Ottawa A Bloc Quebecois bill to protect the supply managed sector from future trade concessions has passed second reading in the Senate and is off to its international trade committee for detailed review.

Whether the bill gets much attention before Parliament adjourns in mid-June for the summer is unclear but when the committee does begin its review it will be able to hear from a long list of livestock and grain groups and trade experts opposed to the bill, introduced by BQ ag critic Luc Berthier.

Meanwhile the dairy and poultry sector will be ready to present their arguments in support of the bill.

The Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) says it has repeatedly pointed out the dangers the bill presents “and we have not been alone. CAFTA has met with a large number of senators, including many members of the trade committee, to discuss its views on the bill.”

It also noted that Katherine Tai, the U.S. Trade Representative, told the Brookings Institute earlier this month that dairy is an area of dispute between Canada and the U.S. and will likely be a point of contention in the 2026 CUSMA review.

John Weeks, former ambassador to GATT during the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations that led to the creation of the WTO and Canada’s chief negotiator for NAFTA, is among those opposed to the bill.

He said in a recent National Post article that not only does the bill pose a threat to the future of CUSMA, it would make future trade negotiations more difficult because if Canada protects the dairy and poultry sectors, other countries will want to do the same for elements of their economies.

If the BQ bill wins final approval in the Senate and becomes law, it is virtually certain the U.S. will require major changes to supply management as their price for extending the CUSMA deal. “The U.S. has consistently tried to eliminate the trade effects of Canada’s supply management programs, so far unsuccessfully. But waving the red flag of C-282 in the Americans’ face in a very charged U.S. political environment would almost certainly provoke them into upping the stakes.”

Supply management has also caused trade disputes with the United Kingdom and New Zealand as well as in trade negotiations with the South American trade group Mercosur.

Weekes says even strong supporters of supply management should think twice about making it untouchable in trade agreements. Thus far, the government has been able to protect the supply-managed sector while negotiating export benefits for other sectors in the economy.

If the U.S. pushes for an end to tariff rate quotas in the next CUSMA negotiations, supply management would be pitted against essentially all other sectors of the Canadian economy. “If that were the price, there’s virtually no chance the government would decide to continue to support quotas on supply-managed products.”

This news item was prepared for National Newswatch