The bill is scheduled to have its third vote in the House of Commons on June 21
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
An ag organization with multiple individual members is urging MPs to vote against a bill it says will do more harm than good for Canada.
The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA), whose members include the Canadian Cattle Association, Cereals Canada and the Canola Council of Canada, wants lawmakers to vote against Bill C-282.
This private member’s bill, introduced by the Bloc’s Luc Thériault in June 2022, legislates the protection of supply managed sectors in Canada by ensuring the federal government makes no future market access concessions in trade deals.
Passing Bill C-282 gives the dairy sector too much power and could turn trading partners away from Canada, CAFTA says.
“Our message is clear: no single sector of Canada’s economy should have the legislative authority to hold Canadians hostage,” Dan Darling, president of CAFTA, said in a June 20 statement. “The passage of this bill provides no tangible benefits to Canadians while risking our economic growth, international reputation, and key trading relationships–both current and future.”
Bill C-282 could also add to food price inflation, CAFTA said.
MPs are scheduled to vote on this bill for the third time on June 21. It passed its second vote on Feb. 8 by a vote of 293 to 23.
Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and NDP ag critic Alistair MacGregor voted in favour of the bill. Conservative ag critic John Barlow isn’t listed in the voting results.
The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) voiced its support for the bill in February.
Mary Robinson, then-president of the CFA, said supporting C-282 allows politicians “to show their true support for supply-managed farmers and allow those farmers to rely on the law rather than rhetoric.”
MPs who voted against Bill C-282, like Conservative Michael Kram from Saskatchewan, say this piece of legislation puts other industries at risk.
“What about other farmers and ranchers whose livelihoods depend on exports? What about Canadian workers who work in export-based industries other than agriculture? What about all the Canadian consumers who drive a car that was built in Germany, or use a smart phone that was built in South Korea or who just enjoy a bottle of French wine with their dinner?” he said in the House of Commons on June 19. “All of these Canadians benefit from free trade agreements that are the result of countless hours of work by our free trade negotiators, without having their efforts hindered by Bill C-282.”