‘Enough is enough’: Canadian dairy farmers urge feds not to make concessions at NAFTA talks
Posted Sep 19, 2018 12:15 pm.
Last Updated Sep 19, 2018 5:50 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
OTTAWA (660 NEWS) – As Canada and the U.S. restart high level NAFTA talks in Washington, the Dairy Farmers of Canada are in Ottawa warning the Trudeau government not to make any concessions on their sector.
Saying “enough is enough”, dairy farmers caution the Trudeau government that any compromise with the U.S. on supply management would be devastating to the industry.
“For American farmers, the Canadian market is a drop in the bucket,” David Weins with the Dairy Farmers of Canada said Wednesday morning. “For us, it is our livelihood.”
He says they can’t take another hit after already giving up ground in the recent European and Trans Pacific trade deals.
“Resulting in the equivalent of $250-million annually in lost milk production.
Weins adds “it’s like dying a death by a thousand drops of milk.”
He point out more than 200,000 jobs rely on the sector.
The U.S. has said Canada needs to bend on dairy, and while the Trudeau government has said it will defend the sector in NAFTA talks, it hasn’t ruled out concessions.
