Meetings to discuss compensation promised by Agriculture Canada but no dates set. Ottawa—While about three quarters of dairy farmers have already received their first payment to offset the impact of new trade agreements, the rest of the supply-managed sector is still waiting for Agriculture Canada to finalize their promised compensation.Of the 10,346 farmers who hold dairy quota, 8,176 opted for their first payment in 2019, says Chantal Paul, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Dairy Commission. The main reason cited by those who chose to wait until 2020 for the initial payment was for tax planning purposes.Meanwhile turkey, chicken and egg producers along with poultry and dairy processors are still waiting to see what the government will do to help them cope with market share lost under the European and Pacific trade deals and in time the new deal with the U.S. and Mexico.After the conclusion of the first version of the new North American trade deal in October 2018, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised fair and equitable compensation to the farmers and processors. In early 2019, special working groups were formed by Agriculture Canada to negotiate with the farmers and processors on how to adjust to the increased market access for imported products provided by the three free trade deals.Two groups involve Dairy Farmers of Canada and the Dairy Processors Association of Canada (DPAC) while the other one covered poultry producers and processors.The first dairy group worked out the compensation plan for the farmers while the second is charged with establishing “a plan for a future vision to ensure the dairy industry can innovate, grow and remain an important source of jobs and growth for future generations.”While the government said last summer the poultry group had completed its task, the poultry producers and the processors remain in the dark about what compensation will come their way.Phil Boyd, Executive Director of Turkey Farmers of Canada, said, “We are awaiting a response and noted the commitments made by parties during the election campaign. I expect we may know more about timing in the next several weeks.”Egg Farmers of Canada and Chicken Farmers of Canada offered very similar responses about expecting some answers after Parliament resumes sitting in late January. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau could well be in for a lot of questions from the opposition parties about what is taking her department so long to supply the promised compensation.Her mandate letter from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau instructs her to “protect supply-managed agricultural sectors and work with them to develop a vision of the future including compensation from market share lost because of free trade deals.”The frustration with Agriculture Canada's handling of the issue boiled over last September when the Dairy Processors blasted the government for deciding “to renege on its promise to compensate the dairy processing sector for the economic harm caused by the recent conclusions of negotiations for the three trade deals.”The government has done nothing to prepare a compensation package for dairy processors leaving them with no clear direction when it comes to the government's plans to mitigate the negative impacts of trade agreements, DPAC said.While the government did not respond to that statement, it promised meetings on the topic but no dates have been set, DPAC spokeswoman Cinna VanDusen said. Meanwhile the second dairy group has more meetings planned for its look at the future of the dairy sector, but again no dates have been determined.Jean-Michel Laurin, President & CEO of the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council, said Bibeau has promised details on compensation for his members in the near future but no one knows when that might happen.Laurin said the poultry processing working group completed its work last spring and CPEC has “been waiting for the government to finalize its work and make an announcement that addresses our concerns and recommendations since then.”DPAC said that processors and farmers need the compensation “to adapt to the successive market shocks imposed by the government's trade deals,” he said.One proposal on the table is for the government to allocate all import licenses, known as Tariff Rate Quota or TRQ, for foreign dairy products to domestic dairy processors. That would enable them “to invest in the import market, as opposed to competing with it,” DPAC said. “This would cost the government a total of $0, making their lack of commitment to date especially puzzling.”Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.