The dairy debate continues as one Conservative leadership candidate weighs in.
Speaking to our newsroom, Erin O’Toole says Canada shouldn’t loosen its dairy trade restrictions, which have been criticized by the U.S..
He says American dairy producers have a surplus of milk, which he calls a short-term problem that shouldn’t be addressed by long-term trade negotiations.
“They’d like to sell more in Canada, but we’ve had a supply [management] system in Canada for 50 years. In fact, the free trade agreement we negotiated with the U.S. –the Mulrooney government– supply management was protected because Canada does not export milk.”
O’Toole says the U.S. surplus isn’t caused by Canada’s dairy supply rules.
“We should negotiate very strongly to preserve what we have in Canada, because there’s 18,000 families that rely on supply management as their structure and financial backbone.” (Staff Photo)