Dairy farmers in southwestern Ontario are outraged by what the Trans-Pacific Partnership could do to supply management in Canada.
Mark Stannard at Foxland Jersey Farm in Kingsville says, "The Trans-Pacific trade deal, if it were to open our markets (to the rest of the world), it erodes our domestic market, obviously. And that decreases the supply that they would need domestically. Then our system is in jeopardy."
He adds that the Canadian government's control of supply management to date has afforded dairy and poultry farmers steady, stable income.
In countries like New Zealand and in parts of Europe, where supply management has been lost, Stannard says farmers are losing money while prices to the consumer are rising.
Essex Liberal Candidate Audrey Festeryga, who opposes the TPP, met with dairy farmers in Kingsville yesterday to talk about their concerns heading into the election.
