As the volume of grain backed up on farms in Western Canada grows, proposed transportation legislation that could help grain shippers address poor rail service remains stalled in the Senate. As it’s written right now, Bill C-49 — originally introduced in the House of Commons last spring — would give grain shippers the right to… Read More
Category: Canadian Agriculture Policy
The 2018-19 federal budget tabled by Finance Minister Bill Morneau on Tuesday did not contain any major farm programs or funding. “We had to do some deep digging to actually see some positives for farmers. It’s really lacking compared to budget 2017 when they had ambitious goals for agriculture — exports worth $75 billion by… Read More
When assessing whether there was progress made on removing restrictions on Canadian pulse crops during Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s controversy-filled trip to India last week, it’s a matter of defining what the expectations were, says the CEO of Pulse Canada. If the expectation was to simply have pulses on the agenda, it could be described… Read More
It was the trade agreement that almost wasn’t, but now that the Trans-Pacific Partnership is headed towards completion, Canadian commodity groups are tallying up the potential impact the deal will have on trade in the coming years. Rick White, CEO of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, recently sat down with Shaun Haney to talk TPP11,… Read More
India’s government has agreed to work with Canadian officials to ease pest-related restrictions on pulse imports before the end of this year. “India and Canada will work closely together to finalize an arrangement within 2018 to enable the export of Canadian pulses to India free from pests of quarantine importance, with mutually acceptable technological protocols,”… Read More
Canada’s two major railways supplied less than half of the hopper cars ordered by grain shippers last week, according to data from the Ag Transport Coalition. The farm group and grain shipper coalition’s weekly report says Canadian National Railway (CN) only supplied 34 percent of cars that were ordered in week 28 of the crop… Read More
As if NAFTA negotiations weren’t complicated enough with trying to figure out what the U.S. administration wants, Mexico’s looming election is adding another layer of political uncertainty. The political threat to a successful renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement is particularly concerning for trade-dependent industries like agriculture, as highlighted by two of the… Read More
Protein Industries Canada was named today as one of the winning proponents under the federal Innovation Superclusters Program. The funding model is part of the federal government’s Innovation and Skills Plan “to spark growth and help Canada realize its potential as a global leader in innovation” though creating large-scale industry partnerships. Protein Industries Canada, based… Read More
One of North America’s largest advantages has been the infrastructure in place to move agricultural commodities from inland to the coast for export. Farmers and ranchers complain about some of the bottlenecks and issues, but, comparatively speaking to Russia and Brazil, North American highways and byways have historically been in much better shape. That might… Read More
Farmers and ranchers across Canada and the United States identify with a hard day’s work, family, and a life away from the hustle and bustle of the city. You would have to drive many dirt roads before you found a farmer in either country identifying with “the elites.” In the Right Honourable Stephen Harper’s recent… Read More