Canadian agri-food exports have doubled since 1989: and farmers' net incomes have fallen 19%. Exports are 51/2 times higher than in 1975: and net farm income is 25% lower. (Adjusted for inflation, per farm realized net income is 77% lower than in 1975.) For farmers, increased trade resulting from the Canada-U.S. Trade Agreement (CUSATA), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement had yielded few, if any, measurable benefits.
While recent trade agreements have provided few benefits for farmers, such agreements have had several adverse effects. These agreements have embattled and weakened orderly marketing agencies-milk, poultry and egg marketing boards; the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), the Ontario Wheat Producers Marketing Board (OWPMB); and our few remaining hog marketing boards. These agreements severely restrict our ability to fashion agricultural safety nets which will effectively shield Canadian farmers from increasingly volatile world markets. These agreements also threaten Canadian laws which regulate foreign land ownership, laws which protect our environment, and laws currently under consideration which might inject competition into the western grain transportation system.NFU Trade Policy
The Canadian federal and provincial governments must work with farmers, rural residents and all citizens to establish a food production, distribution, and trade system in Canada and around the world which would ensure:
B) That the means of producing that food remains in the hands of peasants, small and medium sized farmers and indigenous peoples- both men and women.
C) That farm producers receive a fair and adequate return for their work.
D) That wealth created in rural areas fosters the security and prosperity of rural communities.
E) That agriculture policies protect and enhance the natural environment.
F) That every country has the right to adopt all necessary to ensure the preceding goals and
G) That the international food trade is subservient to the preceding goals.
Further, the preceding principals must form the basis of the Canadian government's WTO & FTAA negotiating positions.