Farm free traders testifying at parliamentary committee Wednesday evening condemned Bloc Québécois legislation that would clamp down even more on farmers’ rights to free trade. “Trade is not a political game,” Nathan Phinney, president of the Canadian Cattle Association, testified at the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, per Blacklock's Reporter. Phinney told senators to defeat Bill C-282 An Act To Amend The Department Of Foreign Affairs Act, a Bloc Québecois bill on dairy quotas though it could topple the 44th Parliament. “I am shocked that we are sitting here today to discuss a private member’s bill that should have never made it this far, all because of politics,” testified Phinney, of Moncton. “Trade is not a political game. This is my livelihood.”Bill C-282 would enshrine dairy, poultry and egg quotas as non-negotiable in any future trade talks. The one-page bill passed the Commons in 2023 and has spent 16 months in the Senate.“A lot of people in the other place voted for this,” said Liberal-appointed Sen. Mary Coyle.“Not everyone, but a lot of people voted for this, and that adds the pressure on us as you can imagine.”The bill passed the Commons by a vote of 262 to 51. Opponents included Prairie Conservative MPs and two Liberal MPs from Ontario, Chandra Arya and Nathaniel Erskine-Smith.Quota permit holders support the bill. Western farm groups including beef and grain producers oppose it as a protectionist measure that threatens free trading of agricultural goods worth billions.“Vote down Bill C-282,” testified Phinney. “We do not support this bill in any shape or form. That’s where the division is happening.”“Agriculture shouldn’t have wedges driven between it and this is exactly what this poorly written piece of legislation has done. We do work together on numerous fronts. However, all of agriculture is not supply managed and the vast majority of agriculture is trade focused. That’s where the wedge is driven.” Kyle Larkin, executive director of the Grain Growers of Canada, said the bill if passed could have far-reaching consequences. “Simply put, this bill poses a significant threat to Canada’s ability to secure and expand access to international markets,” testified Larkin.“With over 70% of Canadian grain sold internationally we cannot risk damaging these trade networks.Keith Currie, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture representing both quota holders and free traders, said the bill had become too political. “There is a lot of noise around this bill,” said Currie, a Collingwood, Ont. farmer. “I think the less we turn it into a political football and get down to what this bill means, the better off we’re all going to be.”Liberal-appointed Sen. Peter Harder, an opponent of C-282, said it was obvious the bill had “divided the agricultural sector” to the advantage of dairy, egg and poultry farmers. “It requires negotiators in any future negotiations or any future trade agreement to not even use the words ‘supply management,’” said Harder.“What are we fighting about?” he asked. “We’re fighting about a hypothetical negotiation where you want other farmers, non-supply farmers, to be the only ones at the negotiating table along with the rest of Canadian industry.”“What I want to see is nobody sacrificed,” said Curry.“But that’s the job of our negotiators,” replied Harder. “Let’s not hamstring our negotiators by amending the Act to the advantage of one group.”“Fair enough comment, but why is it that agriculture is the industry that has to get sacrificed in a trade deal?” asked Currie. “Talk to the aluminum or steel guys and they would have a different view on that,” replied Harder.Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet has warned he will join Conservatives to “bring down the government” if senators do not pass Bill C-282 into law by October 29. Any extension of time “would be useless,” Blanchet told reporters Tuesday.“We cannot avoid noticing there is nothing happening in this government,” said Blanchet.“It is being eaten from inside and being attacked from outside and nothing is happening. The whole story now is what will Justin Trudeau, superstar, do in the coming days? There is no management of Canadian affairs. That is a problem.”
Farm free traders testifying at parliamentary committee Wednesday evening condemned Bloc Québécois legislation that would clamp down even more on farmers’ rights to free trade. “Trade is not a political game,” Nathan Phinney, president of the Canadian Cattle Association, testified at the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, per Blacklock's Reporter. Phinney told senators to defeat Bill C-282 An Act To Amend The Department Of Foreign Affairs Act, a Bloc Québecois bill on dairy quotas though it could topple the 44th Parliament. “I am shocked that we are sitting here today to discuss a private member’s bill that should have never made it this far, all because of politics,” testified Phinney, of Moncton. “Trade is not a political game. This is my livelihood.”Bill C-282 would enshrine dairy, poultry and egg quotas as non-negotiable in any future trade talks. The one-page bill passed the Commons in 2023 and has spent 16 months in the Senate.“A lot of people in the other place voted for this,” said Liberal-appointed Sen. Mary Coyle.“Not everyone, but a lot of people voted for this, and that adds the pressure on us as you can imagine.”The bill passed the Commons by a vote of 262 to 51. Opponents included Prairie Conservative MPs and two Liberal MPs from Ontario, Chandra Arya and Nathaniel Erskine-Smith.Quota permit holders support the bill. Western farm groups including beef and grain producers oppose it as a protectionist measure that threatens free trading of agricultural goods worth billions.“Vote down Bill C-282,” testified Phinney. “We do not support this bill in any shape or form. That’s where the division is happening.”“Agriculture shouldn’t have wedges driven between it and this is exactly what this poorly written piece of legislation has done. We do work together on numerous fronts. However, all of agriculture is not supply managed and the vast majority of agriculture is trade focused. That’s where the wedge is driven.” Kyle Larkin, executive director of the Grain Growers of Canada, said the bill if passed could have far-reaching consequences. “Simply put, this bill poses a significant threat to Canada’s ability to secure and expand access to international markets,” testified Larkin.“With over 70% of Canadian grain sold internationally we cannot risk damaging these trade networks.Keith Currie, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture representing both quota holders and free traders, said the bill had become too political. “There is a lot of noise around this bill,” said Currie, a Collingwood, Ont. farmer. “I think the less we turn it into a political football and get down to what this bill means, the better off we’re all going to be.”Liberal-appointed Sen. Peter Harder, an opponent of C-282, said it was obvious the bill had “divided the agricultural sector” to the advantage of dairy, egg and poultry farmers. “It requires negotiators in any future negotiations or any future trade agreement to not even use the words ‘supply management,’” said Harder.“What are we fighting about?” he asked. “We’re fighting about a hypothetical negotiation where you want other farmers, non-supply farmers, to be the only ones at the negotiating table along with the rest of Canadian industry.”“What I want to see is nobody sacrificed,” said Curry.“But that’s the job of our negotiators,” replied Harder. “Let’s not hamstring our negotiators by amending the Act to the advantage of one group.”“Fair enough comment, but why is it that agriculture is the industry that has to get sacrificed in a trade deal?” asked Currie. “Talk to the aluminum or steel guys and they would have a different view on that,” replied Harder.Bloc Québécois leader Yves-François Blanchet has warned he will join Conservatives to “bring down the government” if senators do not pass Bill C-282 into law by October 29. Any extension of time “would be useless,” Blanchet told reporters Tuesday.“We cannot avoid noticing there is nothing happening in this government,” said Blanchet.“It is being eaten from inside and being attacked from outside and nothing is happening. The whole story now is what will Justin Trudeau, superstar, do in the coming days? There is no management of Canadian affairs. That is a problem.”
