We are dumping milk to keep prices high, while baby-saving formula becomes one of the most-stolen items by desperate mothers who can't afford the cost.
The more I learn about this country in the 6 years I have been here, the more I question its sovereignty. Perhaps the most frustrating part of what I learnt in this piece is the dumping of the milk. I would like to see that being made illegal.
This piece is arguing for more government intervention to solve a problem largely created by the government in the first place. If the track record of our government holds, government funding of an infant formula plant would be horrendously expensive, years late, raise the cost of formula, and probably end up exacerbating shortages because of new regulations to protect and “incentivize” the new Canadian facility.
Instead, look at where government regulation has caused problems: supply chain management of dairy, which has raised prices and helped *lower* the quality of dairy products (sticky butter, mediocre cheese.) The regulatory burden of producing infant formula makes the business unattractive to industry- the reason one big plant made 60% of formula in North America is a m outcome of that. That doesn’t mean dropping standards or lowering safety - it means rationalizing regulation of what’s really just a food product.
I don't know what butter or cheese you buy, but I don't have any trouble buying good cheese or butter.
As for the concentration of baby formula manufacturing, it's more likely than not a result of convergence or constant mergers and acquisitions within the food industry and not over regulation of the industry by government.
As for Canada's lack of production of formula that's just the pattern created by multiple governments making industry uncompetitive within our borders. We can't process the resources we produce competitively so they get shipped elsewhere as cheap raw materials and shipped back as finished products.
Great point. And our former Finance Minister was a woman. What? She didn’t know? Imagine all the children we could help and save in poor countries around our world,if we had our own plant with so much surplus milk? ‘No one cares!’ That’s the hardest truth to face! Easy fact,easy solution. And now it’s costing us $1.40 for $1.00 worth of food,from the US,in Alberta. What does that say about this Eastern Centralized government that can’t show some compassion for mothers and babies. Wow! And not even smart enough to be embarrassed. But China can build a plant in Canada for themselves only,and that’s ok in a politician mind. No more building in Canada,for our needs,consumption. Why buy Alberta oil and gas when you can pay for Saudi,Venezuela product? Better yet,send it to the US for refining and have them resell it back to us?
Learn to make your own baby formula at home. It’s not hard to do. Ask your grandma or any other woman who raised kids in the days before baby formula appeared on supermarket shelves. I raised five kids and they were all bottle-fed. Ingredients for making your own baby formula are readily available — evaporated milk and corn syrup. Yes, there’s a bit of work involved. I managed - even though I had a paying job outside the home — back in the days when there was no such thing as paid maternity or paternity leave. Formula recipes are available on the internet. When the Canadian dollar sinks to .60 cents US, as it surely will when Trump’s 25% tariffs kick in, things will get a lot more expensive. Us oldies have a wealth of knowledge re do-it-yourself to save money and get around shortages.
The really sad part was that, in the middle of that crisis, importing the same product from an European factory wasn't an option because the package did not have a French version available. It is incredible the lack of imagination of bureaucrats sometimes...
Both the US and Canada are hampered by highly protectionist government programs that result in distortions such as dumping milk amidst a formula crisis. Canada’s protectionism is worse than America. Hopefully, new leadership in Washington, and, soon, Ottawa, will address it.
“Canada” only protects certain things, and those certain things seem to benefit Quebec, Ontario, and the Maritimes. The milk-dumping insanity is a prime example of a mainly Quebec protecting (vote-buying) chunk of nonsense.
Canada is suffering a terrible case of Laurentian Disease. The exchange rate has moved lower to compensate for Canadian workers' lower productivity, which in turn makes investing in productivity enhancing technology more expensive. The government protects the dairy, poultry, airline, telecom, media and financial services to the point where they fail to innovate while the dearth of competition pushes up the cost of living and consumes resources better allocated to more innovative sectors. The federal government floods the country with immigrants to make up for low productivity and sustain the real estate ponzi scheme that provides the majority of Canadians' retirement savings. Federal regulations, the government's excessive deference to the Supreme Court and over valuation of NGO's as stakeholders have crippled Canada's main export industries. The Polievre government faces a challening mess. Hopefully it's resoundibg majority and lack of support base in dt Toronto and the Island of Montreal will embolden bold action.
Seriously Ms. Paradis? Next you'll be telling us there actually IS a business case for exporting our natural gas to allies. The nanny state knows better.
I've been a first hand witness to my provincial government harassing local raw milk producers for years. They take them to court and once the previous case settles, start spying on them and charging them with new offences.
For what? Supplying a product that many families happily pay for? On the taxpayer's dime?
Meanwhile, real criminals get bailed out and are free to continue wreaking havoc on the fragile societal order because keeping them in jail is inhumane?
Don't get me started about the milk cartel, which is the reason why we can't have raw dairy products in the first place.
Get rid of the cartel, legalize raw milk (it's safer than the pasteurized milky water they call milk anyway).
As for baby formula, I wouldn't be surprised that no one produces it here because the red tape makes it impossible.
Instead of giving billions to VW for a battery plant...
Amen to this. Utterly agree it is a national security urgency, not only a food security issue. Perhaps the incoming federal government will be open to making this a policy directive? Surely no party would oppose a federal formula strategy if advanced for the the reasons suggested here. At this point I think most Canadians are well aware of the need to bolster domestic manufacturing and supply.
A commenter has suggested households can and should make their own formula. As a person who produces and preserves as much food as a city-dweller can manage, I'd like to respectfully suggest this is not a solution to the pressing need for a secure, reliable, safe formula supply for our country.
Great article on an important issue but I must question a couple of assumptions. First this country is not "bending over backwards" to encourage manufacturing, just the opposite. Through regulation and taxation this country is actively discouraging investment and innovation. Secondly, in pandering to primarily Quebec dairy farmers this country supports a cartel that actively discourages innovation in Canada's dairy industry. It does matter how you vote.
Wow. I had no idea about this issue of baby formula. I continually rant about the dairy cartel in Canada but learning about the baby formula issue makes me even angrier. Let’s hope this article is a wake up call and next year we can be thankful that a new baby formula plant has - or is about to - start producing for the domestic market
We rely on US manufacturers for our baby formula supply, and they have consolidated the industry, shutting down plants, and fragilizing the supply chain. Canada would do well to put tariffs on US US formula and create a robust domestic supply immune to the demands of Wall Street.
I read your article while feeding my 9 week old American made formula. I also came to that question weeks ago of why there isn't a Canadian option. It comes down to the perennial question of why we can't seem to get things done here. Surely there would be a market for a product draped in the Canadian flag and it would be somewhat price insensitive - I would definitely pay more for a made in Canada option. Is it the lack of entrepreneural talent, lack of access to capital or is the regulatory hurdles too high? I do tend to agree with the other commenters that our history of direct government intervention into other business has generally failed spectacularly - maybe it should be to try to get the business reforms though to make Canada actually attractive to built and do stuff in again.
The more I learn about this country in the 6 years I have been here, the more I question its sovereignty. Perhaps the most frustrating part of what I learnt in this piece is the dumping of the milk. I would like to see that being made illegal.
It's illegal to disobey the dairy cartels orders.
Imagine if the politicians started thinking about all our futures instead of just theirs. What a world we could build.
This piece is arguing for more government intervention to solve a problem largely created by the government in the first place. If the track record of our government holds, government funding of an infant formula plant would be horrendously expensive, years late, raise the cost of formula, and probably end up exacerbating shortages because of new regulations to protect and “incentivize” the new Canadian facility.
Instead, look at where government regulation has caused problems: supply chain management of dairy, which has raised prices and helped *lower* the quality of dairy products (sticky butter, mediocre cheese.) The regulatory burden of producing infant formula makes the business unattractive to industry- the reason one big plant made 60% of formula in North America is a m outcome of that. That doesn’t mean dropping standards or lowering safety - it means rationalizing regulation of what’s really just a food product.
I don't know what butter or cheese you buy, but I don't have any trouble buying good cheese or butter.
As for the concentration of baby formula manufacturing, it's more likely than not a result of convergence or constant mergers and acquisitions within the food industry and not over regulation of the industry by government.
As for Canada's lack of production of formula that's just the pattern created by multiple governments making industry uncompetitive within our borders. We can't process the resources we produce competitively so they get shipped elsewhere as cheap raw materials and shipped back as finished products.
Canadians don't even know what good butter and cheese are.
Great point. And our former Finance Minister was a woman. What? She didn’t know? Imagine all the children we could help and save in poor countries around our world,if we had our own plant with so much surplus milk? ‘No one cares!’ That’s the hardest truth to face! Easy fact,easy solution. And now it’s costing us $1.40 for $1.00 worth of food,from the US,in Alberta. What does that say about this Eastern Centralized government that can’t show some compassion for mothers and babies. Wow! And not even smart enough to be embarrassed. But China can build a plant in Canada for themselves only,and that’s ok in a politician mind. No more building in Canada,for our needs,consumption. Why buy Alberta oil and gas when you can pay for Saudi,Venezuela product? Better yet,send it to the US for refining and have them resell it back to us?
Learn to make your own baby formula at home. It’s not hard to do. Ask your grandma or any other woman who raised kids in the days before baby formula appeared on supermarket shelves. I raised five kids and they were all bottle-fed. Ingredients for making your own baby formula are readily available — evaporated milk and corn syrup. Yes, there’s a bit of work involved. I managed - even though I had a paying job outside the home — back in the days when there was no such thing as paid maternity or paternity leave. Formula recipes are available on the internet. When the Canadian dollar sinks to .60 cents US, as it surely will when Trump’s 25% tariffs kick in, things will get a lot more expensive. Us oldies have a wealth of knowledge re do-it-yourself to save money and get around shortages.
The really sad part was that, in the middle of that crisis, importing the same product from an European factory wasn't an option because the package did not have a French version available. It is incredible the lack of imagination of bureaucrats sometimes...
Don't follow words, follow the actions.
Bilingual labeling requirements are more important than the health of babies or the financial health of young families in Canada. Tell me I'm wrong...
Overabundance of stupid Quebecois chauvinism.
Both the US and Canada are hampered by highly protectionist government programs that result in distortions such as dumping milk amidst a formula crisis. Canada’s protectionism is worse than America. Hopefully, new leadership in Washington, and, soon, Ottawa, will address it.
“Canada” only protects certain things, and those certain things seem to benefit Quebec, Ontario, and the Maritimes. The milk-dumping insanity is a prime example of a mainly Quebec protecting (vote-buying) chunk of nonsense.
Canada is suffering a terrible case of Laurentian Disease. The exchange rate has moved lower to compensate for Canadian workers' lower productivity, which in turn makes investing in productivity enhancing technology more expensive. The government protects the dairy, poultry, airline, telecom, media and financial services to the point where they fail to innovate while the dearth of competition pushes up the cost of living and consumes resources better allocated to more innovative sectors. The federal government floods the country with immigrants to make up for low productivity and sustain the real estate ponzi scheme that provides the majority of Canadians' retirement savings. Federal regulations, the government's excessive deference to the Supreme Court and over valuation of NGO's as stakeholders have crippled Canada's main export industries. The Polievre government faces a challening mess. Hopefully it's resoundibg majority and lack of support base in dt Toronto and the Island of Montreal will embolden bold action.
Seriously Ms. Paradis? Next you'll be telling us there actually IS a business case for exporting our natural gas to allies. The nanny state knows better.
I've been a first hand witness to my provincial government harassing local raw milk producers for years. They take them to court and once the previous case settles, start spying on them and charging them with new offences.
For what? Supplying a product that many families happily pay for? On the taxpayer's dime?
Meanwhile, real criminals get bailed out and are free to continue wreaking havoc on the fragile societal order because keeping them in jail is inhumane?
Don't get me started about the milk cartel, which is the reason why we can't have raw dairy products in the first place.
Get rid of the cartel, legalize raw milk (it's safer than the pasteurized milky water they call milk anyway).
As for baby formula, I wouldn't be surprised that no one produces it here because the red tape makes it impossible.
Instead of giving billions to VW for a battery plant...
Amen to this. Utterly agree it is a national security urgency, not only a food security issue. Perhaps the incoming federal government will be open to making this a policy directive? Surely no party would oppose a federal formula strategy if advanced for the the reasons suggested here. At this point I think most Canadians are well aware of the need to bolster domestic manufacturing and supply.
A commenter has suggested households can and should make their own formula. As a person who produces and preserves as much food as a city-dweller can manage, I'd like to respectfully suggest this is not a solution to the pressing need for a secure, reliable, safe formula supply for our country.
An excellent and eye-opening article
Great article on an important issue but I must question a couple of assumptions. First this country is not "bending over backwards" to encourage manufacturing, just the opposite. Through regulation and taxation this country is actively discouraging investment and innovation. Secondly, in pandering to primarily Quebec dairy farmers this country supports a cartel that actively discourages innovation in Canada's dairy industry. It does matter how you vote.
Wow. I had no idea about this issue of baby formula. I continually rant about the dairy cartel in Canada but learning about the baby formula issue makes me even angrier. Let’s hope this article is a wake up call and next year we can be thankful that a new baby formula plant has - or is about to - start producing for the domestic market
Supply management is a red herring. The real problem is monopolization in baby formula manufacturers. Matt Stoller wrote about this a few years ago:
https://www.thebignewsletter.com/p/big-bottle-the-baby-formula-nightmare
We rely on US manufacturers for our baby formula supply, and they have consolidated the industry, shutting down plants, and fragilizing the supply chain. Canada would do well to put tariffs on US US formula and create a robust domestic supply immune to the demands of Wall Street.
I read your article while feeding my 9 week old American made formula. I also came to that question weeks ago of why there isn't a Canadian option. It comes down to the perennial question of why we can't seem to get things done here. Surely there would be a market for a product draped in the Canadian flag and it would be somewhat price insensitive - I would definitely pay more for a made in Canada option. Is it the lack of entrepreneural talent, lack of access to capital or is the regulatory hurdles too high? I do tend to agree with the other commenters that our history of direct government intervention into other business has generally failed spectacularly - maybe it should be to try to get the business reforms though to make Canada actually attractive to built and do stuff in again.
It's lack of capital mostly. With capital the other reasons could be dealt with.
In Canada if you aren't buying immovable property good luck getting any business financing.