Ottawa | Reuters — The sale of legalized recreational marijuana in Canada, which has already been pushed back once beyond the planned July start date, is set to be delayed even further, government officials said Thursday. The ruling Liberals are sparring with the upper Senate chamber, where a draft law is currently under review. Critics […] Read more

Recreational marijuana sales in Canada face fresh delays

Deal reached to avert CN strike, union head says
Montreal/Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian National Railway and a union representing 3,000 conductors on Monday reached an agreement in principle ahead of a looming strike deadline at Canada’s largest railroad, said a top union official. The union had set a strike deadline of Tuesday at 4 a.m. ET after the railroad announced new work rules […] Read more

Quebec again ponders mandatory GMO labelling
Quebec’s agriculture minister has telegraphed an interest in following the lead of a next-door neighbour to require mandatory labelling for foods made with genetically modified organisms (GMOs). The province’s governing Liberals previously called for such a system, making a GMO label law part of their election platform back in 2003, but have been quiet about their […] Read more

Data from your farm has value and shouldn’t be given away
But under current rules, the end-user of the data is the owner, which means farmers are giving away an increasingly valuable commodity
Reading Time: 3 minutes There are many questions surrounding the use of data for and from farmers. Who owns the data? What is required? How does this benefit me as a farmer? I took to the streets with these questions as part as an ongoing quest to clarify just what it is that farmers may expect and more importantly, […] Read more

Push comes to shove — railways ordered to double grain movement
The federal government is promising a legislated fix to ensure railway performance
Reading Time: 4 minutes The railways have their marching orders — double grain shipments in four weeks or face daily fines of up to $100,000. But what happens next? Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says new federal legislation is coming, and farmers and grain companies are hoping it will do what the Fair Freight Service Act of 2012 didn’t — […] Read more
CFA comes out in full support of new farm legislation
Government now has backing of most groups for omnibus Farm Bill
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian Federation of Agriculture has endorsed the contents of Bill C-18, the Agricultural Growth Act, meaning Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has the backing of most farm groups for the legislation. CFA had already endorsed the plant breeders’ rights portion of the bill but reserved judgment on the rest until it had time to review […] Read more