September 26th, 2024

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Standing Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Trade

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Opening Remarks for an Act to amend the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Act (supply management) 

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Thank you to the Committee for inviting me to explain why the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA) considers Bill C-282 a threat to Canada’s export-oriented economy, including agri-food exporters.

CAFTA is a coalition of national organizations advocating for a freer and fairer international trade environment for the agriculture and agri-food sector.

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CAFTA's members include farmers, ranchers, processors, producers, and exporters from major trade sectors such as beef, pork, grains, oilseeds, sugar, pulses, soy and processed foods.

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A fair and open international trade environment for agri-food is in Canada’s economic interest. Agri-food is responsible for 1 in 9 jobs in Canada, and the majority are in export based agri-food. In 2022, Canada exported $92.8 billion in agriculture and food products More than half of our agricultural production is exported or processed to be exported.

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C-282 is a threat to this economic benefit and Canadian jobs. It is terrible trade policy for a country that depends on exports, it will hurt Canada’s ability to make decisions in the national interest, and it will set a protectionist precedent that undermines Canada’s credibility to exercise leadership and work at international forums like the WTO.

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The timing for a bill like this could not be worse. Committee members are undoubtedly aware that the CUSMA is to be reviewed in 2026. In fact, the bill is already bringing negative US attention to our trade policy at a time when we should be working to reduce irritants, not deepen them.

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I wish to be very clear that C-282 is NOT an agriculture bill. It is a bill about trade policy. All countries have their domestic sensitivities and trade negotiators receive instructions to maintain trade protection for certain industries. However, legislating this protection to legally handcuff our negotiators, and restrict Canada’s negotiating capacity, ignores the negative consequences on Canada’s economic interests as a trade dependent nation.

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Due to political circumstances, C-282 was unfortunately not closely studied in the House of Commons. Notably, there was little attention paid to the views of former Canadian trade negotiators. Senators Boehm and Harder know these professionals well as former colleagues. They will all tell you that this bill would handcuff our negotiators in a way that will lead to trade-offs for Canada’s export dependent sectors and overall, less ambitious outcomes in future trade discussions.

It is also important to underline that we are not only thinking about new trade agreements. CUSMA has underlined the reality that existing trade agreements are regularly revised, modified or renegotiated. C-282 threatens all of these.

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To sum up, CAFTA calls on this committee to protect our country´s economic interests and recommend against the adoption of Bill C-282.

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I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.