Much has been said in recent months about the future of Canada’s supply management regime.
Simply put, our approach to supply management allows Canada to produce what it consumes in dairy, poultry and eggs while protecting our market with highly restrictive tariffs on imports. Our quota scheme, particularly in dairy, has come under fire as a result of recent trade talks with Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
Regrettably, however, the public discourse on our dairy farmers’ future overshadowed a troubling statistic. Statistics Canada’s recently released data on retail sales show that per capita consumption of milk in Canada has fallen by 18 per cent to 74 litres a year between 1995 and 2014. Taking into account population growth, Canadians consumed approximately 20 million litres less milk in just one year, between 2013 and 2014.
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Globe and Mail
