The Ontario Agricultural Commodity Council (OACC), made of up 27 non-supply managed commodity organization, is asking Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, to remove the 35 per cent tariff currently levied on Russian-sourced fertilizer. In a letter sent April 13, 2023, the group outlines the collective value of the groups’ economic activity… Read More
Tag: Chrystia Freeland
Rising interest rates mean the federal government’s move to expand the interest-free portion of its advance payment program will save farmers — and cost government — more than originally expected. Last June, the government increased the interest-free amount that farmers can borrow through the cash advance program for 2022 and 2023 from $100 thousand to… Read More
The federal government has made it clear it will not return fertilizer tariff funds directly to farmers who paid the tax, and the Ontario Federation of Agriculture has three other suggestions for how the federal government can spend the more than $34 million collected. Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau and Minister of Finance… Read More
The federal government is looking at options for how to spend $34.1 million to help farmers in Eastern Canada who have been affected by 35 per cent tariffs applied to fertilizer imports following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. While the tariff proceeds have been committed by the Canadian government to restoring the power… Read More
After committing $115 million in tariff proceeds to Ukraine, the deputy prime minister says she’s working with the agriculture minister to “resolve the situation” regarding the cost of 35 per cent tariffs applied to fertilizer sold to farms in Eastern Canada. Chrystia Freeland, who is also the finance minister, was asked about the fertilizer tariffs… Read More
Eastern Canadian farmers who paid millions of dollars more for fertilizer in 2022 due to sanctions on imports from Russia will not be getting a refund, as the Canadian government is forwarding $115 million in expected tariff revenues to repair the power grid in Ukraine. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the… Read More
The federal government is planning to boost funding for environmental programs through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in the 2022 budget introduced on April 7. While the budget contains projections of a $52.8 billion deficit and national debt totalling $1.2 trillion at the end of 2022-23, the $452.3 billion spending plan and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s… Read More
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has unveiled a 38-member cabinet for the next parliament, set to begin November 22, 2021. The cabinet, which was sworn in at Rideau Hall on Tuesday, features six new women, achieving Trudeau’s aim for gender parity in cabinet. Marie-Claude Bibeau remains in her post as Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, as… Read More
The federal finance department has scrapped its plan to delay implementation of legislation passed by Parliament that would reduce the tax burden for intergenerational transfers of small businesses, such as family farms. Bill C-208, the private member’s bill that was sponsored by Manitoba Conservative MP Larry Maguire, received Royal Assent before Parliament rose for the… Read More
Billions of dollars for childcare, COVID relief programs, and new climate initiatives headlined the federal government’s first budget in more than two years, read by Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland in the House of Commons on Monday. The 739-page document outlines the Liberal government’s many spending priorities as it expects to rack up an unprecedented… Read More
The federal government has announced a last-minute extension to the application deadline for its Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) loan program, as well as hinted at future changes that could help more businesses — including farms — qualify for the small business loan. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Honourable Chrystia Freeland, on… Read More
This week there was a small but significant cabinet shuffle that will prove very impactful on how Canada steers through the remaining COVID-19 economic challenges. Chrystia Freeland was sworn in as finance minister after the resignation of Bill Morneau. With such a big change at the most senior levels of the cabinet, it may create… Read More
The Canadian government has introduced legislation to implement the new trade deal between Canada, the United States, and Mexico — the last of the three countries to do so. Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland tabled Bill C-4, formally known as An Act to implement the Agreement between Canada, the United States of America and the… Read More
Canada, Mexico, and the United States of America have signed off on the final details of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The overall revamping of the 25-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement was accomplished at the end of September, 2018, and negotiators have been on the file ever since to move the agreement closer to… Read More
When Chrystia Freeland, then International Trade minister, was thrust into the NAFTA renegotiation with the Trump administration, she probably thought that would be the greatest challenge of her political career. Little did she know that there was a greater challenge awaiting her back home in Canada just a few years later — that challenge is… Read More