LANDMARK, Man. – Eric Klippenstein asked a sobering question as Manitoba chicken producers celebrated three years of expansion in their industry.
“Can we compete? Can we excel?” he asked during a late September luncheon as part of the celebrations.
“What is being done to add a competitive advantage so that we do not fear the removal of supply management?”
The question posed by Klippenstein, a representative of the Steinbach Credit Union, could become more pressing as Canada and other countries negotiate for the removal of international trade barriers.
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“There is a lot of apprehension as to whether it will stay,” said Waldie Klassen, chair of the Manitoba Chicken Producer Board and director of Chicken Farmers of Canada.
Supply management’s future will depend largely on the federal government’s resolve to defend that system.
Indications so far are that Ottawa and the Manitoba government both want to keep it intact, Klassen said.
“The Canadian government has made a commitment to keep supply management, but I guess time will tell.”
Norbert Kintscher, a broiler producer at Niverville, Man., said the fate of supply management is out of his hands.
“That depends all on the politicians, not on me.”
