Senator Eugene Whelan is never shy about saying that even when he was agriculture minister in the 1970s and 1980s, he never fully trusted the trade officials in his own department.
He always thought they were too interested in free trade and negotiating deals that limit government, rather than in using government to help farmers.
Last week, with Agriculture Canada trade policy director general Mike Gifford sitting as a witness before the Senate agriculture committee, Whelan put in a few licks.
Gifford was talking about the benefits Canada-United States free trade have brought to agriculture.
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He used an example close to Whelan’s heart to make his point and ended up in a sparring match.
Strengthened wine industry
Gifford told senators that many free trade critics had forecast the demise of many Canadian sectors, including the wine industry. Instead, the southern Ontario wine industry has saved itself and become stronger.
Before free trade, vineyards had low quality grapes which produced “crummy” wine, said the bureaucrat.
In the face of competition and with some government help, old vines were ripped out, higher quality vines were planted and Ontario wines now win international awards.
Whelan exploded, demanding that Gifford withdraw the “crummy wine” remark.
Free trade did not invent good Ontario wines, he said. “When I was agriculture minister, I never served anything but Canadian wine.”
Gifford retreated a bit.
Two decades ago, there were pockets of high quality grapes which produced good wines, he conceded.
But he stuck to his main argument that the quality of Ontario wines has improved sharply in the past 10 years of free trade competition.
