Union des producteurs agricoles
The Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) is an agricultural trade union representing producers in the Canadian province of Quebec. Originally a Catholic union called the Union catholique des cultivateurs (UCC), it shed its denominational character as a result of the Quiet Revolution and has existed in its current form since 1972.
Rural electrification was one of the union's foremost goals in its early years (it is estimated that only ten per cent of Quebec farms had electricity in 1930). It also fought for agricultural credit and collective contracts.[1]
Since 1972, the UPA has been accredited as the only official farmer's union in Quebec. A 2008 report to the Quebec cabinet recommended changing this system and offering producers a free affiliation vote every five years. UPA president Christian Lacasse rejected this proposal, saying that Quebec does not have enough farmers for several different organizations.[2] He also noted that ninety-four per cent of Quebec farmers belong to the organization.[3]
The UPA and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture both supported the Quebec-Ontario Trade and Cooperation Agreement of 2009.[4]
As of 2010, the union represents forty-three thousand agricultural producers in Quebec.[5]
External links
References
- ↑ Un peu d'histoire Archived July 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine., Union des producteurs agricoles, accessed 10 October 2010.
- ↑ Grain News, 13 February 2008, accessed 10 October 2010.
- ↑ Kevin Dougherty, "'Food sovereignty' urged for Quebec; Agricultural diversification. Report encourages more specialized farms and phasing out of income insurance," Montreal Gazette, 13 February 2008, A3.
- ↑ "The UPA and OFA insist the Quebec-Ontario agricultural agreement be reproduced in the Agreement on Internal Trade," Canada NewsWire, 11 September 2009.
- ↑ Qui sommes-nous? Archived October 12, 2010, at the Wayback Machine., Union des producteurs agricoles, accessed 10 October 2010.