If you’re frustrated by how government support programs are designed or overwhelmed by navigating the paperwork, you’re certainly not alone. The numbers speak for themselves — enrolment in the main suite of federal programs has been dropping steadily for years. A recent letter from the Standing Committee on Agriculture to the Minister of Agriculture and… Read More
COVID-19 has really thrown a lot of the economic forecasting out the window for the Canadian economy. The big question is, how quickly we can get back to normal? Glen Hodgson, fellow-in-residence at the C.D. Howe Institute at Toronto, Ont., joined Shaun Haney for a chat about our country’s economic forecast. The economy rode a… Read More
Did anyone win in the final version of the New NAFTA? Is trade diversification for Canada just a pipe dream? How come we rarely talk about trade with Mexico? In this edition of RealAg LIVE! with Carlo Dade, director of the trade & investment centre of the Canada West Foundation, host Shaun Haney gets in… Read More
An unidentified individual has asked the Ontario government to supply a full list of farmers and farm businesses by name and Farm Business Registration (FBR) number. The formal request, filed under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, asks the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) to provide the following information:… Read More
The Canadian seed industry is moving closer to the end of its Seed Synergy project where five seed organizations in Canada will come together to form one entity, Seeds Canada. Shaun Haney spoke with Jonathan Nyborg, president of the Canadian Seed Growers Association (CSGA), to talk about the benefits of the potential amalgamation and where… Read More
The Liberal Member of Parliament who chairs the House of Commons’ agriculture committee has written a letter to his colleague who serves as agriculture minister pointing out the flaws in the government’s business risk management (BRM) programs for agriculture. The agriculture committee has been studying the federal government’s suite of risk management programs, which includes… Read More
Grain farmers in Manitoba and west all the way to B.C. will be required to sign an eligibility declaration at the elevator when delivering grain after the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement comes into force July 1. For most farmers in that region, this requirement doesn’t actually change all that much, as declarations have been part of… Read More
In this RealAg LIVE! episode with Mary Robinson, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), Mary joins host Shaun Haney to discuss agricultural policy issues including temporary foreign workers, business risk management programs, and engaging with youth and minorities. Check out the video below, or scroll down to read the summary! Tune in Thursday,… Read More
The ratification of the United States-Canada-Mexico Agreement (USMCA) has brought about trade changes for several industries — including agriculture. What’s been less clear in the lead up to implementation on July 1 is the full impact of what some of the changes will mean on a day-to-day basis at the production and sale level. Many… Read More
History would suggest that Canadian elections are won and lost in Quebec and Ontario. Although that may be true, recently we’ve seen a shift across the country. As the population growth shifts west and the balance of power moves from downtown to the suburbs, how will Canada’s political climate shift? How will agriculture, natural resources,… Read More
Bill 156, the Security from Trespass and Protecting Food Safety Act, 2020, has received Royal Assent following a vote of 68 for, 22 against in the Ontario legislature. The new law features heavier fines for trespassing on farms, including: Escalating fines of up to $15,000 for a first offence and $25,000 for subsequent offences, compared… Read More
For perhaps the first time in several generations, Canadians have been faced with real uncertainty in their food system. The fallout of the COVID-19 economic shutdown and panic buying led to shuttered processors, dumped milk, and empty grocery store shelves. Most consumers wouldn’t normally think about or talk about food security or agriculture on a… Read More
U.S. dairy groups are accusing Canada of making it difficult for U.S. dairy exporters to take advantage of the full market access negotiated in the new North American trade deal, which takes effect on July 1. The Canadian government published the fine print on how the allocation of its tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) will work under… Read More
While the U.S. and Canada are neighbours and trading partners, and share a similar agriculture industry, there are key differences between the two countries. While integrated, Canadian agriculture and U.S. agriculture food safety, product registration, support programs and more are each unique and a reflection of the societies as a whole. As such, Pierre Petelle,… Read More
An answer to a follow up question on a conference call by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada minister Marie-Claude Bibeau struck a nerve last week. Bibeau said that the carbon tax on fuel used for grain drying wasn’t a significant enough percentage of operating costs to qualify for an exemption to the “price of pollution.” In… Read More