The federal election writ was dropped on Sunday, August 15, and the question on people in agriculture’s minds is if the industry will have any role in the campaign. Grain Growers of Canada recently released a list of issues they think should be addressed by the candidates, and Erin Gowriluk, executive director at GGC, offers… Read More
With just over a month of an election campaign, agriculture groups are being creative and using multiple platforms to get their message out on what they’d like to see as part of election platforms of the major political parties. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) and Grain Growers of Canada both promoted their wish lists… Read More
Sitting on multiple boards during a lifetime is an invaluable experience. Having dedicated board members involved in policy and agriculture commissions can spark real change for agriculture in Canada. Jeff Nielsen spent time as a director of the Alberta Barley Commission, and as the chair — through the position’s various names — of Grain Growers… Read More
The Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) have elected a new executive board for the upcoming year. Andre Harpe will take a spot as the new chair, and William van Tassel and Brendan Phillips as vice-chairs. Harpe, who farms in Valhalla Centre, Alta., says he looks forward to continuing the organization’s rich history of representing grain… Read More
The in-person meetings aren’t happening on Parliament Hill, but that doesn’t mean lobbying efforts on behalf of farmers have stopped. For this episode of RealAg LIVE! host Shaun Haney is joined by Erin Gowriluk, executive director of the Grain Growers of Canada, to recap last week’s Grain Week, how lobbying has changed during COVID-19, what’s… Read More
Editor’s note: The federal government announced an extension of the application window through the Ministry of Finance on August 31. The deadline to apply to the Canadian Emergency Business Account (CEBA) is Monday, August 31. With just days to go before the application window closes, many in agriculture, including producer groups, are calling on the… Read More
For those just starting their careers in agriculture, it might seem strange to think that one of the most controversial topics in the past was about whether or not farmers could sell their own wheat and barley to an end user. Just eight years ago, the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) had its single desk removed…. Read More
Although there are still talks happening behind closed doors, progress of the business risk management program (BRM) review feels as though it’s slow-moving. At this year’s CropConnect conference held at Winnipeg, Man., the topic was acknowledged by federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, but there was no mention of action — which is what most are… Read More
A Conservative Member of Parliament from southern Ontario tabled legislation in the House of Commons on Tuesday that would remove the carbon tax from fuels used for drying grain and heating on farms. The private member’s bill, which would amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, was introduced by Philip Lawrence, MP for Northumberland—Peterborough South…. Read More
The Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) has withdrawn its membership from national policy organization Grain Growers of Canada. GFO had only recently joined the organization in 2018, at the same time as SaskFlax and Productuers du Grains du Quebec. Markus Haerle, chair of GFO, says his organization left, in part, due to the lack of… 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
Although RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney had a bit of an oopsie yesterday, today is in fact Wednesday. Today on the show: RealAgriculture’s news lead, Jessika Guse with the top agriculture news of the day; Janice Gross Stein, founding director of the Munk School of Global Affairs explains where Canada is headed and the challenges… Read More
Less than a day after the Federal-Provincial-Territorial (FPT) Ministers of Agriculture had their meeting in Ottawa, farm groups are expressing their frustration with the lack of results from the meeting. Many feel as though the group missed the mark to address key concerns after a lot of producers dealt with a brutal harvest for the… Read More
As the 43rd session of parliament opened Dec 5th, the Governor General laid out the government’s priorities going forward. This year’s throne speech was titled “Moving Forward Together,” and key priorities outlined were: fighting climate change, strengthening the middle class, walking the road of reconciliation, keeping Canadians safe and healthy, and positioning Canada for success… Read More
Members of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) walked off the job Tuesday, November 19, to begin a strike protesting what the union calls unsafe working conditions. Negotiations between CN Rain and the union have been on-going for the past seven months with federal mediators being used in the past five months. The 72-hour strike… Read More