Federal Transport Minister Marc Garneau introduced draft legislation on Tuesday that includes long-awaited changes to the rules governing grain transportation by rail. Bill C-49 will, among other things, give shippers the right to seek reciprocal financial penalties in service agreements with railways, define “adequate and suitable” rail service, and implement new data reporting requirements for railways… Read More
Tag: Lawrence MacAulay
Federal funding for 20 research projects that aim to help Canadian farmers reduce greenhouse gas emissions was announced on Friday. Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay was at the University of Alberta in Edmonton to highlight the work that will be done through the $27 million Agricultural Greenhouse Gases Program (AGGP), originally announced last year. “These new… Read More
Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay was in Winnipeg on Wednesday, visiting CropConnect with his Manitoba counterpart Ralph Eichler. MacAulay announced $675 thousand to support market development work through the Canadian Special crops Association and Cereals Canada. Both ministers also outlined $1.6 million in fed/prov funding for eight crop research projects at the conference (coming from… Read More
Whether we’re talking about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s national carbon tax commitment, the signing of the Canada-EU trade deal, the canola agreement with China, or Canada’s primary trading partner electing Donald Trump, there was no shortage of agriculture-related news in Ottawa in 2016. This year also marked the Liberals’ first full year in power, and Lawrence MacAulay’s first… Read More
$16.7 million has been set aside for an AgriRecovery program to help cattle producers in Alberta affected by the bovine TB quarantine. While Alberta’s Treasury Board has yet to approve the funding, federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced the dollar figure in the House of Commons on Wednesday. The “2016 Bovine Tuberculosis Assistance Initiative” will provide… 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 ranchers… Read More
The federal government is committing $350 million to helping the dairy sector adjust to increased import competition under the Canada-European Union trade deal (CETA). Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay announced two new programs at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa on Thursday. $250 million over five years will be made available to producers to update their… Read More
It’s up to the European Union to get its members on board with the Canada-EU trade agreement. Canada has done its part. That was the message from Canada’s trade and agriculture ministers on Monday. “Canada has done its job. The negotiations between Canada and the EU are finished,” says Lawrence MacAulay, minister of Agriculture and… Read More
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s research centre at Swift Current is getting a major upgrade. Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay was in southwest Saskatchewan Wednesday to announce $35.3 million for renovations and new laboratories at the facility, which will be used to support AAFC’s wheat breeding program, as well as other forage and cereal research. “Improvements… Read More
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be raising the subject of Canadian canola imports during his trip to China this week, according to the federal agriculture minister. Exports to Canada’s largest canola seed customer are facing an uncertain future, as China plans to implement tighter import restrictions on September 1st. The 1 percent dockage standard would increase costs for… Read More
Agriculture ministers from across Canada issued what they’re calling the “Calgary Statement” following their annual federal/provincial/territorial meeting, held in Alberta this week. The document outlines the priorities for the next agricultural policy framework, which will replace Growing Forward 2 in April 2018. “We got the framework in place, just how much dollars and how it… Read More
Federal Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay was in Calgary on Wednesday to announce up to $6.4 million over three years to promote Canadian beef. The funding will support Canada Beef’s three-year market development and promotion plan, which targets regional hubs in Asia, Europe, North America and Latin America. “Canadian farmers and ranchers take pride in producing… Read More
Just ten days after Mexico announced it will drop its remaining import restrictions on Canadian beef, Taiwan has lifted its temporary ban on Canadian beef, effective July 8. The ban was issued following the February 2015 case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Alberta. “The Government of Canada welcomes the news of another restored market,” said Minister… Read More
The federal agriculture minister has launched online consultations on what Growing Forward 3 — or whatever name the Liberals give the next agricultural policy framework — should look like. Growing Forward 2, which encompasses most federal and provincial programs for agricultural research, market development and business risk management, expires on April 1st, 2018. Lawrence MacAulay, on… Read More
Dairy Farmers of Canada is welcoming the federal government’s commitment to providing a compensation package to mitigate the impact of the Canada-EU trade deal. There have been questions about the Liberals’ plans for trade deal compensation after the Conservatives pledged a $4.3 billion program for the supply-managed dairy and poultry sectors prior to their defeat… Read More