The Senate has passed Bill C-202 and “Canada’s dairy, poultry and egg farmers welcome any effort aimed at ensuring no further supply managed concessions are made in trade negotiations,” said a news release from the marketing agencies.
“We won,” said Bloc Leader Yves-François Blanchet enthusiastically, hours after the Senate adopted his party’s bill.
But Senator Paul Simons said “It does seem strange to allow a separatist party to set Canada’s national trade policy to such an extent.”
It will have an immediate impact on negotiations with United States President Donald Trump, which seemed to make progress during the G-7 meeting in Alberta this week, and upcoming negotiations with the European Union where Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is this week.
Negotiations with the United Kingdom are another sensitive issue for supply management.
Livestock farmers can't be happy that Canadian trade negotiators will face even greater difficulty persuading countries to lower their trade barriers to Canadian meats, especially pork.
