The NDP, an Ally to Farmers and Producers

New Democrats unveil their plan to help our local farmers and producers, and to protect supply management.

SAINTE-HYACINTHE – Today, Jagmeet Singh, Leader of Canada’s NDP, and Brigitte Sansoucy, MP for Saint-Hyacinthe-Bagot, presented the New Democratic plan to defend supply management, and reaffirmed the NDP’s position as strong allies of Quebec. Quebec farmers and producers depend on supply management for their survival, with it representing 60% of total production, and generating over 116,000 jobs.

"The NDP is an ally to Quebec. Farmers must be fully compensated, over the long term, for losses incurred by the three breaches made in the latest trade agreements signed by Justin Trudeau’s Liberals, and the Conservatives before them. We also commit to never opening more breaches during future free trade negotiations," added Singh. "We must stop sacrificing supply management when negotiating international agreements and protect our agriculture. We must hold reciprocal standards with our business partners, and give our farmers and producers equal footing when competing with foreign products in the Canadian marketplace. We must value and be proud of our local agriculture because products made here meet high quality standards."

In a single mandate, Justin Trudeau traded away nearly 8.4% of our dairy production and processing capacity. That’s the annual production of 1,200 medium-sized dairy farms in Quebec. The Liberals, like the Conservatives before them, are gradually destroying our supply management system and the vitality of our agriculture system.

"Supply management has been the lifeblood of our regions, and it contributes to our food sovereignty. Quebecers should be proud of the system they implemented and we must support it! However, over the last few years, it's become normalized to use supply-managed farmers as bargaining chips during trade negotiations," stated Brigitte Sansoucy. "Over the past several months, the NDP has repeatedly demonstrated that we are the only party in Ottawa committed to protecting supply management, in its entirety."