The Canadian government is souring maple syrup production in Quebec, according to The New York Times.
Through the Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers, an agency, the Times referred to as a “cartel,” the Canadian government has seized control of 70 percent of the world’s maple syrup supply and turned the lives of Canadian farmers upside down.
On Aug. 20, Times reporter Ian Austen reported that the government confiscated more than 20,000 pounds of Robert Hodge’s maple syrup. The Canadian maple syrup farmer opposes the government’s control of what used to be private, generational family production of syrup.
The government confiscated a year’s worth of Hodge’s syrup because he sold directly to a buyer in Ontario instead of selling to The Federation, which stockpiles syrup and artificially inflates the price before reselling it.
According to Austen, Canada’s government-approved syrup cartel has been concentrating power for the past 25 years: “In 1990, the federation became the only wholesale seller of the province’s production, and in 2004, it gained the power to decide who gets to make maple syrup and how much.”
In theory, the federation is supposed to make syrup production more stable, by raising the selling price and regulating consumption so that there aren’t slumps and surges in demand. But the market controls are actually harming the people it is supposed to help.
According to Hodge, who is currently facing the legal and financial wrath of the federation, paying a tax on each pound of syrup isn’t outrageous, but the additional regulatory restrictions are crippling Quebec’s syrup industry.
The Federation religiously patrols for violations, stationing guards at farms that are suspected of selling outside the agency. Additionally, “Inspectors regularly patrol corner stores and small supermarkets … to see if producers who are allowed to sell only at their farms have modestly expanded their retail presence.”
The fines on farms who choose to disregard the regulations have approached $1 million in certain cases, and are making syrup production a less attractive occupation.
