Senate guts supply management bill, angering Quebec separatists
‘We need to exclude supply management from all future trade concessions,’ said Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet, noting President-elect Donald Trump is ‘very aggressive’ on protectionism.
The Senate rewrote a controversial supply-chain bill barring Canadian dairy, eggs and poultry from free trade agreements. Conservative amendments make the bill untenable for Québec separatists, who advocated for protectionist ideals.
The Bloc Québécois promised the Trudeau government a confidence-and-supply agreement after the NDP repudiated their partnership deal on September 4.
Among their priorities included passing Bill C-282, An Act To Amend The Department Of Foreign Affairs Act, which would enshrine dairy, poultry and egg quotas as non-negotiable in future trade talks.
“I disagree with it in principle,” said Senator Peter Harder, who suggested the Senate amend the bill to reflect supply trade management, not trade policy.
“We need to de-risk this bill,” he said. It passed the foreign affairs committee by a 10-3 vote, reported Blacklock’s Reporter.
Among those in favour included Peter Boehm, the committee chair, who most recently called out partisan pressure by the Liberals.
“The Committee, part of an independent chamber of Parliament, will continue, as it has, to conduct a fair, balanced and timely study of this consequential — and highly-politicized — legislation,” he wrote the Trudeau government last month.
Since it did not become law by October 29, the Bloc initiated discussions with other opposition parties to bring down the government. Those talks have stalled as well.
Yves-François Blanchet, the Bloc leader, considered the rewrites a “stab in the back” to Canadian dairy, poultry and egg farmers.
Though quota permit holders support the bill, a litany of beef and grain producers oppose protectionist measures on the sector.
Blanchet told reporters the change effectively kills the intent of the bill, noting a greater sense of urgency amid the election of Donald Trump as president.
“Americans have just elected a president who, of his own admission, is promising to be very aggressive in matters of protectionism and to be very aggressive in renegotiating the Canada-U.S.-Mexico free trade agreement,” he said Thursday.
“We therefore need to exclude supply management from all future trade concessions.”
Agricultural exports have nearly doubled since the Liberals first formed government in 2015.
International Trade Minister Mary Ng, who wrote the Senate twice last month for updates on C-282, said their intention moving forward is to protect dairy, egg and poultry quotas.
“We’ve been very clear that the supply-managed sector is a sector we will protect in future negotiations,” she iterates.
Producers in supply managed sectors have complained that recent trade negotiations intensify fears over its future.
Meanwhile, trade negotiators and farming groups warned protectionism serves to harm other sectors of the Canadian economy, with CUSMA set for its first review in 2026.
It would exempt 37 trade agreements either in force, in renegotiation or in exploratory discussions.
Bill C-282, as amended, will likely be debated and voted on in the Senate later this month. If Senators do not reject the amendment completely, it will return to the House of Commons for reconsideration.
Blanchet remains confident that the Upper House will reject the rewrites. If not, it could intensify early election talks that the New Democrats have shown no interest in supporting to date.
Even if the bill passes in its original form, the separatist leader said it does not guarantee the Bloc will support the otherwise floundering Trudeau government.
Alex Dhaliwal
Calgary Based Journalist
Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.
COMMENTS
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Bruce Atchison commented 2024-11-09 16:38:14 -0500We must get rid of ALL marketing boards. It’s a Soviet-style way of doing business. It’s cost consumers millions in higher than necessary prices. Let the free market decide, not overpaid bureaucrats who are clueless about how farming works. Subsidies create reliance in a most unhealthy way.
