The Canadian government should be receptive to renegotiating NAFTA to include gradual changes to supply management, but this must be done in consultation with Canadian farmers. Having a long-term strategy to increase dairy trade with the U.S., while still protecting Canadian farmers and their livelihoods, is a win-win situation.

While the main output of the ongoing battle for the Conservative Party of Canada's leadership has been a deluge of candidates, a few interesting policies have also surfaced.

Maxime Bernier is making the case against supply management.

The finalized TPP opens up 3.25 per cent of Canada's dairy market to foreign products. Right away, Stephen Harper announced that his cabinet has approved a plan to spend a hefty $4.3 billion in compensation to soothe the vocal dairy industry. It would be another whole day before Harper announced the significantly lower $1 billion in compensation for the auto sector. Canada just entered the global tax subsidy race, and the dairy industry got the first golden egg.

A few tired articles have been published by the usual suspects to encourage the government to get rid of supply management, which matches domestic demand with domestic supply in the five sectors it covers -- eggs, dairy, chicken, turkey and hatching eggs.

Supply management, a sensible regulated system where domestic supply is governed by domestic demand, is under attack from critics who are uninformed about its usefulness and effectiveness for producers, processors and consumers. In short, they suggest it must be sacrificed on the altar of the Trans Pacific Partnership negotiations if Canada wants to be inside that grouping which, they all assume, would benefit the country.