Canada on behalf of farmers, returning all proceeds less operating costs. It supplied Canadian millers and food processors fairly and reliably.
When the “Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act” became law, it immediately dismissed the eight farmer-elected CWB directors, ended the single desk authority of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) on August 1, 2012, and compelled the government-appointed directors to privatize or liquidate the CWB’s assets by 2017. This spring the federal government gave the CWB to G3, a partnership of the multinational grain company, Bunge and the Saudi Arabian agriculture investment company SALIC, in return for a promise that the new owners would invest $250 million in the company.
Agriculture Minister Ritz broke his election campaign promise that the CWB would not be changed without first holding a farmer vote. The CWB held a non-binding plebescite in which farmers clearly showed their support for the single desk, which the Minister also disregarded. Farmers initiated a legal action to challenge the government’s actions and recover losses caused by ending the single desk. The legal action is still underway.
Today, prairie farmers must sell directly to grain companies, a sector dominated by three giant multinationals: Cargill, Viterra (now owned by Glencore) and Richardson International. These companies buy low (from farmer) and sell high (on the world market). Their profits are enhanced by increasing the margin (the gap between buying and selling price) and volume sold. In contrast, the single desk CWB maximized returns to farmers by developing and serving premium markets that would pay high prices for Canadian wheat. Since 2012, farmers’ prices have dropped to 60% or less than what they would have been if the CWB was still operating, which has taken as much as $7 billion out of Canada’s economy so far.
When the single-desk CWB was selling prairie grain, its audited financial statements were presented to Parliament every year. No financial information has been released since the single desk ended. The private grain trade does not reveal export price information, so there is no longer any meaningful price transparency.
Unlike individual farmers, the single-desk CWB had status as a “shipper” under the Canadian Transportation Act. It could (and did) advocate for farmers to obtain proper service from the railways.
The CWB also coordinated grain shipments from the country elevators right through to the loading of sea-going vessels. Without its coordination, bottlenecks and inefficiencies seriously hamper movement of the crop. International customers are unhappy with the poor service, and the costs of delays are offloaded to farmers through reduced prices. Grain companies take advantage of the situation by charging excess basis (an arbitrary discount on prices) to farmers, while railways lobby for an end to the Revenue Cap (regulated, but profitable, limits on grain freight rates). Railways and grain companies give priority to their most profitable routes and customers, resulting in poor service and worse prices for the rest.
The Canadian Grain Commission, established in 1912, looks out for farmers’ interests by upholding the Canada Grain Act. In 2012 the Act was changed to eliminate inward inspection, a method of ensuring grain companies did not cheat farmers by downgrading grain in the countryside then selling it as high-grade grain to export customers. Additional major amendments detrimental to farmers’ interests were proposed in 2015 in Bill C-48, which died on the order paper when the election was called.
These changes to the grain transportation and marketing system have been very costly to farmers, rural residents, the Canadian economy and purchasers (domestic and international) of Canadian wheat and barley.
What will the next federal government do to improve the grain transportation and marketing system so that it better serves farmers, rural communities, our food system and the Canadian economy?
For more information:
The NFU Election 2015 series - [ http://www.nfu.ca/policy/election-2015- ... griculture ]
NFU website CWB page - [ http://www.nfu.ca/issues/canadian-wheat-board ]
Summary of farmers legal action - [ http://www.cwbafacts.ca/constitutional-and-classaction/ ]
Calculation of farmers’ losses to grain companies -
[ http://www.cwbafacts.ca/2015/02/grain-c ... m-farmers/ ]
NFU brief to CTA on Rail Transportation -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/policy/nfu-response-c ... sportation ]
NFU media release on end of inward inspection -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/story/changes-cgc-rol ... n-says-nfu ]
Key points about Bill C-48’s changes to CGC -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/policy/bill-c-48-act- ... key-points ]
= = =
2. Election 2015: Talking about Trade Agreements and Agriculture
[ http://www.nfu.ca/sites/www.nfu.ca/file ... 0Trade.pdf ]
Canada has signed 12 international trade agreements, concluded but not yet signed two, and entered negotiations for nine more. The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) are multilateral (involve several countries) and extensive, dealing with most areas of the economy. Others are bilateral, such as the proposed Comprehensive and High‐Level Economic Partnership Agreement with Japan. These agreements are negotiated in secret, with details made public only after they are finalized. CETA has not yet been ratified, and TPP is still under negotiation.
While called trade agreements, these pacts are designed to limit the authority of national governments over their own economies and expand the scope and power of multinational corporations. Agriculture is always contentious in these negotiations, as many countries believe it is essential to ensure that their own farmers can produce the food to feed their people. Often food carries important cultural values as well. The NFU is a member of La Via Campesina (LVC), the international organization of small farmers. In the early 1990s, LVC stood opposed to World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations around agriculture, called for the exemption of agriculture and food from talks, and proposed instead its new concept “Food Sovereignty” as the proper guiding principle. Today, Food Sovereignty has been embraced around the world, including by the NFU.
Many groups have highlighted the anti-democratic nature of trade agreements, particularly Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanisms, which enable corporations to sue governments for compensation if new laws limit the company’s future profits. ISDS has become so contentious in Europe that some observers believe the issue could prevent ratification of CETA and the TTIP, a similar deal between the EU and the USA.
The NFU has pointed out that CETA does not benefit beef and hog producers as claimed by government, and the harm to the dairy sector that would result from allowing increased EU cheese imports is significant. CETA, combined with Canada's new, restrictive UPOV '91 compliant seed law, would enable the courts to impose draconian and unjust measures against farmers accused of infringing on Plant Breeders' Rights.
As the most recent round of TPP negotiations concluded in July, Canada’s representatives made a major concession on dairy tariffs – details are secret of course – in spite its promise that keeping supply management was a priority.
Trade agreements are promoted on the grounds that they will open markets for Canadian producers. However, at the same time, they open Canada’s markets for other countries. Most small and medium-sized businesses do not have the capacity to do overseas marketing. Thus, growth in trade will be accomplished by multinational corporations occupying economic space in both trade-agreement countries at the expense of each country’s home-grown local, regional and national-scale enterprises. For farmers, this means that agribusiness corporations can seek out the lowest-cost provider of commodities, pitting farmer against farmer around the world, with prices spiralling ever downward. Compounding this problem, food processing is increasingly done countries with weak (or no) labour protection laws. This puts downward pressure on workers' wages, and shifts production of perishable agriculture products (such as fruit, vegetables and meat) away from Canada. Current agriculture/trade policies accelerate globalization while stalling food sovereignty.
The NFU calls for international relations based on mutual respect for the whole of each society, trade that is conducted fairly without destroying the cultural and economic institutions people have built, and people having a real say in the economic choices that affect their lives.
Will the next federal government develop a national food and agriculture policy that reflects the values of food sovereignty instead of pursuing the ever-tightening noose of corporate control embodied in the Free Trade Agreements?
For more information:
NFU web page on CETA - [ http://www.nfu.ca/issues/canada-eu-comp ... -agreement ]
NFU Brief on proposed trade agreement with Japan -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/story/proposed-compre ... ment-japan ]
NFU Brief to Senate Ag Committee on International Trade Priorities -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/story/nfu-brief-senat ... iorities-0 ]
NFU Brief to House of Commons Ag Committee on Agricultural Impacts of CETA -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/story/agricultural-impacts-ceta ]
NFU Fact Sheet on CETA - [ http://www.nfu.ca/story/fact-sheet-will ... ers-canada ]
NFU web page about UPOV ’91 seed law - [ http://www.nfu.ca/issues/save-our-seed ]
NFU Fact Sheet on Seed and CETA -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/sites/www.nfu.ca/files/CETA and C-18 Fact Sheet - June 2014.pdf ]
NFU Brief on Growing Forward 2 -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/story/growing-forward ... y-says-nfu ]
= = = = =
3. Election 2015: Talking about Supply Management
[ http://www.nfu.ca/sites/www.nfu.ca/file ... gement.pdf ]
Canada’s supply management system is an important institution that puts food sovereignty into action. Supply management ensures that Canadian consumers can get the chicken, turkey, eggs, milk and dairy products they require and that these are produced in Canada, avoiding shortages and waste due to excess production; that the farmers producing these commodities receive a fair price that covers their cost of production when they sell to dairy processors; and that Canada’s market is not destabilized by unregulated imports. Supply management is an institution that has made it possible for many small, diversified mixed family farms to remain viable during the continuing farm income crisis in Canada, without the need for government subsidy payments. It also provides predictable supplies of high-quality product to Canada’s food processing and retail sectors, which provides operational efficiency and reduces capital costs.
Today supply management, particularly for dairy, is faced with challenges from within and outside of Canada. Countries that produce surplus milk are pressuring Canada to allow them to sell into our market in an attempt to compensate for their product’s unsustainably low prices by increasing the volume sold. Within Canada, other industries (such as oil and gas), and sadly, some agriculture sectors, are urging Canada to use supply management as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations to gain concessions for their industries and commodities.
Supply managed sectors are economically stable, in contrast with pork and beef, which are subject to price volatility and currency fluctuations that trigger government safety-net payments. We would encourage trading partners to adopt their own supply management systems modelled after Canada’s and adapted to their own domestic situations instead of seeking to prop up their dairy sectors at the expense of Canadian farmers and their communities.
To conclude the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), Canada gave the EU an additional 5 percent of our cheese market, bringing Europe’s total share of our market to 9%. If CETA is ratified, this concession will shrink Canada’s total dairy market, taking away income from our farmers and all who work in related food processing and supporting businesses. The federal government promises to compensate dairy farmers for these losses, but if it honors that promise tax revenues will have to be used to replace money EU dairy take out of our economy.
Supply managed sectors are valuable elements of Canada’s economy and form a stable foundation for many rural communities while ensuring Canadian consumers can rely on a safe, wholesome, steady supply of dairy products.
Will the next federal government resist international and corporate pressure and instead promote and strengthen Canada's supply management system?
For more information:
Op Ed by Jan Slomp, NFU President - Conference Board of Canada’s ideas for changing Supply Management are ill conceived and self-serving - [ http://www.nfu.ca/story/op-ed-conferenc ... nd-self-se ]
Media release - The NFU Rejects Completely Martha Hall-Findlay’s Anti-Supply Management Report -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/story/nfu-rejects-com ... ent-report ]
Dairy Farmers of Canada - [ http://www.milkledowneffect.ca/ ]
NFU Brief to House of Commons Ag Committee - Agricultural Impacts of CETA -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/story/agricultural-impacts-ceta ]
Op Ed by Randall Affleck, NFU Board member - Proudly Canadian: Viable, Modern Dairy Sector -
[ http://www.nfu.ca/story/op-ed-proudly-c ... iry-sector ]