Can You Believe This!?

[15444]

http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040210/RTRAD10/TPBusiness/Canadian

Our government steps up to play hardball with the Americans over cheese sticks and pizza but not cattle!

WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS COUNTRY!

[Smithy]

And apparently this is to be the next "trade issue"....
Canada announced in early January that it's probing U.S. imports of self-rising pizza after reviewing allegations by McCain Foods Ltd. that manufacturers south of the border are dumping product at cheap prices in Canada.
I wonder if there is any way we can get McCain's on our side?

[carebear300]

I wonder why they didn't investigate dumping of corn last winter into the prairies. There is no way that if the production of corn wasn't subsidized that they would be able to freight it into the prairies cheaper than barley.

[cakadu]

Remember why they are fighting over cheese sticks and the cheese that goes on pizza. They are stepping up to the plate to protect those products under supply management.

The Restaurant and Food Association has been fighting for years to get cheese for pizzas etc. lowered and the dairy industry won't play ball. In order to get around it, the Restaurant people bring in the frozen pizzas with everything on it already.

Butter oil - which is something that most ice cream is made with - didn't get put in under the tariff system and believe me, they lobby long and hard to get tariffs placed on it.

It would seem that the government should lobby equally on behalf of all producers.

[ivbinconned]

"Remember why they are fighting over cheese sticks and the cheese that goes on pizza. They are stepping up to the plate to protect those products under supply management"

cakado; Is it not true that the biggest dairy supply managment area in Canada...is in Ontario and Quebec?

[cakadu]

You're right - something like 48% of the supply managed industry can be found in Quebec.

[cowman]

Hmmm...I see Quebec was one of the provinces where agriculture actually made some money! Maybe those Frenchmen had the right idea about supply management? Maybe they have done the right thing by supporting Liberals?

[ivbinconned]

I don't think it is so much that they support the liberals as it is, that they CONTROL the winners.

The French ag comunity has always had more glue and has been more organized and "in your face" compared to we,the more lethargic western ag comunity.

[cakadu]

Bob Speller was at the Canadian Dairy Commission meeting saying that he and the government were 100% behind supply management and would fight for them at the WTO talks. (It's down from the 1000% that the former ag minister talked about, but still...)

For more on the story, see this week's Western Producer.

Wouldn't it be nice to see the same effort devoted to the rest of agriculture - and not just in times of crisis?

[cowman]

Why wouldn't the Liberals support supply management 100%? Those dairy and poultry guys vote for them! Out here in the west we don't vote for them so why should they care? When we voted for Mulrooney he basically stood up for us? I mean who did free trade really benifit? I would suggest the west?
Maybe the time has come to get on the bandwagon and vote for someone who might actually do us some good...the Liberals! The Conservative party seems to be a joke in process and the NDP seems unlikely? Maybe we need to forget all our lofty ideals and learn a lesson from Quebec? Vote for the money?