'Death by a thousand cuts': Canadian dairy farmer disappointed by USMCA deal

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A B.C. dairy farmer is disappointed by "excessive" dairy concessions Canada has made in the new North American trade deal.

"It feels like a death by a thousand cuts," said Julaine Treur, who owns Creekside Dairy with her husband Jochem, in Agassiz, B.C.

"Justin Trudeau promised over and over again to defend supply management, but I don't feel like this is defending us, this is eroding the stability of our supply managed system," she told The Current's Anna Maria Tremonti.

That erosion has come from deals in recent years, she argued, such as the CETA agreement between Canada and the EU, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership between Canada and 10 Asian countries.

TheTPPwas supposed to be the last deal ... and then Trump came along.- JulaineTreur

The new United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) would give American farmers greater market access to sell their goods in Canada worth about 3.6 per cent of the current dairy industry,according to the Dairy Farmers of Canada.

"The TPP was supposed to be the last deal," Treur said. "The government told us then we had deals with all of our major trading partners, and we could rest easy for a while and then [U.S. President Donald] Trump came along."

"This access is frustrating to us, because every time we're being asked to give and give and give."

Canada's supply management system puts quotas on the amount of milk that farmers are allowed to produce, eliminating over-production, which can drive down prices. It also puts high tariffs on foreign producers trying to sell in the Canadian market, limiting foreign products on Canadian shelves.

Supply management: The argument for and against, and why Trump hates it

6 years ago

Duration 1:11

The National takes a brief look at supply management, the argument for and against it, and why U.S. President Donald Trump hates it and complains about Canada's system.

"Each foreign dairy product on our store shelves displaces a dairy product produced here in Canada, by Canadians, for Canadians," said Treur.

"So it affects our Canadian jobs and the livelihood of our farmers and their families."

Treur said that giving up three per cent of their market would mean losing five cows from their herd and reducing production. Revenue would fall, while costs would largely stay the same, she said.

"It's going to cause us to tighten our belts, and sometimes it feels like we don't know how much we can tighten them."

Listen to the full conversation near the top of this page.

Written by Padraig Moran. Produced by The Current's Idella Sturino andZena Olijnyk.