In a leadership race finale that stretched well into the early hours of August 24th, Erin O’Toole emerged victorious. O’Toole, Member of Parliament for Ontario’s Durham riding, succeeds Andrew Scheer as Conservative Party leader. He defeated party co-founder Peter MacKay on the third ballot. Leslyn Lewis, who received the most votes in the majority of… Read More
Category: Supply Management
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
Editor’s note: this story was updated on April 29 with new information and a quote from the Dairy Processors Association of Canada and Dairy Farmers of Canada. The leader of the Opposition in the Senate of Canada is accusing the governing Liberals of breaking a promise to delay the implementation of the new North American… Read More
I’ve seen over the last few days a lot of stories, comments, and mixed messages about farmers having to dump milk. I thought I’d clear a few things up with my perspective, direct from the farm. We were included in the farmers asked to dump milk. We dumped a little over 4,000 litres of raw,… Read More
Dairy Farmers of Ontario has advised farmers that milk dumping, in rotation, will occur beginning this week, as the industry adjusts to the new demand curves during COVID-19 and the social distancing it requires. Several provinces, Ontario included, saw a large spike in demand at the onset of the virus-induced isolation period. However, the resulting… Read More
Convincing policymakers and politicians that agriculture matters is easy; it’s getting them to push for changes and advancements that are tricky. Part of the reason for that is the compartmentalization of the industry, sure, but there are plenty of overarching issues that impact most farmers — and that’s where change needs to start. Mary Robinson,… Read More
Federal ministers have received their marching orders from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for the 43rd Parliament. For minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Marie-Claude Bibeau, those orders include several initiatives focused on trade, economic development, tax treatment of farm succession, food waste, and water quality. The mandate letter lays out what Trudeau’s government prioritizes… Read More
Less than 24 hours back in the seat of Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister, Marie-Claude Bibeau is starting off with bang. Bibeau took to Twitter to announce letters will be sent out today to all eligible Canadian dairy producers. The letter will outline the process for producers to access their compensation which is being administered by… Read More
We’ve seen results from an early-campaign survey on what Canadians are worried about in regards to food, and we’ve heard from each of the four main parties heading into this federal election. But what I want to know is, what are YOUR priorities, Canadian agriculture? As media, I watched the debate, I interviewed Sylvain Charlebois… Read More