Quebec Food Independeance...More Stupidity!

It's an old joke with many variations;
"How can you tell when  politicians are talking nonsense?"
"Their lips are moving"

Nothing is more dangerous than a politician with a new and costly idea, because in a zero-sum world of finite public spending resources, the cost is likely to come out of a more deserving program or worse still an increase in the ever spiraling tax burden imposed on taxpayers.

A cynic would observe that the Marois government's latest folly, called "souveraineté alimentaire" (food independence) whereby a goal of 50%  is set  for the consumption of local Quebec food products, as a naked attempt to somehow get the words '50%' plus 'souveraineté'  into the public discussion. Link
Very Clever, huh?  Read: PQ declares Quebec’s ‘food sovereignty’ while waiting for political independence

Whatever the motive, the idea of food independence is so dangerously stupid and ruinous, heaven help consumers if ever the idea is put into effect, even minimally.

Wrap up and peddle the idea of buying 'local' however you want, it is really just plain old fashioned protectionism, something every consumer should fear like the devil.

While Madame Marois and her agriculture minister, François Gendron, wax poetic over the lofty ideal of supporting local producers, the true cost of such indulgence is astronomical.

So let's simplify and use gasoline as an example.

In Quebec, we already pay quite a lot for gasoline at the pump, as of today, somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.40 a liter.

Imagine if Quebec applied the rules of 'food independence' to the gasoline industry and asked Quebecers to buy fuel from local sources, even if it costs more.
And so right beside the Petro-Canada gas station that sells gas for $1.40, the government erected a Petro-Quebec gas station that sold gas for $2.10.

How many consumers would do the 'right' thing and shop locally and pay the extra 50% in order to protect Quebec jobs?
Would you? ...probably not.
Even the government knows that consumers aren't that generous and so in order to protect Quebec's gas industry it would have to impose a series of measures restricting trade and supply.

One way for the government to get consumers to buy the $2.10 gas is to tell Petro-Canada that they can't sell their products in Quebec.

The other option is to subsidize the price at the pump. In other words, the government would pay Petro-Quebec, a 70¢ subsidy for every liter it sold in its stations, so that its price would be the same as Petro-Canada's.

Now if you are thinking that the above examples are unrealistic, hold on to your hats, because that is exactly what is occurring right now in much of Quebec's food industry.

In order to protect Quebec's dairy industry, the government has set up a system of quotas that restrict Americans from shipping milk products into Quebec and actually fix the price of milk at the pump counter. And so Quebec consumers pay around $1.59 for a liter of milk, while American consumers pay about half price.
Still think food independence is a good deal?

"....in 2008 a family of four in this province pays an extra $300 a year for milk, eggs and poultry because of "supply management," the government-mandated price fixing that subsidizes farmers at the expense of consumers."  Link

If you think that supply management (cartel pricing) is automatically advantageous or necessary read these telling articles;
Kiwis put Canada's dairy supply scheme to shame
Time to end supply management – but it won’t go quietly 

And so, if the rules of milk supply management as practiced in Quebec were applied to gasoline, the cost of a liter wouldn't be 50% higher, it would be 100% higher or about $2.80 instead of $1.40!

Vive l'independence alimentaire!

Now don't blame the PQ or separatists for the mess, the system's been around for decades.

In Quebec there is a powerful cartel-like organization that controls government agricultural policy and wrings out hundreds of millions of dollars a year in subsidies.
That organization is the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) and if you think the Marois government is original or creative with their "souveraineté alimentaire" initiative, think again, it is just parroting the wishes of the Quebec Food Cartel UPA.
Back in 2010, the then president of the cartel made the suggestion that Quebec legislate local products onto store shelves.

"UPA wants a purchasing policy integrated into future agricultural policy in Quebec wherein a certain percentage of Quebec products will be imposed on grocery store shelves. Barely a third of the products consumed by Quebecers from Quebec.
"I think that the government needs to consider regulations to ensure that our products achieve their rightful place," argues the UPA president Christian Lacasse.  Link

This on top of the billion dollar subsidy that the government dotes upon Quebec agricultural producers from, dairy to maple syrup to pork producers!

The UPA is so afraid of competition that it is actually complaining that a potential free trade agreement with Europe would kill the local cheese industry because it couldn't compete with the likes of countries like France. Link{fr}
I guess Quebec cheese producers cannot face the unfair competition with FRANCE because it is a notorious low wage and under-regulated country with lax safety and hygiene standard, that give it a competitive advantage!!!!!!!
IT'S UNBELIEVABLE!

If you read French, take the time to read the sad consequences of government interference and price support. Link{fr}

"A good twenty Quebec food merchants made a presentation to the board of agricultural and food markets, yesterday morning, to signify their opposition to any repeal of the minimum price of milk. A decision that would kill small retailers, they say. And that in the long term would be disadvantageous to the population, according to a consumer association.
The board had called a "pre-conference" to determine the terms of a consultation on the possible repeal of the prices of milk consumption, which provides a minimum and maximum price. In short, a session on the form rather than the substance of the debate."The person who called the board that had a brain cramp," commented President and CEO of the Retailers Association of Quebec food Florent Gravel, first to speak. "Not one person around the table has called for the repeal of regulation milk prices."Profit margins are thin for retailers, said Mr. Gravel, whose association represents owners merchants. They are only 1 or 2% in the four-liter formats. The abolition of the minimum price would lead to a price war that would put small retailers and convenience stores in a difficult position, unable to compete with large supermarkets or other Couche-Tards who would not hesitate to use milk as a loss leader.In the short term, a price war would be good for the consumer, observes Denis Falardeau, coordinator of the cooperative family economy of Quebec, following the activities of the Agricultural Marketing Board Association. "But once the competition is killed, prices would rise again," he says.Processors, represented by the Council of dairy industry in Quebec, are also for the maintenance of the settlement. Small dairies eventually foot the bill for the price war, said the CEO Council, Pierre Nadeau, on the sidelines of yesterday's session. Major retailers may require lower prices to processors.
Since nobody requested deregulation of milk prices, the mere fact that the Board evokes surprised all stakeholders. "This is a decision that comes from internal, explained the Stage Manager, France Dionne. We feel that we have no solid basis for determining the price. ".........The board is not closed to the idea of maintaining the law, but it wants to know if the formula for fixing and indexing the price holds up. "What the board wants is relevant and reliable information on how to consider a fair price for retailers and processors, as well as a fair price for consumers, where milk it's just not anything, "said Ms. Dionne.The Board invites stakeholders to present an analysis of actual costs and to propose a pricing formula that takes into account. Link{fr}

Could you imagine if  all the producers of ketchup got together with the government and openly fixed the price of their product with minimum and maximum prices?
How about fixing the price of haircuts or cars or newspapers?
I thought this behaviour is against the law.
Apparently when the government fixes prices, like the minimum price set for gasoline, set by Quebec's Regie de l'energie, it's fine.
When a group of retailers conspire to fix prices, they end up charged with a crime.  Link

Jon Stewart examines shady Canadian maple syrup cartel on ‘The Daily Show’
Watch the Clip

Buying local, especially food, is a concept embraced by granolas and lefties who view the outside world as a nasty place where foreign products are a threat to local jobs and in the case of food, a threat to quality and global warming.
There is something noble about the concept of local farmers plowing their 'Green Acres' delivering their produce in a beat up pickup truck only a few short miles from the big city. Unfortunately, t'aint really so....

I shall leave these people with their fantasies, but must take to task Quebec's agricultural minister who actually believes that the government and its dependencies should set an example by buying  locally instead of seeking the best value for their public dollars, but before I go on, let me re-produce a letter to the editor by one of these elitist self-important 'organic' farmers who argues in his own selfish self-interest, which is fine as long as we look dispassionately at the arguments meant to tug at the heart strings

"I am a local organic farmer, and this boost is exactly what we need. Truth is that we have labour laws, wage laws, safety standards etc., that make producing food more expensive in Canada than in other places such as California, where Mexican labourers get paid $2-3/hr. So without government support, it’s impossible for us to compete.
While people are primarily worried about price, there is also the gigantic issue of quality. If people knew what levels of radiation California strawberries are subject to, and what waxes are sprayed on them to prevent them from going bad over their two-three week journey, they would avoid them like a toxic spill.
If the truth about the health effects of GMO were openly discussed, there would be an uprising, and people would gladly pay extra to get nutritious food and avoid serious poisons.
Therefore, let’s give our PQ leaders credit for standing alone against food oligopolies and encouraging local healthy food, and let’s demand that all GMOs are labelled, and impartial information about food handling by our lower priced competitors is readily available to the consumers.
James Turner
Verdun

"Mexican labourers get paid $2-3/h"
I don't know if Mexican farm workers earn that little, an article that I found, written by those supporting farm workers indicates that it is really somewhere in the neighbourhood of $4-$8 dollars an hour, nothing to brag about but for a migrant worker from Mexico the alternative is, well, Mexico.
The low wage argument is a powerful guilt inducer, but if we applied it to all the other products in society that we purchase from Pakistan or China, the cost of living would skyrocket.
For those of you who believe that this is the right thing to do, let's not just give local farmers a boost, but all industries that are affected by low-waged foreign products. Local farmers deserve no more consideration than manufacturers who saw their competitiveness destroyed by low wages.

"While people are primarily worried about price, there is also the gigantic issue of quality."
Nope, not true.
People have the opportunity to shop in 'organic' stores across the country and the market share of these establishments is infinitesimal. I guess there's not as many 'concerned' citizens as portrayed!
The truth is that people shop for price...period.
It's an unhappy truth driven by necessity.

."..people would gladly pay extra to get nutritious food and avoid serious poisons."
Pure fear-mongering.
Serious poisons? c'mon...
There are also granolas that argue against pasteurization too. Should we listen to their sky-is-falling spiels meant only to frighten us into accepting their more expensive alternate products?
And by the way, if people did pay extra, they wouldn't do it gladly.

How about the safety of organic products themselves? Are the products the organic industry provide us really inherently safer?
Read these informative articles;
"Is Organic Food Really Safe?.....The Real Story!
Eating Organic may be Harmful—The Truth Behind Organic Produce
This link is from Scientific American: Mythbusting 101: Organic Farming

At any rate, "Buy Local" programs are nothing more than protectionism, arguments about food safety are just a smokescreen and a con.

Local food is always better "Buy local!" the stickers yell. The local shops in my town sport that message everywhere; your town probably does, too. The buy local movement is a strong current in the river of environmentalism, and for a good reason: It does make good sense to keep your money and shopping close to home ... but not always. Local food isn't always better. There are many things you have to consider when assessing the environmental impact of a food item. Besides just how far it traveled from field to market, consider how the food was harvested, processed, stored and transported. For example: New Zealand farmers use a lot of renewable energy and less fertilizers, so it's actually less CO2-intensive for U.K. citizens to import lamb than to buy the local variety. Local is important, but it's not everything. Do your homework. Link 

All the links below come from highly reputable sources.
The Local Food Myth 
Debunking sustainable food myths
How the myth of food miles hurts the planet
The reality of the buy local movement is that it is just about protectionism, plain and simple.

In that vein Quebec's puppet Minister of Agriculture François Gendron, tells us that the government and its related agencies must set a good example by buying local and that he will work to make it so.

All across the province, government run senior citizen homes are tasked to provide a healthy and nutritious diet for under $5 a day per resident. The creative food planners and preparers scrimp and save, buying judiciously and in bulk to deliver the most bang for the buck. Read a post
Does the minister really believe that it is reasonable for them to pay 30-50% more for local products?
Is he going to provide them the money to do so?

Buy local is a ruinous program that is attractive to societies that fail or don't want to understand the benefits of trade.
While it seems a no-brainer to keep foreign products out of our market to save local jobs, when others put up barriers to our products, the senselessness of it all is plain to see.
Does it really make sense to grow pineapples in Quebec hothouses while a pineapple bought from Costa Rica costs a fraction of the cost?
Is it reasonable for Costa Rica to demand that their consumers pay extra for products or services that can be acquired from Quebec more cheaply?

Remember the uproar in Canada when the America Congress implemented a buy-American policy" 

"In 2009, US lawmakers passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which contained a similar, sweeping Buy American provision. Although the goal was to spur growth, many US companies actually lost much-needed business, because they were unable to sell component parts to Canadian manufacturers shut out of ARRA-funded projects." Link

As we in Quebec tut-tutted the rise in American protectionism, we fail to consider or willfully ignore that we in Quebec want everyone else to trade freely while we limit access. Read another post on Quebec protectionism

As Canada seeks to enter the Asia-Pacific market, through APEC, a free-trade agreement similar to NAFTA, the problem of supply-management and Canada's protected dairy market remains the biggest impediment.

"The free-trade proposal is being negotiated by U.S., Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Canada, Mexico and Japan have indicated they want to participate in the discussion but the U.S. has voiced concerns about Canada's supply management system, which shields certain Canadian farmers from international competition."  Link

Stephen Harper has already dismantled the cartel Wheat Board over the loud protests of those in the West who are heavily invested in the system of marketing cartels.

One only has to wonder what would happen should Ottawa ever attempt to remove the dairy cartel across Canada and in particular, Quebec.
The issue would probably be seen as a slap in the face and used to boost support for sovereignty.
 
The sad truth is that after independence Quebec's 40% share of the Canadian dairy market would evaporate!
You can't have it both ways, at least internationally.
In Canada Quebec has been coddled and financially indulged, by Canadians eager to pay them off to remain part of Canada.
Many of Quebec's coddled industries were protected through complicated 'grandfather' clauses negotiated in NAFTA.
The Americans have rued the day they made those concessions and are determined to never be suckered again and so are bound and determine to impose market forces on Canada's protected industries in the future.

Ask James Turner, the organic farmer and letter writer from Verdun if he is willing to pay double for fuel, clothing and other staples and he will certainly answer that he is.
That is because he is invested in the 'buy local' con.

For the rest of us who work in an office, who are retired, professional, students, blue collar or on a fixed income, low prices are essential to a better quality of life.
It isn't fair that those who benefit from protectionism are the ones calling the shots....

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Let me remind you of the Equality Party meeting at the Hampton Inn in  Dorval this Sunday between 2:00 and 4:00PM
The hotel is located on the Trans Canada Highway just east of Sources Boulevard on the south side of Highway 40 in Montreal.
I'll be there and hope to meet you. I think there's an important statement to be made!

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