Part of Canada’s tariff response must be fixing the internal handicap of interprovincial trade.
At last calculation, the barriers between provinces were the equivalent of a 6.9 per cent tariff.
Until there is both enabling legislation and regulatory framework, including access to supply managed supplies, and the much-needed infrastructure is in place, it is highly unlikely that growth across the nation can occur.
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As an added weight, the reality of food insecurity compels us to look at immediate solutions that are inclusive of the universal right to access food. With 22.9 per cent of Canadians hungry, they will soon run out of patience as food prices increase.
Canada is the eighth-largest exporter of agricultural and food products, and we have become dependent on this trade, leaving opportunity on the table in terms of interprovincial trade. Most of what we export is in the form of a commodity and not a value-added product.
It is interesting to note many food processors are in more remote locations or are clustered in a region.
Nuffield Scholar Shawn Moen looked at small and medium size (SME) processors around the world and found that there were commonalities in those resilient companies and communities. There was local collaboration and cooperation that led to healthy competition.
But first – we have to talk to each other. Take, for example, pork, chicken, beef, fish and lentils which currently compete for consumer attention and are all wonderful sources of protein. At any table, one or all may show up as the principal protein in the Saturday night stir fry. The conversation in the creation of resilient value add should be focused on the finished dish – not about competing for space within it. The customer will decide that dependent on preference and marketing – always believing they are making an informed choice.
It’s time to stop compartmentalizing the pantry and the freezer. The main point of intersectionality between the meat/fish/lentils in the stir fry is the nutritional value of the protein in the human diet. Working together to ensure that they are all Canadian proteins for Canadian plates incubates a robust competition and ensures that there is uptake for product within the nation in the value-added offerings we can manufacture.
And here is the kicker, small family-owned SMEs make up the majority of the businesses in agri-food in Canada and around the world. Often in clusters, these regional enterprises have the advantage of a shorter supply chain and, as Moen reminds us, a sense of ‘collective resiliency.’
The solutions to the circling shark aren’t in running in panic and deciding as a tribe which harpoon to use. The solution is to stop being the bait.
We have the capacity to collaborate and cooperate internally. We have the talent to create food products. We can demand a regulatory framework that is reflective of the need and speed of the private sector and interprovincial barriers can be erased.
Economically it may take some adjusting, as we need access to supply-managed eggs, poultry and milk. We need to support rural regions and SMEs through to commercialization and marketing. We need to protect our water and to erase barriers and build infrastructure. All of which are long overdue.
Most importantly, we must employ a national creed to feed our people first and honour our societal obligations of “three meals a day” with Canadian ingredients and food from Canadian farms – building an innovative, collaborative and resilient agri-food industry.
