DFC Statement on the Budget

Today’s budget can only be described as disappointing. With nothing in the throne speech, and very little in the budget related to agriculture, it seems as though the issues impacting the people who feed our nation are not a high priority for the government. When it comes to dairy, it is important that the government understand the importance and urgency of enforcing existing administrative measures.

The lack of coherence between the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) when it comes to enforcing the cheese standard is displacing Canadian milk, costing the Canadian economy millions of dollars every year. In addition, some importers have used the Duty Deferral Program to import dairy products (and other foods) and defer their duty payments for up to four years before they re-export. Duty Deferral was clearly not designed for food – which in most cases is perishable (before 4 years). Supply managed products have their own specific program called IREP (Import for Re-Export).

The budget was an opportunity to exclude supply managed goods from the duty deferral program, and to address the enforcement of the cheese standard. The government is fully aware of the impact of these issues, and of their solutions. There is political consensus on the issues – everyone agrees that they are an easy fix – and yet, the government continues to take no action.

The government has announced that CETA will be signed and implemented in 2017, while the timeline for TPP is still unclear. Regardless of what occurs with TPP, it is critical that the government commit to the portion of the TPP/CETA mitigation and compensation package that is reserved for CETA before implementation.

While we were disappointed that these issues weren’t resolved in the budget, DFC will continue to engage with the government, prioritizing the Prime Minister’s Office, to ensure that the Canadian dairy sector remains strong and viable for future generations.