National Farmers Union Presentation to the Competition Policy Review Panel

If national prosperity and a higher standard of living for a majority of Canadians is to be achieved, the Competition Policy Review Panel must look beyond the flawed assumptions inherent in its consultation paper. It is clear from farmers’ experience, as well as the data from Statistics Canada, that the free trade policies of the past two decades have failed to raise farmers’ standard of living, despite increased exports of farm commodities and rising gross incomes. Farmers’ realized net incomes have not only failed to keep pace with the increased productivity of their farms, they have actually fallen further and further behind. Farm debt has more than doubled since the 1980s, and a majority of farmers across Canada rely on off-farm income to remain afloat financially.