Lorne Gunter: If Trump forces end of Canadian supply management, good riddance
Remember when the Liberals were adamant they would never give up their digital services tax (DST)?
Article content
Article content
But the way the government went about doing away with the DST made Prime Minister Mark Carney look weak. So weak, it's only a matter of time before Trump comes back looking for more.
Article content
The safe bet is supply-managed agriculture will be next. Canadians should be grateful.
Article content
In Canada, all but the smallest, artisanal agri-food businesses are controlled by government-backed marketing boards that decide who can produce — and more importantly sell — milk, cream, butter, cheese, yogurt and other dairy products. Eggs, chicken and turkey are included, too.
Article content
Article content
Price controls and import restrictions are also part of supply management. Some dairy products, for instance, are protected against imports from the States and EU by tariffs as high as 300 per cent.
Article content
It's a good deal for supply-managed producers. It protects them from competition and ensures they received stable prices without much risk.
Article content
But it's a bad deal for consumers. Economists estimate the average Canadian family pays $400 a year more for dairy alone.
Article content
There's another problem, too. Milk supply is heavily skewed toward drinkable milk. That makes the price of milk for producers of, say, special yogurts, too expensive. So consumers have fewer choices.
Article content
Supporters of supply management claim it protects farmers' incomes, making it unnecessary for governments to subsidize their livelihoods, as they often do in the U.S.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Global News
7 minutes ago
- Global News
U.S. diverts Swiss order for Patriot air defence system to Ukraine
A new Ukrainian government approved Thursday will race to expand domestic arms production to meet half the country's weapons needs within six months as it tries to push back Russia's invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Meanwhile, Switzerland said Thursday that the U.S. Defense Department had informed it that Washington is diverting a Swiss order for Patriot air defence systems to help Ukraine, which badly needs to improve its response to increasingly heavy Russian aerial attacks. Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine The Swiss Defense Ministry, which in 2022 ordered five Patriot systems, said Thursday it has been informed by the U.S. Defense Department that it will 'reprioritize the delivery of Patriot systems to support Ukraine.' Story continues below advertisement It was not immediately clear whether the Swiss-ordered Patriots would go directly to Ukraine or would replace units in other European countries that may be donated to Kyiv. 2:24 'Very serious': Russia wants to know what motivated Trump's 50-day deadline to end war in Ukraine Delivery to Switzerland of the systems, worth billions of dollars, was scheduled to begin in 2027 and be completed in 2028. But the Swiss government said Washington informed it of the delay on Wednesday, adding that it was unclear how many systems would be affected. The need to adequately arm Ukraine's military is pressing as Russia looks to drive forward its summer offensive after three years of war and pounds Ukrainian cities with hundreds of drones and ballistic and cruise missiles. It remains unclear when the promised U.S.-made weapons, especially the Patriot systems, might reach Ukraine. Trump has agreed to send the weaponry, but it will be paid for by European countries. Story continues below advertisement No timeframe for foreign weapons in Ukraine The U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, said he couldn't give a timeframe for when Ukraine might get extra foreign weapons. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'We are all moving with haste to facilitate this and get this done. Things are actually moving very quickly, but I can't verify a date that this will all be completed. I think it's going to be an ongoing movement,' he told reporters in Brussels. 'The plan is that there will be American-made defence equipment, capabilities, that will be sold to our European allies, that they will provide to Ukraine,' he said. British Defense Secretary John Healey said Thursday he and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius will chair a meeting of Ukraine's allies on Monday to discuss U.S. President Donald Trump's weapons plans. Healey said U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and NATO leader Mark Rutte will attend the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. Story continues below advertisement 1:54 Trump gives Putin ultimatum for ending Ukraine war NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, told The Associated Press Thursday that 'preparations are underway' for weapons transfers to Ukraine and that NATO is working 'very closely' with Germany to transfer Patriot systems. Grynkewich said at a military event in Wiesbaden, Germany, that he had been ordered to 'move (the weapons) out as quickly as possible.' He said the number of weapons being transferred is classified. German Defense Ministry spokesperson Mitko Müller said Wednesday he couldn't confirm that anything is currently on its way to Ukraine. Rutte, the NATO chief, said in Washington on Monday that the alliance is coordinating the military support with funding from allies in Europe and Canada. He said there were commitments from Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Canada, 'with more expected to follow.' Story continues below advertisement Ukraine now makes 40 per cent of its own weapons Ukraine's domestic defence manufacturing already accounts for almost 40 per cent of weapons used by the Ukrainian military, according to Zelenskyy. As uncertainty grows about how many more weapons shipments Western countries can provide — and how quickly — Ukraine is keen to increase its output and widen its strikes on Russian soil. 'What we need is greater capacity to push the war back onto Russia's territory — back to where the war was brought from,' Zelenskyy said late Wednesday in his nightly video address. 'We must reach the level of 50 per cent Ukrainian-made weapons within the first six months of the new government's work by expanding our domestic production.' Ukraine has also developed its own long-range drones, which it uses to strike deep inside Russia . Russian air defences shot down 122 Ukrainian drones overnight, the country's defence ministry said Thursday. The wave of drones caused flights to be grounded at airports in Moscow and St. Petersburg, although most of the drones were reportedly destroyed over the border regions of Bryansk and Kursk. Story continues below advertisement 2:04 Trump 'very unhappy' with Russia, threatens 100% tariffs if no deal to end Ukraine war in 50 days Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukraine with 64 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, killing at least one person, the Ukrainian air force reported. The assault centered on the industrial Dnipropetrovsk region, officials said. Russia, Ukraine exchange bodies of fallen soldiers Russia on Thursday sent to Ukraine 1,000 bodies, including some of the country's fallen soldiers, the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said. Story continues below advertisement At the same time, Russia received the bodies of 19 soldiers, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said. The exchange was part of a deal reached at direct peace talks last May and June that produced few other agreements between the sides. —Burrows reported from Wiesbaden, Germany. Geir Moulson in Berlin and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
Montreal Gazette
7 minutes ago
- Montreal Gazette
‘Rue Canada': Vermont town hopes to lure Canadians by temporarily renaming major shopping street
By Burlington, Vt. is temporarily naming a major shopping street after Canada in hopes of attracting Canadian tourists who have eschewed U.S. travel since President Donald Trump took office. The town rechristened Church St., a popular shopping street for visitors, as Canada St. in a ceremony Wednesday. Signs reading 'Rue Canada St.' are set to remain in place until Sept. 1. The move was a 'symbolic gesture' designed to show that 'Trump's policies are not in line with our values,' said Burlington city councillor Becca Brown McKnight. Those policies, which include aggressive tariffs alongside threats to annex Canada as a '51st state,' have caused a sharp deterioration in cross-border relations. Canadians, including Quebecers, are travelling to the U.S. in smaller numbers than before. In June, 164,000 Quebecers travelled to the U.S., a 43-per-cent drop from the 286,000 who made the trip in June 2024. Canadian tourism offers a significant boost to the Burlington and Vermont economies, McKnight said. 'More Canadians come to Vermont each year than people who live here.' Around 581,000 Canadians visited Vermont between January and May 2025, a 23-per-cent drop from 2024, according to the state's Agency of Commerce and Community Development. Fewer tourists have made for less spending, with the agency reporting a 41-per-cent drop in Canadian credit card spending in the first five months of 2025 compared with the year-earlier period. Reduced tourism is bad news for Burlington, McKnight said, where around 15 per cent of the town's downtown spending typically originates from Canadians. Locals have noticed the decline and 'are hearing French spoken less often,' she said. McKnight said she has already heard positive feedback from Canadians, who she said have told her they plan to visit Burlington this year. But she also acknowledged that some Canadians don't feel comfortable making the trip to the U.S. 'I completely understand that.' Vermonters in Burlington enjoy travel to Quebec, McKnight said, adding that she spent her honeymoon in Montreal.
National Post
7 minutes ago
- National Post
Carney pitches major project powers to skeptical First Nations as advancing 'Indigenous economic growth'
GATINEAU, Que. — Prime Minister Mark Carney entered a high-stakes meeting with First Nations leaders Thursday, touting his government's new law to fast-track major infrastructure projects as having 'Indigenous economic growth' at its heart, saying he believes consensus can be reached on how to move forward. Article content Whether Carney's pitch lands with the more than 200 chiefs and other First Nations leaders who attended the gathering remains to be seen, given the vocal pushback the law, known as Bill C-5, has received over concerns about its impact on First Nations' territories and the legal obligation the government has to consult communities. Article content Article content Article content 'I don't think … that a lot of people are happy right now in terms of the way that the government has gone about ramming through legislation without respecting the current … protections within the environment, the current protections on our water,' said Southern Chiefs' Organization Grand Chief Jerry Daniels. Article content Article content Chiefs who attended the gathering came armed with concerns and questions about the government's new law, which ushers in a new process for approving major infrastructure projects from ports to pipelines. It aims to bring down the federal approval process necessary for projects to receive the green light to two years, down from the current five. Article content Introducing and passing what Carney coined as his 'One Canadian Economy' bill fulfilled a campaign promise he made during the spring federal election, where he pledged to remove all federal internal trade barriers by Canada Day and get more large infrastructure projects off the ground to bolster Canada's economy against U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs. Article content Article content Even before it was introduced, the Assembly of First Nations, the main advocacy organization representing more than 600 First Nations across the country, voiced concerns about the lack of involvement of Indigenous-rights holders in developing the bill, which it said directly impacts communities that have a constitutional right to be consulted before projects get approved. Article content Carney, who announced he would meet with chiefs in response to their concerns, has promised that the government would do so, as it decides on which projects would be deemed as benefiting the 'national interest.' Those that Carney's cabinet deems to be would be added to a list and qualify for the faster approvals process, to be coordinated through a yet-to-be-established major projects office. Article content Before Thursday's meeting got underway, Carney told reporters they are not yet at the stage of picking projects, but at the beginning stages of hearing from First Nations leaders about how best to proceed.
