Albertans are being asked to provide feedback on recommendations made by two of the working groups looking at how Bill 6 could apply to farms and ranches. Since the introduction of the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act in November 2015, farmers across Alberta, and even other provinces, have criticized the government’s plan to implement tighter labour… Read More

After launching exploratory discussions with China last fall, the Canadian government is taking another step toward negotiating a trade deal Canada’s second-largest trading partner. As part of the March 4th issue of the Canada Gazette, Global Affairs Canada announced it’s asking for feedback on how to proceed with a possible free trade agreement with China. “With… Read More

In a rare, but completely legal move, Ontario’s provincial government has removed an elected board of directors and named a trustee to oversee the organization. Late last week, Jeff Leal, minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) fired the entire Ontario Processing Vegetable Growers (OPVG) board, and appointed Elmer Buchanan, a farmer and former OMAFRA minister… Read More

In what may be called trying to clean up the mess she made, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne announced yesterday the “Fair Hydro Plan” which is designed to decrease the average residential hydro bill by 25% and cap bill increases for the next four years. As part of the announcement, Wynne says “Starting this summer, Ontario’s Fair… Read More

The Canadian Grain Commission formally launched consultations today on a proposed reduction to its user fees. The CGC is also seeking input on potential uses of its $107 million surplus. The proposal and discussion period come less than three weeks after new commissioners took the reins of the federal department that regulates the grain industry. Patti Miller, Doug Chorney and Lonny… Read More

A guest editorial by Cam Dahl, president of Cereals Canada There have been a lot of questions about trade since the U.S. election. The new President promised to take the U.S. out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and he did just that with his first Executive Order. President Trump has also promised to renegotiate NAFTA, causing… Read More

With seeding just two months away, Canada’s pulse crop industry is in limbo, facing the threat of not having access to its largest export market as of the end of March. India’s government says it will not extend a derogation (or an exemption) allowing pulses from Canada to be fumigated with methyl bromide upon arrival, rather than… Read More

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is one of the cornerstones of food safety in Canada. Federal inspectors monitor meat and food processing plants, feed mills, and even farms. But beyond what we tend to hear in the media about inspections, the CFIA has much larger responsibilities, some of which need to be separated from… Read More

Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Maxime Bernier performed very well in the leadership debate held at the Manning Conference over the weekend according to many delegates, but Canadian dairy farmers were left rather concerned. Not surprisingly, Bernier maintained his stance of being against supply management for dairy, egg and poultry sectors. On Friday afternoon Bernier… Read More

Sometimes when you respond to someone attacking you verbally you need to communicate in a way that will resonate with the people you are trying to influence.  Due to the creation of the term “fake news” by Donald Trump, this term has become mainstream but it resonates with people.  Trump followers have rallied around it…. Read More

If you need any more evidence that times are changing in farming, look no further than a new partnership between the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) and an activist group called Environmental Defence. You likely know the former. The OFA describes itself as Canada’s largest voluntary farm organization, representing more than 36,000 farm families across… Read More

The idea that Manitoba’s commodity organizations need to work more closely together to provide more value to members — possibly going as far as merging — was formally introduced and discussed recently at CropConnect. “All these organizations, particularly in Manitoba, have basically the same membership, doing very similar projects, with the same money, going after… Read More

If new rail legislation the federal government promised to introduce this spring is to be passed before the end of the session in June, it will have to be tabled soon. “One would imagine with the legislative calendar, it’s going to be have to be in the next several weeks,” says Steve Pratte, rail policy guru… Read More

It was a great week for Canada in terms of trade on several fronts. You can say many negative things about Prime Minister Trudeau, but you cannot take away his government’s effort to extend Harper’s commitment to trade. There is much discussion and renegotiation to still happen, but the week of February 13th was very good for… Read More

The Trans-Pacific Partnership is dead, and Canada needs to move on to ‘plan B’ for increasing market access into Asia, according to Glen Hodgson, senior fellow with the Conference Board of Canada. “The Japanese are trying to keep it alive, but it’s effectively dead. I do think we should be developing a ‘plan B’ for Asia,… Read More

 

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