As the NAFTA negotiations enter the third round of talks in Ottawa, the agriculture community in all three countries is nervous. We have heard "do no harm" so many times from famers and ranchers in all three countries that you'd think it should have penetrated into the minds of the negotiating teams. The White House... Read More
Tag: Canadian Federation of Agriculture
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
Canada is moving towards a national food policy, so says the marching orders handed down to federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay in mandate letters set out last fall. Prime Minister Trudeau has tasked MacAulay to "develop a food policy that promotes healthy living and safe food by putting more healthy, high-quality food, produced by Canadian... Read More
A private member's bill tabled in the House of Commons last week aims to reduce the tax burden of intergenerational transfers of farms that are incorporated. "My bill would end a blatantly unfair situation that puts business people, farmers, and fishing vessel operators at a disadvantage when they want to pass their business on to... Read More
The Canadian Federation of Agriculture is hoping the arrival of new federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay will mark a change in the impact farmers have on public policy. MacAulay’s been on the job for less than a month, but so far Ron Bonnett likes what he sees. The CFA president received a call from the... Read More
The AgriInvest program was designed to help Canadian farmers manage small declines in income, but the Canadian Federation of Agriculture wants the government to recognize the benefits of the program are much broader in scope. As one of the four main business risk management programs under the five-year Growing Forward 2 framework, AgriInvest offers producers... Read More
Farmers and fishing businesses will save a projected $50 million in taxes over the next five years thanks to another increase to the Lifetime Capital Gains exemption announced in the federal budget this week. The exemption, which helps farmers reduce their tax burden when transferring ownership of farm assets, has been raised to $1 million... Read More
Every year, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture calculates the date by when the average Canadian has earned enough income to pay for their annual grocery bill, and dubs the day “Food Freedom Day.” This year, Food Freedom Day occurs on Friday, February 6th — one day earlier than in 2014. With 2015 being the "International... Read More
Adopting a national food strategy is no small task. The development of that strategy involves a number of complex issues that have to be identified by importance and then integrated together into a sustainable strategy supported by government policy and a diverse demographic. Simple, huh? There's a reason it's taken so long. With all that... Read More