There are many priorities that influence how land is used — the need for housing and economic development often drives the conversion of farmland and natural habitat into urban or suburban landscapes, but food security, productivity, biodiversity, crop or livestock prices, renewable energy policy, and of course, NIMBYism are among the many factors that can… Read More
Category: Rural Communities
With the growing season upon us, life is about to get incredibly busy for farmers across Canada. With the hectic pace of farming comes the pressure to juggle many aspects of running a business — and sometimes one of the first balls to drop is caring for our mental health. In honour of Mental Health… Read More
Canadian farmers have a chance to win one of four cash prizes of $25,000 for a community project with BASF’s Growing Home with BASF contest. Opening today and running until March 18, individuals in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario can nominate organizations that help grow their communities. Nominations submitted by March 18 will be judged… Read More
The Government of Saskatchewan has passed “The Saskatchewan Firearms Act,” which it says will enhance public safety across Saskatchewan, while protecting the rights of lawful firearms owners. According to a news release, with respect to recent changes by the federal government the impact lawful firearms owners, The Act will: establish licensing requirements for seizure agents… Read More
The Alberta government has launched a five-year Economic Development in Rural Alberta focused on key issues for rural Alberta. The plan includes economic development-enabling infrastructure, rural business supports and entrepreneurship, support for labour force and skills development, marketing and promoting rural tourism, and rural economic development capacity building. In the audio below, Nate Horner, Minister… Read More
Can governments protect valuable farmland while at the same time build housing needed for ever-expanding cities and urban cities? That question is being asked throughout Ontario agriculture this week after the provincial government passed the More Homes Built Faster Act, Bill 23. The legislation has drawn the ire of critics, as Premier Doug Ford moves… Read More
The Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba governments say they oppose changes to the federal government’s latest firearm legislation that were proposed by Liberal MPs at the committee stage earlier this week. Liberal members of the Standing Committee on Public Safety and National Security brought forward several amendments to Bill C-21 on November 22 that would move… Read More
Medicine Hat, Alta.-based Helicopter Air Lift Operation (HALO) will be offered guaranteed funding and a contract with Alberta Health Services, moving from a fee-for-service model. HALO will get more than $1 million in annual funding. Fort McMurray, Alta-based Helicopter Emergency Rescue Operation (HERO), although already in receipt of provincial funding, will double its current annual… Read More
In the Palliser Triangle, we’ve been asking the same question since we realized 2021 was a write-off for many: will 2022 bring any rain? While I can’t predict the weather, I can tell you there’s been numerous things happen this week that have had the neighbours and I talking. This naturally made me want to… Read More
This editorial was first published on Breaking the Box blog by Kristjan Hebert. Like many, we run a family farm in Saskatchewan. It was started by my grandfather and then taken over by my dad, Louis, in 1978. I started renting land in the late 1990s. In 2009, after I’d spent several years as a… Read More