Former Ag minister Gerry Ritz, and now the Conservative party’s new international trade critic says agriculture is still a major focus for him and other Conservative members of parliament because it remains and will continue to be a major focus and economic driver for Canada and especially for Western Canada.
“In my case oil and gas and when that sector drops like it has in past few years and remains down, agriculture has to step forward and has the capacity to do that,” said Ritz.
“There is a lot of discussion whether the Liberals will actually get the Comprehensive European Trade Agreement (CETA) and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) done, we just aren’t sure they are sending such mixed signals.”
Ron Davidson, the Director of International Trade, Government and Media Relations with the Canadian Meat Council says implementation of TPP and CETA will create the tremendous opportunity for red meat producers and processors.
Canada has worked extensively, including the former Conservative government on the two key trade agreements, the 12 nation Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with the EU.
Both Ritz and Davidson agree these two deals offer tremendous opportunities for agriculture.
“In the case of TPP, it involves 11 other countries, some of who we already have trade agreements with but others that we don’t,” said Davidson. “For example, we do not have free trade agreements with Japan which is a major market for over a billion dollars’ worth of Canadian meat, most of which is pork, every year. Nor do we have trade agreements at this time with countries like Vietnam or Malaysia. From that perspective, it is very important for us to move forward with the TPP and see that agreement implemented.”
He says it will not only improve Canada’s access into those other countries without trade agreements, but it will help Canada to catch up to countries such as Australia that already has an agreement with Japan.
“It will also give us priority access to those markets over countries that don’t have current access to Japan such as the European Union,” said Davidson. “In the case of CETA we’re talking about tariff-free import quotas for 81,000 tonnes carcass weight of pork, for 65,000 tonnes of beef, for 3,000 tonnes of bison, so very significant.”
“We require access to all of the markets out there so we can maximize the value of every carcass by finding the best market in the world that will pay the most for each carcass,” he added.
Canada’s new international trade critic, Ritz says his biggest concern is that the government of the day, the Liberals seem intent on putting Canada at a disadvantage. “I’m not just talking agriculture but the whole value chain in a carbon tax and things like that that our major trading partners like Australia, and the U.S. and when going into these new Pacific Rim markets and other markets, they will not be taxed to that same level,” said Ritz. “It puts our guys at a disadvantage, not just agriculture but all industries in Canada.
A carbon tax, no matter how you slice it is a net cost and there is no way to pass that on, especially for farmers who are price takers. “We will have to pay the carbon tax on fuel, fertilizer, and on everything else coming into that including equipment being delivered,” he said. “It is a tremendous hit and an anchor that farmers and our industry will be dragging trying to compete against others that have the flexibility not to have a carbon tax.”
One calculation has the doubling of the carbon tax in Alberta on April 1, 2017 costing all Hutterite colonies from $200,000 to $400,000 of added expense per year. • — By Harry Siemens
