Cheese. It’s expensive in Canada. 400g of grocery cheddar goes for $10.50 unless it’s on sale.

I love cheese. I wish I could have more cheese in my life. Cheese and wine, but I’d settle for cheese. I know, it’s ridiculous.

Canada has a system of supply management to control dairy prices in the country. This system doesn’t get a ton of attention, but recently (today) made the news because New Zealand, who is part of the CPTPP, is having their cheese imports into Canada denied due to our regulations against imported cheese. Canadian dairy farmers are happy to continue posting year over year profits, consumers suffer, and our trade partners are unhappy.

Back in the day this made sense because it supported smaller local farms, but it’s 2023 and there are only a handful of large dairy farmers that dominate the industry. Other countries subsidize their dairy industry to help keep prices low.

The most compelling reason I can think of to reverse supply management is that in doing so the government could subsidize grocery items. It would cost billions, but I like the idea of using tax dollars to make it easier for people to eat.

I don’t think I’d vote on this issue, but I’d take it into consideration.