A former Liberal MP, Martha Hall Findlay, has broken ranks
to call for an end to supply management.
Until now, federal politicians have been unanimous in
supporting supply management, but Hall Findlay says that was only because they
feared the electoral clout of dairy and poultry farmers.
Now, she says, there are so few quota-holding farmers left
that even if they vote in a solid block, they could only change the results in
a few, if any, ridings.
Furthermore, she says supply management increases the price
of Canadian dairy products to two to three times as high as in the United
States, so a lot of Canadian voters would be in favour of ending supply
management.
“Even if such a
worst-case scenario had happened in 2011 (dairy farmers voting in a solid
block), we'd still have a Conservative majority," she said, speaking at a
new conference convened by The School of Public Policy.
Hall Findlay said
it’s “grossly unfair” that supply management has made it difficult for Canada
to negotiate free-trade agreements that would benefit most Canadians.
She also claims
that the number of dairy farms has declined by 91 per cent since national
dairy-sector supply management began in 1971.
