Bernier revealed his position against the policy, known as supply management, during a speech in Ottawa.
The announcement is a reversal for Bernier, who has long championed the policy, which has been the subject of much debate in Canada.
“There is of course no way to reconcile it,” said Bernier in a statement to the Financial Post. “Supply management is a system based on keeping the prices of dairy, poultry and eggs artificially high through the control of production, the banning of imports, price-fixing by bureaucrats, and on preventing competition and entry into the market. It is a cartel. It is the opposite of free markets.”
Supply management is supported by all three major political parties and it is particularly popular in Bernier’s home province of Quebec. But the policy is also divisive. Opponents argue that it is a harmful protectionist policy that stymies consumer choice and creates poorer quality products and inefficiencies in the market.
But supply management has allowed the federal government to avoid subsidizing the diary, poultry and egg farming industries in Canada. Other countries, including those in the European Union and the United States, do subsidize their own industries to be more competitive.
In his statement, Bernier said he spent time championing supply management in the past because of his party’s official support for it, rather than his own personal belief.
“I was not in a position to question the party’s democratic decision, or cabinet solidarity,” he said. “And so I went along with it like all my colleagues, even though I had grave misgivings about it for all these years.”
Bernier’s shift on supply management comes the same week as Quebec diary farmers are planning a major protest to get the federal government to enforce existing supply management rules. Dairy farmers say they are losing tens of thousands of dollars a year because inspectors are allowing a U.S. protein — known as diafiltered milk — to get past the border without tariffs because of a loophole.
The milk farmers are planning to hold a rally on Parliament Hill on Thursday to show their discontent.
Bernier entered the Tory leadership race in April. He is a self-described “free market guy” who has touted the benefits of removing the government’s hand from the private sector.
The Conservatives will vote for a new leader on May 27, 2017.
Source: Financial Post