Updated — A federal ministerial order has been issued halting Canadian National and Canadian Pacific rail movement through the Kamloops area of British Columbia for 48 hours from midnight Friday. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced the order late Thursday, ahead of an authorized tour Friday by evacuated residents to the largely-destroyed village of Lytton, about […] Read more
Feds halt CN, CP trains through B.C. wildfire area for two days
'Extended recovery' expected for westbound grain traffic
B.C. presses for ranchers to register before wildfires hit
Premises ID helps protect livestock in emergencies, province says
British Columbia’s provincial ag ministry hopes to shore up ranchers’ participation in the Premises Identification program against the risk of further wildfires this year. About two-thirds, or 5,200, of B.C.’s non-supply managed livestock producers, and all the supply-managed dairy cattle and poultry premises in the province, are registered in the program, the province said Wednesday. […] Read more
Western Canada lightning strikes up tenfold, stoking fires
Vancouver | Reuters — Lightning strikes in Western Canada over the past two days soared nearly tenfold from the same time a year ago, triggered in part by a record-breaking heat wave, meteorologists said, warning of more strikes over the weekend that could further stoke forest fires fanned by high winds. Over 710,000 lightning events […] Read more
Sale of new fuel-powered cars, light trucks to be banned from 2035
Interim targets to be set for 2025, 2030
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada will ban the sale of fuel-burning new cars and light-duty trucks from 2035 in an effort to reach net-zero emissions across the country by 2050, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government said on Tuesday. Only zero-emissions cars and trucks can be sold from 2035, according to a statement, adding that a […] Read more
Prolonged heat wave breaks Canadian temperature records
MarketsFarm — An extreme heat wave affecting all four western provinces, the shores of the Mackenzie River in the Northwest Territories as well as Watson Lake, Yukon, is expected to persist for a week. The “heat dome,” a high-pressure system trapping warmer air, has affected British Columbia the most. The village of Lytton, about 160 […] Read more
B.C. again waives ag income threshold for farm properties
Some farms otherwise risked property tax reclassification
British Columbia farmers who’ve taken pandemic-induced losses in farm income will be able to keep their farm properties classified as such for another tax year. The province on Monday announced that for the second year running, it will waive the minimum farm income thresholds normally required for B.C. properties to be classified as farms for […] Read more
Farmland appreciation continues through pandemic year
FCC report puts Canada's average land value increase at 5.4 per cent
Economic churn across Canada from the global COVID-19 pandemic didn’t faze the country’s real estate market — nor its farmland market in particular — in 2020, according to the latest review from the federal farm lending agency. Farm Credit Canada on Monday released its 2020 Farmland Values report, showing an average increase of 5.4 per […] Read more
Wet or dry spring ahead? Depends on where in Canada
MarketsFarm — There will be increased in risk of flooding this spring in British Columbia, western Alberta and parts of Eastern Canada, according to a report Friday from AccuWeather. Meanwhile, dry conditions are expected to continue across the Prairies. AccuWeather’s report forecasts below-normal temperatures for B.C. and western Alberta going into spring. That could delay […] Read more
Denmark to compensate mink farmers after nationwide cull
Copenhagen | Reuters — Denmark, the top exporter of mink furs, will compensate its mink farmers with up to 19 billion Danish crowns (C$3.95 billion) following an order last year to cull the country’s entire population. Denmark’s entire herd of some 17 million mink, one of the world’s biggest and highly valued for the quality […] Read more
Minks, staff positive for COVID-19 at B.C. mink farm
Coronavirus found in eight workers, five mink so far
A mink farm in southwestern British Columbia’s Fraser Valley is now under provincial veterinary quarantine and its staff self-isolating after several animals and workers tested positive for COVID-19. Fraser Valley Health, the regional health authority for the area, on Sunday declared an outbreak at the farm after eight workers tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, the virus […] Read more
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