Protesters standing in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en First Nation’s protest of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project have set up blockades in three provinces — Ontario, B.C., and now Manitoba — significantly impacting rail movement and precipitating CN Rail to cancel hundreds of train movements. Many in the agriculture industry are nervous about what this means for… Read More

Non-supply managed agriculture sectors are raising concerns over the recent federal announcement of compensation for the dairy sector. Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Marie-Claude Bibeau announced last week that Canada’s 11,000 dairy producers will receive $1.75 billion over eight years, with $345 million being paid the first year as direct payments to dairy producers… Read More

With NAFTA negotiations underway, talk of new tariffs, and the relationship between Canada and the U.S. at a critical juncture in its history, the U.S. capital was an appropriate setting for the Western Canadian Wheat Growers’ 48th annual convention this week. The current trade and transportation issues, which are tied together in driving the export-based… Read More

As the volume of grain backed up on farms in Western Canada grows, proposed transportation legislation that could help grain shippers address poor rail service remains stalled in the Senate. As it’s written right now, Bill C-49 — originally introduced in the House of Commons last spring — would give grain shippers the right to… Read More

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association is starting the process of finding a new executive director. Robin Speer has moved on to become the manager of public affairs for CN Rail. Speer joined the Wheat Growers in fall 2015, replacing long-time executive director Blair Rutter. Priorities for the member-funded organization during Speer’s tenure included speaking… Read More

Four groups concerned the Manitoba government’s carbon tax plan will “negatively impact the provincial economy, and do little to reduce Manitoba’s greenhouse gas emissions” have formed a coalition to oppose the plan. The coalition includes the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the Canadian Taxpayers Federation and AxeTheCarbonTax.ca. They held… Read More

While much of the attention in the last few weeks on the Canada-U.S. trade file has been focused on well-publicized trade irritants like dairy and softwood lumber, a U.S. Senator has introduced a resolution asking President Trump to address how U.S. wheat is treated in Canada. The resolution brought forward by Montana Senator Jon Tester last… Read More

Farmers and farm groups are voicing concerns about the impact the carbon tax announced by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will have on farming and food production in Canada. Trudeau said the government will require provinces meet a minimum federal price on carbon of $10 per tonne in 2018, rising to $50 per tonne in 2022. The… Read More

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association has hired a new executive director as Blair Rutter has stepped down from the position. Rutter joined the Wheat Growers in 2005 and led the organization in advocating for ending the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly, while pushing for improved market access, a less restrictive variety registration process and improved… Read More

When the initial court challenge by the Canadian Wheat Board was launched against the federal government you knew it wouldn’t go unanswered. The first of those legal responses was launched this week by the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association. The reasoning behind it stems from the CWB’s use of pool funds to launch their suit… Read More

 

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