More than one way to look at the new Trans-Pacific trade deal

While there may be a lot to like about the new Trans-Pacific trade deal announced Monday, it has its downsides as well.  Chilliwack-Hope Conservative candidate Mark Strahl praised the deal in a press release on Monday.

“Our Conservative government promised that we would promote free trade and protect our system of supply management and we’ve kept that promise by doing both,” said Strahl. “This is a great day for Canadian farmers and the Canadian economy.”

The Fraser Valley dairy and poultry industries aren’t thrilled with it though, with the announcement that 2-3% of the Canadian market may now be opened to foreign producers. Chilliwack chicken farmer Chris Kloot says it could be an election issue.

“My real concern, and obviously time will tell, is that we’ve been offered this compensation package, and I’m concerned that it’s just an election promise.  Whether or not it is or isn’t, we’ll find out, but we’re definitely going to be taking a hit.”

The Conservatives have offered a $4.3 billion “protection” package to compensate farmers over 15 years in order to make them whole. Kloot echos the concerns of dairy farmers out here, who are saying that the big farms will have to get bigger in order to compete, and those smaller farms that don’t have the capacity to grow will have to eventually shut down.

“At the end of the day, there are questions about land….do you have enough land to produce feed?  Do you have land to get rid of your manure?  And then there’s the cost of land.  We live in one of the priciest areas in the country when it comes to real estate…our guys are paying anywhere between $50,000 and $70,000 per acre for prime ag land…it’s going to be difficult for some people to survive, absolutely.”

US dairy producers have much bigger farms, and they’re subsidized by their government, which is why American milk, cheese and eggs are cheaper.  By allowing more of it into Canadian stores, it’s going to force Canadian producers to compete. Not only that, but dairy and poultry in Canada is held to much higher safety and health standards.

Kloot admits opening up 2.1% of the poultry market and 3.25% of the dairy market to foreign producers isn’t as bad as the 10% figure that was being talked about, but there are a lot of small farms in the valley that aren’t happy the supply management sector is being dipped into at all.

The TPP will be viewed as a good deal in many sectors….even beef producers will like it, but the Fraser Valley, much like Ontario and Quebec, is driven by dairy and poultry.

The deal, involving 12 countries, has not yet been ratified, and NDP leader Tom Mulcair said earlier on Monday that an NDP government would not be bound by the agreements Canada has made…in fact they would reject it.  Liberal leader Justin Trudeau wasn’t nearly as critical.