A program to help rural Saskatchewan municipalities and local authorities cover costs of channel clearing and maintaining drains for flood prevention will now expand to include individual landowners. The province’s Water Security Agency (WSA) said Friday its $1 million cost-share rebate program will expand its eligibility beyond RMs, conservation and development area (C+D) authorities and […] Read more
Saskatchewan drainage work rebates expanded to farmers
Channel clearing, drain maintenance program shares eligible costs
Bovine TB turns up in Saskatchewan herd
Two cases found after U.S. test flags Canadian heifer
A heifer whose tissues tested positive for bovine tuberculosis (TB) at slaughter in the U.S. has been traced back to a Saskatchewan cattle herd which has now turned up two more cases of the disease. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in a report dated Wednesday, said it was notified Feb. 23 by the U.S. Department […] Read more
Rail interswitching expansion pilot clears Parliament
Grain handlers to press for plan to be made permanent
Last week’s passage of the 2023 federal budget starts a 90-day countdown toward an 18-month test of expanded interswitching on railways in the three Prairie provinces. Bill C-47, the government’s budget implementation bill — which was first read April 20 in the House of Commons and got third reading in the Senate and royal assent […] Read more
West Coast longshore workers set to strike Saturday
Grain handling exempt from port work stoppage
Other than those who handle grains and oilseeds at port terminals and elevators, longshore workers at Canada’s West Coast ports are poised to walk off the job starting Saturday morning. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU Canada) on Wednesday morning served the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) with 72 hours’ strike notice, which […] Read more
Adjournments put off ag bills to September at earliest
Farm fuel, supply management, produce trust bills on hold
Federal private members’ bills with potential significant weight for Canada’s grain, livestock, dairy, poultry, egg, fruit and vegetable producers are now on hold until mid-September at least. Members of the House of Commons voted June 21 to adjourn until Sept. 18, while the Senate did likewise June 22, to return Sept. 19. While the two […] Read more
Oat miller to steer clear of lambda-cy
Grain Millers bans oats treated with insecticide product
The federal government’s decision to ban the use of lambda-cyhalothrin insecticides on any crops destined for feed use has now led at least one Canadian miller to prohibit any deliveries of oats treated with the chemical. Oregon-based processor Grain Millers, whose Canadian operations include its oat mill at Yorkton, Sask., said in a memo Tuesday […] Read more
Richardson elevators expanding to feed ‘high-efficiency’ trains
Eight sites along CPKC lines to get expanded rail car spots
Grain handler Richardson International plans to expand rail car spots at eight Prairie elevators on Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) lines as the railway gears up for longer trains with new higher-volume hopper cars. Winnipeg-based Richardson on Monday announced expanded rail car spots for its elevators at Lacombe, Carseland, Provost and Olds, Alta.; Estevan, Whitewood […] Read more
Feds lift ‘pause’ on increases in crop chemical MRLs
New set of rules also calls for 'cosmetic' pesticide use to be banned on federal lands
Proposals to increase a crop chemical’s maximum residue limits (MRLs) on foods and food crops in Canada can again seek federal approval, after being put on temporary hold two years ago. Among several other changes, a planned new package of federal regulatory amendments will put a gradual end to a “pause” imposed in August 2021 […] Read more
Canada Bread fined $50 million over price-fixing
'Leniency' settlement follows breadmaker's guilty plea
A storied Canadian producer of bread and bakery products has a month to pay a $50 million fine for price-fixing in an ongoing federal probe which still has eyes on several major retailers. Ontario’s Superior Court on Wednesday sentenced Toronto-based Canada Bread Co. after the company pled guilty to four counts of fixing bread prices […] Read more
Olymel bacon plant deal a ‘signal,’ union says
Deal ends three-week strike at Drummondville
Unionized workers at Olymel’s bacon processing plant at Drummondville, Que. have voted to accept a four-year deal, ending a three-week strike and serving as a “signal” to employers in the region, their union said. Olymel announced Friday that CSN-represented workers at the Bacon Inter-America facility, who’d been on strike since May 26, voted 93.6 per […] Read more
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