MPs in the House of Commons have unanimously passed a Bloc Québécois bill that would block any future trade agreements from altering Canada’s dairy, egg and poultry quotas, reigniting debate over the limits of supply management protections in international negotiations.Bill C-202 prohibits the federal government from making trade commitments that would affect supply-managed sectors. The legislation mirrors an earlier bill, C-282, which passed the Commons in 2023 but was halted in the Senate by a committee that argued MPs hadn’t fully examined its implications..Bloc MP Yves Perron, who sponsored the bill, said he hopes for quick approval this time. “We will never give up,” he said. “We are now counting on swift passage in the Senate so the bill can come into effect as quickly as possible.”The bill has drawn criticism from economists and trade experts who argue it could hurt Canada’s broader economic interests. Daniel Schwanen, vice-president at the C.D. Howe Institute, said the quota system, while important to a small group of producers, represents a minor part of the national economy. “What this bill says is Canada is willing to unnecessarily curtail the ability of these other sectors to expand in global markets,” he said..Greg Northey of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance warned the bill would create a damaging precedent for future negotiations. “For what we see as very little benefit for the supply management sector, it would absolutely create an environment that is very detrimental to the vast swath of farmers,” he testified.Despite the support in the House, the bill’s fate remains uncertain in the Senate, where similar legislation was blocked last fall. Sen. Mary Coyle at the time called for more thorough review, saying, “This bill was not well studied in the House.”Quota-protected sectors account for roughly 1% of the Canadian economy, while the majority of the country’s farm and food sectors operate in open markets. Critics argue locking in legal protections for supply management could jeopardize future deals involving everything from beef to aluminum and tech services.
