The Montreal Economic Institute, long a strident critic of
supply management, says the government should end the system by buying out
quota.
It proposes paying about $13 billion over 10 years and
funding it with a temporary tax.
The institute says ridding Canada of supply management
“would be positive both for farmers and for Canadian consumers.”
Alexandre Moreau, public policy analyst at MEI, and one of
the authors of the report, wrote that “if the government decided to compensate
farmers for the value of their quotas over a period of 10 years, it would have
to offer them annual payments of $1.6 billion.
“Yet the net benefit for consumers would be from $3.9
billion to $5.1 billion each year, and up to $6.7 billion once the
reimbursement period is over.
“This exit plan would be positive and fair both for farmers
and for consumers. Now, it's up to public decision-makers to take action and
dismantle this regime that is unfair and costly for consumers, all while adequately
compensating farmers,” he wrote.
The buyouts should vary among producers to ensure no one
receives “excessive compensation” for quota acquired at a low cost, the report
says.
“Such a policy was
used successfully in Australia when that country eliminated its own supply
management system,” Vincent Geloso, associate researcher and the other author
of the report.
