Dairy farmers in Quebec are staging a protest convoy this week to bring their message to citizens and the federal government.
Dairy farmers protest on St. Jacques St. in NDG on May 3, 2016 (CTV Montreal/Cosmo Santamaria)
Milk producers, who are highly protected with price quotas and high tariffs on milk imports, say they are losing money because of the importation of milk solids, estimating they lost $220 million in 2015 alone.
Protesters are meeting in Quebec City on Monday, then moving to Longueuil on Tuesday.
On Wednesday the protesters will take their convoy of tractors through Montreal via the Jacques Cartier Bridge to the Viau Bridge, and from there to Montebello.
On Thursday they will drive to Ottawa, and then rally on Parliament Hill on Thursday afternoon.
High-protein milk solids are subject to lower fees when imported into Canada, unlike liquid milk, but once it crosses the border the Canada Food Inspection Agency treats the product as if it was regular milk.
New technology making it cheaper to produce “diafiltered” milk solids has prompted dairy companies to bring it into Canada.
But Quebec’s farmers say it’s against federal law to use diafiltered milk in Canadian-made cheese.
On Monday Coalition Avenir Quebec agriculture critic Sylvie D’Amours said she was dismayed that a federal committee that has been studying the issue for the past month has not come to a decision.
Source: CTV News
