Canadian dairy supporters encouraged to sign petition

Jun 29, 2015

Foreign investors placing pressure on dairy sector

Canadian dairy farmers and supporters of Canada’s dairy industry are being encouraged to sign a petition to show their solidarity as pressure from foreign investors could begin to mount.

Dairy Farmers of Canada

Dairy Farmers of Canada created the petition, called Support Canadian Dairy.

The petition is in response to Stephen Harper’s intent on signing an international trade partnership that could affect Canada’s dairy industry. Since going live on June 18^th, more than 1900 people have signed it.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is set to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a 12-country trade agreement which includes Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

For Canada to be part of the TPP, it may need to allow duty-free imports of chicken and dairy from the United States, New Zealand and Australia. Doing so would put pressure on Canada’s supply management system that regulates the production of milk, eggs and chicken.

As a result of the Prime Minister’s possible actions, Dairy Farmers of Canada is also spearheading a movement to draw awareness to what the dairy industry provides to the country.

The initiative, called the Milkle-Down Effect, provides numbers related to the Canadian dairy industry, including:

$18.9 billion contributed to Canada’s GDP ($8.1 billion from dairy farming)
215,000 jobs (Approximately 1/100 jobs is created by the dairy sector)
$3.6 billion in taxes

It also outlines some of the other areas that could be affected including milk quality, jobs, animal care and the environment.

Join the conversation and tell us about the Dairy Farmers of Canada and its efforts to draw awareness to the country’s dairy industry. Is signing the petition something you’d consider signing?

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