Rule changes passed in a federal bill to standardize tax treatment for sales of family-owned farms and small businesses will be delayed to the start of 2022, to the dismay of several farm groups. Bill C-208, a private member’s bill spearheaded by western Manitoba Conservative MP Larry Maguire with amendments to the federal Income Tax […] Read more

New rule on farm transfer tax treatment put off to 2022
Farm groups protest delay

Hot weather cuts into Canadian mustard crop
Price increases already noted
MarketsFarm — Canada is looking at another small mustard crop in 2021, which should keep prices well supported for any unpriced crop, as recent heat stress cut into yields. “That was a very rough week,” said Walter Dyck, the Alberta-based general manager with Wisconsin mustard-processor Olds Products, on the late June/early July heat wave that […] 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

Canada to lift more border restrictions in weeks to come, Trudeau says
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada will further relax border restrictions in the weeks to come as long as the science supports such a move, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday, suggesting Ottawa would move more quickly than initially announced. Trudeau, under pressure to allow non-essential travel from the U.S., was more categorical than he had […] Read more

U.S. grains: Wheat rallies on Plains weather concerns
Chicago soybeans, corn weaker
Chicago | Reuters — U.S. wheat futures rose on Wednesday, led by gains in MGEX spring wheat contracts that firmed on concerns that dry conditions in key growing areas of the northern U.S. Plains and Canada could limit the size of the harvests. Soybean futures were lower as improving crop prospects in the U.S. Midwest […] Read more

Britain begins negotiations to join Trans-Pacific pact
London | Reuters — Britain will begin negotiations on Tuesday to join a trans-Pacific trade deal that it sees as crucial to its post-Brexit pivot away from Europe and toward geographically more distant but faster-growing economies. The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) removes 95 per cent of tariffs between its members: Japan, […] Read more

Canada, Indonesia launch trade pact talks
First round of negotiations expected later this year
Canada has formally declared it will start negotiations this year on a trade pact with Indonesia, a move ag exporters hope will stabilize and strengthen their market access to the Asia-Pacific region. Canada’s Trade Minister Mary Ng and her Indonesian counterpart Muhammad Lutfi on Sunday declared the launch of negotiations on a comprehensive economic partnership […] Read more

Nutrien to further bump up potash output
'Continued tightening' in market cited as potash producer Belarus sanctioned
Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian fertilizer producer Nutrien said Monday it would boost its 2021 potash output by 500,000 tonnes, after the European Union and others imposed new trade sanctions on Belarus. Nutrien’s increase takes its potash sales outlook this year to a record-high range of 13.3 million to 13.8 million tonnes, and follows a […] Read more

Businesses, U.S. legislators fume as Canada extends travel ban
Trudeau stands firm on ban's extension
Ottawa | Reuters — Canada is extending a ban on nonessential travel with the United States and the rest of the world until July 21, officials said on Friday, prompting frustration from businesses and U.S. legislators. Canada is under pressure from companies and the tourism industry to ease the ban, which was imposed in March […] Read more