Stewart Jeanes is a businessman who moved to Alberta for two years — thirty-seven years ago.Some days it seems like Prime Minister Mark Carney wants Albertans to exercise their right to independence. Take just the other day, for instance. Canada’s government learned that access to our dairy market is required by the United States if the vital Canada/US/Mexico trade agreement is to be extended. Carney wasted no time announcing that his government will "continue to protect supply management." This despite his election time assurances that he was the man to make a deal with the Americans. Well, he’s no Monty Hall (If you don’t know who Monty Hall is you should ask a parent or grandparent – or click here)For those unfamiliar with Canada’s Supply Management System, it’s a holdover from the 1970’s whereby dairy farmers (mostly from Quebec) are protected from competition through both artificially high retail prices, and high tariffs on dairy imports. Now, who doesn’t like farmers, and who didn’t grow up drinking milk? The whole concept is right as rain – until you look at what the system is costing Canadian families.Let’s save some time, and ask AI about supply management:.But wait, there’s more! More costs that is. What is the cost to other industries if we do not play fair with our international trading partners? Well, I hear the US doesn’t want to buy our cars anymore. That’s bound to cost something. Thousands of jobs come to mind. And the trade war has done what the environmentalists could not — killed our lumber industry. But don’t worry. We’ll always have our steel makers. Nothing could stop those rugged men of steel — except this trade war, it turns out. .So why? Why is the governing party willing to sacrifice so much in order to protect the one industry? It’s because the only way you can be the governing party is by protecting that industry – or rather by protecting the seats in Parliament that come with that industry. More on seats in parliament later. Right now, let’s discuss how the dairy lobby has affected Canada’s politics. Specifically, the 2017 leadership race for the Conservative Party of Canada. There was a ranked ballot, and Maxime Bernier won the first twelve rounds of voting. Andrew Scheer pulled a stunning upset, however, and won the contest on the 13th ballot. What did it for Scheer? He promised to protect supply management. Bernier promised to dismantle it. Scheer benefited from the support of the powerful dairy lobby, and even managed to win in Bernier’s own riding. Bernier got mad, started a new party, and peeled off some CPC votes that resulted in Liberals winning a few extra seats in subsequent federal elections. Sigh.Now about those seats in parliament. You need 172 of them to form government. Nothing else matters. Canadians can’t benefit from a political party’s wonderful policies if they don’t win 172 seats. So, all party leaders implement certain policies (like supply management) so they can win government..RZEPA: Finding my voice — when my country seems to be losing its own.Here’s another example. Danielle Smith’s recent hard-won MOU for an oil filled pipe from Alberta to the North Coast? I thank the premier for her efforts, but in my view, it’s not going to happen for the same reason supply management does happen. Too many seats are at risk. Think of it this way: If the pipe is built, seats in BC and Quebec are at risk. If the pipe is not built, seats in Alberta are at risk. The Liberal Party of Canada has 20 seats in BC, 44 seats in Quebec, and two seats in Alberta. Remember, nothing else matters to the people vying to govern you than winning power. So, no matter how badly autoworkers, the men of steel, and the lumberjacks need jobs, and no matter how many jobs building that oil filled pipe will produce, it will not be built. You wouldn’t build it either if you wanted to be prime minister. And if you were to campaign on building it you would never win enough seats in BC or Quebec to become prime minister.Which industry is next to suffer so that federal politicians can protect their Dairy Lobby seats in parliament? To date, Alberta’s Oil and Gas, and agriculture industries have been relatively unscathed by the trade war. I think this is due to a combination of Premier Smith’s canny outreach to the American Administration, and the nature of both agriculture, and resource extraction. .You can move an automobile factory to another jurisdiction, but you can’t move a farmer’s field, or an oil lease. Nevertheless, Albertans have cause to be worried about the future of their largest exports.Recently, the US has found reason to engage in a formal armed conflict with Venezuela. One hates seeing these conflicts start because you never know how they will end. Could they end with Venezuela’s oil industry once again being run by U.S. oil giants Conoco Phillips and Exxon Mobil? These firms were chased out of Venezuela in 2007 when President Hugo Chavez nationalized their industry. It seems that White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller is still mad about it. Recently he described Venezuela’s actions as “theft”, and it’s not a stretch to think today’s armed conflict might end with these assets once again being under U.S. control. Venezuela’s oil fields are much closer to the Texas refineries that process Alberta’s bitumen than Alberta is..CARPAY: Ottawa's assault on our internet freedoms must stop now.So, while we hope for the best, we must prepare for the worst. And the worst would be Alberta’s exports being displaced by Venezuelan exports. Premier Smith could demonstrate Alberta is a supplier that listens to their best customer, and acts on reasonable requests. Supply Management is bad for Canadian consumers, and an irritant to the U.S. Administration. Fortunately, Smith has prepared the ground for repudiating Supply Management. It has been noted that the program forces Albertans to support Quebec’s dairy industry, but there is no quid pro for Alberta. Refineries in Montreal and Lévis unload a substantial amount of offshore oil.Premier Smith recently mused about opting out of Supply Management. I hope she continues down that road, and makes it clear to her contacts in the U.S. Administration that we hate the system as much as they do. Let’s find a way to have free trade between Alberta and the US. Alberta will need a carve out from the federal government, but that should not be difficult. Afterall, the feds granted BC a three-year exemption from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act which allowed addicts to use opioids, crack cocaine and meth without risk of arrest. Surely, the same government would allow the free trade of something as wholesome as milk and dairy on a trial basis. I believe Albertans are the best at whatever we turn our attention to, and we can compete with anyone in the world. We don’t need government tilting the playing field in our favour. Stewart Jeanes is a businessman who moved to Alberta for two years — thirty-seven years ago.
