Members of Parliament are back at their seats for the fall sitting of Parliament, and tensions are high, with the Conservatives and NDP questioning the Liberals’ proposed tax changes announced in July. Farm groups and farmers have also been vocal in criticizing the government’s plan. “I don’t think the government realized the opposition that would… Read More
Category: Canadian Agriculture Policy
The latest three-month exemption to India’s rules requiring fumigation of pulse crops is nearing its expiration date, and Canadians are no nearer to an understanding of what, exactly, that might mean. “As of today, we don’t know what India’s policy is going to be for bills of lading that are dated October 1 or later,… Read More
There’s a reason most farms pay accountants to provide tax planning advice. Taxes are complicated. Add multiple pages of new information, unclear definitions, ‘tax cheat’ accusations, some emotional rhetoric, and it’s a challenge, even for accountants, to assess what Finance Minister Bill Morneau’s proposed tax changes could mean for an individual farm business. We’re going… Read More
Canada’s wheat industry, working together with the federal government, laid out its priorities for research in a national report unveiled at press conference in Saskatoon on Tuesday. Led by Cereals Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the 2017 Canadian Wheat Research Priorities Report is being described as the first time the wheat industry has come… Read More
Finance Minister Bill Morneau asked several Opposition MPs to send him contact information for Canadians concerned about the Liberals’ proposed tax reforms during Question Period on Monday, saying he would call these individuals personally. After hearing Morneau say this, some farmers and small business owners picked up the phone to call the minister, only to… Read More
With farmers, farm organizations, and accounting firms that work in agriculture voicing serious concerns about the federal government’s proposed tax changes, Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay broke his media silence on the subject on Friday afternoon. For all of 50 seconds. The Full Story: Facing the politically dangerous choice of siding with the farm community or… Read More
With finance committee chair and fellow Maritime Liberal MP Wayne Easter speaking out against the rollout of the proposed tax changes to small business, the door has opened for Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay to voice his concern on the possible impacts that the changes could have on incorporated farmers and ranchers. If the crack wasn’t… Read More
Sonny Perdue and Lawrence MacAulay have their obvious differences. One is American and the other is Canadian. One has right wing politics and the other leans a little more to the left. One likes ice cream and the other…oh wait, they do have some things in common. Besides ice cream, they both like to talk… Read More
The federal Liberals’ reluctance to show that they want to move forward on the Trans-Pacific Partnership could be due to competition for votes in certain Ontario, Quebec and B.C. ridings in 2019, according to a trade expert with the Canada West Foundation. It’s difficult to get an answer on why Canada has not been more… Read More
As round two of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) negotiations wrap up, many followers remain unsurprised by the three countries’ inability to see eye-to-eye. The last two weeks have been filled with threats of termination, promises to close the deal by year-end and a complete lack of agreement (except on the location of… Read More
I’m fortunate enough to get to meet all kinds of farmers. Usually when we meet, the conversation is a standard one. What’s the weather been like or how is the harvest going? Politics, just like sex and religion, is usually left out of it. Until recently. Farmers keep bringing it up in their conversations. That… Read More
Agriculture groups are among more than 40 national organizations that have formed a coalition to fight the federal government’s proposed tax changes for incorporated businesses. The Coalition for Small Business Tax Fairness sent a letter to Finance Minister Bill Morneau asking him to take the proposal off the table. “In ten years at the Canadian… Read More
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue visited the Farm Progress Show in Decatur, Illinois on Wednesday, where he scrummed with the media and was pressed on the fact that there are mixed messages coming from the White House on trade. As Canada, the U.S. and Mexico head into round two of NAFTA talks this weekend, President… Read More
Even though NAFTA negotiations are underway, TPP is still vitally important if Canada and the US want to expand exports. President Trump removed the United States from TPP shortly after his inaugaration, which has caused some of the remaining eleven TPP countries to do some soul searching. Canada has been searching for its own identity… Read More
In a speech that reminded everyone that Donald Trump loves to campaign maybe even more than actually being President, the foundations of NAFTA could be rockier than people want to believe. The President gave a rally speech in Arizona where he stated “I don’t think we can make a deal because we have been so… Read More