Farm groups across the country have congratulated the new government on its election win while also pushing for immediate action on the most important agricultural issues.

While the election results may not reflect the political leanings of all producers, some say the new government can move quickly and provide meaningful change.

Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) executive cirector Kyle Larkin said he thinks some farmers are hopeful.

“I think there’s hope that that things will change, and that grain farmers and the policies that both support them and impact them are truly sought out by this new government,” he said.

Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Keith Currie said he thinks farmers are “cautiously optimistic” about a potential for change, despite farmers and rural ridings usually leaning Conservative.

“I don’t know if they actually think it will be different. They’re hoping it will be different,” Currie said.

“I’m a little apprehensive that things are going to change drastically. But to be fair, Mark Carney’s only been in for three days.”

GGC chair Tara Sawyer, a grain farmer from Acme, Alta., said she has her concerns, especially with the government being a minority, but saw room for hope as well.

“I’m a half-glass-full person,” she said.

“I’m hopeful. I mean, it is a minority Liberal government, but I’m hoping that, since it is a new leader in place, that maybe he’s going to listen more to the farmer and take into consideration some of our issues.”

The government’s actions in the coming weeks will be crucial for producers. Currie said the conversations between the prime minister and U.S. president Donald Trump could set the course.

“Depending on how those conversations go, that will certainly have some bearing on … some of the commodity markets.”

Similarly, he said the new government’s response to Chinese tariffs will be important for farmers.

Larkin said GGC is wasting no time advocating for changes.

“Obviously some … issues are going to take a longer time fixing, (like) the tariff issue in our international trading relationships.”

Others, like the capital gains and carbon tax reduction, he said he would like to see by Canada Day.

Currie said farmers can work with the government to be partners on some key issues.

“As far as all things environment and sustainability, we can help out there. When you talk about the social aspects, and more specifically, food security, that’s what we do. We grow cheap, high-quality food.”

Data suggests many farmers would have preferred a Conservative government; according to a recent set of reports from the University of Calgary, nearly 70 per cent of Canadian farmers said they thought the Conservative party best represented their interests. Larkin acknowledged this, but said farmers could still see their concerns represented in Parliament.

“There’s some things to note here,” he said.

“We’re in a minority Parliament where the Liberals are going to have to find votes from the other side of the aisle, and they’ll be able to find them either from the Conservatives, the Bloc or the NDP.”

“We’re hopeful that parties can collaborate and work together in Parliament to pass policies that really benefit not only the agricultural sector but also Canadians and the Canadian economy.”

There is still concern Carney’s government could fall into some of the same unpopular patterns as those of former prime minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberals. Sawyer said the new administration can set itself apart is to show that it is listening to farmers more than the last one did.

“In the West, there’s been that feeling. So, what this government needs to do is they need to start listening and showing that they see us, they value us and they’re going to work with us, for us.”

“Where’s Mark Carney going to go with his overall environmental approach?” Currie said.

“His approach in the past, while he was not prime minister, was not too far off of where the former prime minister was.”

Currie, an Ontario cash crop and sweet corn farmer , said he hopes this election cycle with its heavy emphasis on threats south of the border leads fellow producers to “pay attention to all elections, not just from a personal standpoint and what’s affecting them, but what’s in the best interest of the country going forward.”

One of the most potentially endearing aspects of the new Liberal government to farmers is recently appointed agriculture minister Kody Blois.

Larkin, Sawyer and Currie all said they would like to see him return to the file.

“He really understands the issues that farmers are facing and really take seriously, how long-term viability for family farms is so important,” Larkin said.

Currie said Blois is “no stranger to agriculture” and is “respected among agriculture commodity organizations and farm groups.”

Sawyer said Blois’ previous decision to break from his party on the carbon tax shows his commitment to agriculture: “He not only understands the struggle of a farmers, but … he voted against his party on the one piece. He stood up for farmers and the people in his riding.”

Many agriculture groups across the provinces and commodities, including Alberta Grains, the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, Grain Farmers of Ontario and Dairy Farmers of Canada, congratulated Mark Carney and the Liberal party on their victory while also encouraging productive changes for the agri-food sector.

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Trudeau, under heavy pressure from Liberal legislators to quit amid polls showing the party will be crushed at the next election, said at a news conference that parliament would be suspended until March.

That means Trudeau will still be prime minister on Jan. 20 when U.S. President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump has threatened to impose tariffs that would cripple Canada’s economy.

Trudeau, 53, took office in November 2015 and won reelection twice, becoming one of Canada’s longest-serving prime ministers.

But his popularity started dipping two years ago amid public anger over high prices and a housing shortage, and his fortunes never recovered.

Polls show the Liberals will badly lose to the official opposition Conservatives in an election that must be held by late October, regardless of who the leader is.

Parliament was due to resume on Jan. 27 and opposition parties had vowed to bring down the government as soon as they could, most likely at the end of March.

But if Parliament does not return until March 24, the earliest they could present a non-confidence motion would be some time in May.

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Freeland confirmed the move via a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, which was posted to her X (formerly Twitter) account. Freeland said Trudeau told her Friday that he no longer wanted her as Finance Minister and offered her another position on cabinet.

“Upon reflection,” Freeland wrote, “I have concluded that the only honest and viable path is for me to resign from the cabinet.”

She cited the threat of 25 per cent tariffs from U.S. President-Elect Donald Trump as one of the most dire economic threats facing Canada, an issue which has Canadian farmers facing an uncertain year ahead.

Freeland’s announcement comes only a day after Housing Minister Sean Fraser also announced he would be stepping down from cabinet.

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Panels covered ESG and the changing Canadian ag landscape from national and global perspectives.

The first panel focused on ESG standards in a global context.

IFRS Foundation Montreal office Director Isabelle Mégré, said that in many international markets, like the United States and European Union, sustainability disclosure could soon become standard.

To illustrate how this could affect Canada, she gave the example of a California bill set to take effect in 2026 which would see large companies required to disclose climate-related financial risks, including value chain emissions.

“Canada was worth nine billion in 2023,” she said of Californian export money. “We are actually California’s top agriculture and agri-food export market”

Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking Founder David McInnes asked the speakers how ESG standards can be created to apply to the disparate sectors of Canadian agriculture.

“The standards are not a one-size fits all as we might think,” Mégré said. “It actually requires a lot of judgment and reflection from new companies that are using it.”

“It might feel like a one-size-fits-all, because there’s one set of standards. But really, when you dig into it, it’s about reflecting on what is affecting your company’s perspectives, your company’s business models.”

“We’re trying to find this common place where it can fit for everybody,” she said.

Canadian sustainability Standards Board Interim Chair Bruce Marchand stressed the importance of having organizations like his remain independent in this process.

“In some countries, the regulator sets the standard and the regulation at the same time,” he said, “and in other countries, the regulator and the standards are separate, but they’re both an arm of government.”

“I want to stress that our board is independent, so it’s not a government and it’s not a government board like our sister boards.”

Mégré closed the discussion by warning that ESG regulation can be very politically polarizing. She said that this has created a fear of backlash among investors wanting to discuss ESG.

The second panel took on upcoming policy such as the Jan. 1, 2025, implementation of the S1 and S2 of the ESG Sustainability Disclosure Standards as well as Bill C-59, which aims to increase greenwashing accountability.

Deloitte Senior Manager of Infrastructure and Capital Projects Michelle Leslie expressed concern over how producers and businesses will have a burden of proof put on them for their sustainability efforts in accordance with Bill C-59. “There’s no standard as to what that burden of proof is,” she said.

Leslie thought definitions of sustainability have not been sufficiently broadened beyond just environmental factors. “If you achieve emissions reductions but it’s at the cost of bankrupting communities, if it’s at the cost of making people poor in the process, then I would say you have failed.”

Pulse Canada VP of Corporate Affairs Greg Northey said ESG goals are not as important to Canadian producers and consumers as other economic development goals.

“From an agricultural sector perspective, we’re still very much focused on how do we become the best, most competitive producer in these global markets,” he said. “And a lot of the time, sustainability, ESG, is not as much an issue.”

United Farmers of Alberta Sustainability Director Selene Munro said there should be more attention paid to cost and scope when creating ESG standards.

“There is a cost to implementing or building or consolidating these standards. Not all programs are built out. There is no understanding of scope.”

“A lot of those organizations will not meet the requirements for reporting because they’re not publicly traded,” said Munro. “The companies that are publicly traded are going to need or require that data from individuals within the supply chain, and that will go down to producers.”

The panelists also highlighted the importance of data collection for influencing public policy.

Before lunch, breakout groups of attendees discussed questions about disclosure standards and a National Index. Following the break, panelists from the breakout groups debriefed on the Importance of consolidation and issues with limited awareness of the standards.

They also spoke to the importance of translating tenets of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to be relevant to ag-specific data tracking.

Finally, Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking Tarra Drevet closed the conference with some words about ESG, sustainability and data collection, stressing the importance of quality information and communication of data.

Drevet communicated an overall note of hope in her closing remarks: “I think we can be optimistic about what’s coming up next.”

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Politicians and business leaders highlighted the issue during the Recognizing Rural Communities discussion, led by former MP Candice Bergen. The event featured two panels.

Bergen said federal politicians must better understand that Canada has a diversity of rural communities and different approaches are needed to meet their specific needs.

“Many of those challenges can only be addressed through a really focused effort, sector by sector.”

Accessible broadband internet and the need for reliable web connectivity in rural areas was a primary focus.

Gudie Hutchings, minister of rural economic development, spoke about her experience with this issue in the largely rural riding of Long Range Mountains in western Newfoundland.

“We heard from rural Canadians that broadband internet was the equalizer for economic development and for life,” she said.

She said broadband can help long-distance learning, career support and medical care and “it’s given families peace of mind.”

Dan Mazier, a Manitoboa MP and shadow minister of rural economic development, called rural Canada “the lifeline that fuels our country’s growth and prosperity,” but also acknowledged the gap in internet access that could prevent rural Canada from reaching its full potential.

“That means unlocking our abundant natural resources, including our energy and agriculture, not only for ourselves, but for the rest of the world. However, to fully harness this potential, we must address a pressing need, the need for high-speed internet and cellular connectivity.”

The first panel, Putting Rural Canada on the National Agenda, featured Liberal MP Francis Drouin, Conservative MP Lianne Rood and NDP MP Taylor Bachrach.

Drouin said a major concern in his Ontario riding of Glengarry-Prescott-Russell is the “exodus” of youth to Ottawa and Montreal. “Remote working, that’s a huge opportunity for us now, but we need access to internet.”

Bachrach, meanwhile, noted the challenge in recruiting health-care professionals to rural areas.

“We’re seeing emergency rooms put on diversion, people having to travel to other communities to access emergency services because there aren’t enough doctors. We need to ask ourselves: how do we create vibrant and sustainable communities that doctors and nurses want to move to?”

Rood said rural Canadians do not have enough options for fibre-optic internet.

Connecting “the last mile” to networks is an often noted challenge, she said, while other residents complain of “simply not having access even to basic cell phone service in some areas where, you know, farmers are very reliant on technology now, more than most people realize.

“Not having access to cell phone service, to the internet, availability to run the programs in their tractors, when you’re field mapping or you’re trying to test different places in your soil, it makes it very difficult.”

Investment and growth

The second panel, Business and Investment in Rural Canada, included Forest Products Association of Canada CEO Derek Nighbor, Canadian Telecoms Association CEO and former P.E.I. premier Robert Ghiz and Cathy Jo Noble of the National Cattle Feeders’ Association.

Ghiz said connectivity is “one of the themes to the solution.”

“We want to be able to connect more people. The more customers you have, the better off you do.”

But cost is a problem. Ghiz said most Canadians have access to broadband internet but the disparity grows when looking at rural communities.

“If you look at rural Canada today, rural Canada is only 67 per cent connected to home internet. That’s a lot of connectivity that needs to take place.”

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It will be his second turn in the role, having previously served between 2015 and 2019.

The announcement came at a Wednesday swearing in ceremony at Rideau Hall, where Prime Minister Trudeau’s anticipated cabinet re-shuffle was unveiled.

MacAulay, who represents the riding of Cardigan in P.E.I, was first elected to the House of Commons in 1998. He has also served as Minister of Veterans Affairs and Associate Minister of National Defence.

He did not attend the ceremony due to a personal matter. He was privately sworn in Tuesday.

Bibeau will take over the role of Minister of National Revenue from Diane Lebouthillier. Who will in turn inherit the post of Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard.

Bibeau was first elected in 2015 and has previously served as Minister of International Development, before being appointed Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in 2019. She was the first woman to hold that position.

Other ministers moving to new positions include Pablo Rodriguez, who inherited the title of Minister of Transport Omar Alghabra, Mark Holland, who will replace Jean-Yves Duclos as Minister of Health.

Gudie Hutchings and Mary Ng will retain their roles of Minister of Rural Economic Development and Minister of International Trade respectively.

More information to be released in the coming days. See related coverage at the Western Producer.

— Jonah Grignon reports for Glacier FarmMedia from Ottawa.

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The closure of the Ambassador Bridge, North America’s busiest international land border crossing and a vital supply route for Detroit’s carmakers, has halted some auto output and left officials scrambling to limit economic damage.

Canadian truckers started their protests as a “Freedom Convoy” occupying Ottawa, the capital, to demonstrate opposition to a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border drivers mirrored by the U.S. government.

They began blocking the Ambassador Bridge on Monday and have since shut two smaller border crossings in Alberta and Manitoba.

As many pandemic-weary western countries near the two-year mark on coronavirus restrictions, copycat protests have spread to Australia, New Zealand and France, although the wave of infections caused by the highly infectious Omicron variant has begun to subside in some places.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg urged their Canadian counterparts “to use federal powers to resolve this situation at our joint border,” a White House official said on Thursday.

“U.S. and Canadian border and customs authorities are working with great urgency to ensure the continued flow of goods and services across our international border, leveraging alternative land routes, as well as air and sea options.”

A U.S. homeland security adviser, Liz Sherwood Randall, is due to speak with Canada’s Deputy Defence Minister Jody Thomas.

Canadian federal ministers have called the blockade illegal and asked protesters to return home. Police near the Ambassador Bridge have begun receiving additional manpower, Drew Dilkens, the mayor of Windsor, which borders Detroit, told CNN.

“(If) the protesters don’t leave, there will have to be a path forward. If that means physically removing them, that means physically removing them, and we’re prepared to do that,” he said.

Dilkens later said Windsor was seeking an injunction from Ontario Superior Court to have the protesters removed, adding he was striving to resolve the issue peacefully.

“(While) it may be gratifying for someone to see the forced removal of the demonstrators, such action may inflame the situation and certainly cause more folks to come here and add to the protest, and we don’t want to risk additional conflict,” Dilkens said.

Diverting cargo

With traffic at times shut in both directions, General Motors and Chrysler’s parent Stellantis said on Thursday they had to cancel or reduce shifts because of parts shortages, tacking on to earlier production cuts announced by Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp.

Toyota said it was suspending production through Saturday at its plants in Ontario and Kentucky, affecting manufacturing of the Camry, RAV4 and other popular models.

Ford is looking at flying in some auto parts to a plant in Windsor that produces engines for popular models, a union official said.

The Ambassador Bridge was completely shut from both directions on Thursday as of 3:15 p.m. ET, according to a Reuters witness.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said he was working to end the bridge blockade which hurt “regular Canadians whether it’s grocery store prices, whether it’s jobs lost or suspended, whether it’s supply chains disrupted.”

In a tweet Thursday, Trudeau said he had spoken to Dilkens and said the federal government was ready to help Windsor and the province get the situation under control.

“It is causing real harm to workers and economies on both sides of the border,” he said.

An Ontario court on Thursday froze funds donated to anti-vaccine protesters through the app GiveSendGo. The convoy group had raised more than $8 million as of late Thursday afternoon, the Boston-based company said.

Protesters began gathering with their vehicles in Ottawa nearly two weeks ago and have occupied the main downtown street that runs by Parliament, the Bank of Canada and the prime minister’s office.

More U.S disruption to come?

More than two-thirds of the $511 billion in goods traded annually between Canada and the U.S. is transported by road. The Detroit International Bridge Co., which owns the Ambassador Bridge, urged Canada to end the protest by repealing the vaccine mandate or remove the vehicles so trade can resume.

A third option was to do “nothing and hope this ends on its own: an option that will most likely prolong the blockade, further crippling our economy and putting more jobs at risk,” the company’s chairman, Matt Moroun, said in a statement.

Seeking to show support for the Canadian protesters, some U.S. truckers said they will send two convoys this weekend to a fourth border crossing that connects Buffalo, N.Y. and Fort Erie, Ont.

The U.S. is adding staff to its command post at the National Football League’s Super Bowl in Los Angeles in response to reports of a convoy causing disruptions at Sunday’s game, the White House official said.

The official said in a statement that the Department of Homeland Security was making preparations to ensure that a ‘Freedom Convoy’ event in Washington D.C. due in early March “does not disrupt lawful trade and transportation or interfere with federal government and law enforcement operations and emergency services.”

— Reporting for Reuters by Carlos Osorio,Steve Holland and Ismail Shakil; additional reporting by David Shepardson, Chris Gallagher and Tim Ahmann in Washington, Rod Nickel in Manitoba, Julie Gordon in Ottawa and Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; writing by Rami Ayyub and Costas Pitas.

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After nearly two years of pandemic measures in many countries, opposition has sprung up in different ways with copycat protests in Australia, New Zealand and France as the highly infectious Omicron variant begins to ease in many countries.

Horn-blaring protests have being causing gridlock in the capital Ottawa since late January and from Monday night, truckers shut inbound Canada traffic at the Ambassador Bridge, a supply route for Detroit’s carmakers and agricultural products.

Another major border crossing, at Coutts in southern Alberta, has been closed in both directions since late on Tuesday.

Starting as a “Freedom Convoy” occupying downtown Ottawa opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border truckers mirrored by the U.S. government, protesters have also aired grievances about a carbon tax and other legislation.

“I think it’s important for everyone in Canada and the United States to understand what the impact of this blockage is — potential impact — on workers, on the supply chain, and that is where we’re most focused,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Wednesday.

“We’re also looking to track potential disruptions to U.S. agricultural exports from Michigan into Canada.”

Washington is working with authorities across the border to reroute traffic to the Blue Water Bridge, which links Port Huron in Michigan with Sarnia in Ontario, amid worries protests could turn violent, she told reporters.

Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem called for a swift resolution.

“If there were to be prolonged blockages at key entry points into Canada that could start to have a measurable impact on economic activity,” he said.

“We’ve already got a strained global supply chain. We don’t need this.”

Protests spread

The protests were disrupting jobs too and “must end before further damage occurs,” Canada’s Emergency Preparedness Minister, Bill Blair, told reporters.

The bridge closure has already caused a shortage of parts at carmaker Stellantis’ assembly plant in Windsor.

The company said it had to end shifts early on Tuesday, but the plant was able to resume production Wednesday morning.

The auto industry is also struggling with a lack of semi-conductor chips worldwide.

Protesters say they are peaceful, but some Ottawa residents have said they were attacked and harassed. In Toronto, streets were being blocked.

“We continue to know that science and public health rules and guidance is the best way to this pandemic is the way we’re going to get to the other side,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The issue has caused a sharp split between the ruling Liberals and the opposition Conservatives, many of whom have expressed open support for the protesters in Ottawa and accuse Trudeau of using the mandates issue for political purposes.

Downtown residents criticized police for their initially permissive attitude toward the blockade, but authorities began trying to take back control Sunday night with the seizure of thousands of litres of fuel and the removal of an oil tanker truck.

Police have asked for reinforcements — both officers and people with legal expertise in insurance and licensing — suggesting intentions to pursue enforcement through commercial vehicle licenses.

But as the authorities attempt to quell demonstrations in one area, they pop up elsewhere.

“Even as we have made some headway in Ottawa, we’ve seen an illegal blockade emerge in Windsor,” said Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino.

— Reporting for Reuters by Carlos Osorio in Windsor, Blair Gable in Ottawa and Jarrett Renshaw in Washington; additional reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny, Steve Scherer and David Ljunggren in Ottawa, Ismail Shakil and Kanishka Singh in Bangalore, Ben Klayman in Detroit and Doina Chiacu in Washington; writing by Denny Thomas and Costas Pitas.

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While traffic in both directions was initially blocked, U.S.-bound lanes have since reopened, Windsor Police tweeted.

Drivers demanding an end to federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates for cross-border traffic began blocking the streets of Canada’s capital, Ottawa, on Jan. 28. Since Sunday night, police have started slowly taking back control, seizing thousands of litres of fuel and removing an oil tanker truck.

Ottawa Deputy Police Chief Steve Bell told reporters on Tuesday that police have immobilized many of the heavy vehicles taking part in that blockade.

About a quarter of the 418 protest trucks in the downtown have children in them, he said, and police are concerned for their welfare in relation to cold, noise, carbon monoxide risks and access to sanitation.

Canada’s Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino told reporters that he had been in touch with the mayor of Windsor and local legislators about a blockade at the Ambassador Bridge, connecting Detroit with Windsor, Ont.

“We will continue to work… so that we can keep the supply chains moving across the Ambassador Bridge, as well as the wheels of our economy turning,” he said.

Later Tuesday, Windsor city police said in a release that protestors’ activities “have interrupted normal vehicle traffic flow but we have been able to continue a limited amount of access to the Ambassador Bridge.”

Commercial vehicles were being redirected to the Blue Water Bridge at Sarnia, Ont., while. the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel remained open to non-commercial vehicles, police said.

Canada sends 75 per cent of its exports to the United States, and the bridge usually handles around 8,000 trucks a day.

The owner of the bridge, the Detroit International Bridge Co., said international commerce on the bridge needed to resume.

“We encourage the appropriate officials to take prompt action to alleviate the situation as quickly as possible in a manner that reflects mutual respect,” the company’s chairman, Matt Moroun, said in a statement

Reopening plans

The president of the Canadian Vehicle Manufacturers’ Association called for an immediate end to the blockade, saying “persistent delays at the Ambassador Bridge risk disrupting automotive production that employs tens of thousands of Canadians.”

A recent similar blockade halted and has since hindered traffic through Alberta’s main Canada-U.S. border crossing at Coutts, southeast of Lethbridge.

Alberta’s acting justice minister Sonya Savage, in a statement Tuesday, said that when protesters “threaten public safety, disrupt the public peace or prevent Albertans from accessing vital infrastructure, then they open themselves up to potential action from law enforcement… We believe the Coutts blockade has crossed this line.”

The Coutts blockade, she said, “has severely inconvenienced lawful motorists, prevented commercial goods from reaching their destination, and it has the potential to impede emergency vehicles from reaching people in need of aid” and participants “need to recognize that this protest is no longer peaceful and is causing hardship to thousands of law-abiding Albertans.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appeared in public on Monday for the first time in more than a week after being infected with COVID-19, saying the protest had to stop.

Trudeau was due to return to parliament on Tuesday to face opposition legislators demanding he do more to end what one aide called a “national humiliation.”

He has denounced the demonstrators’ tactics.

“Individuals are trying to blockade our economy, our democracy, and our fellow citizens’ daily lives,” he told an emergency debate in the House of Commons on Monday night. “It has to stop.”

But one of his Liberal Party colleagues has broken rank on the government’s hardline stance on vaccine mandates. Joel Lightbound called on the government to move away from divisive politics and present a clear roadmap for lifting of pandemic restrictions.

Meanwhile some provinces are beginning to lift the strict COVID-19 restrictions.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault on Tuesday announced a gradual reopening of the province’s offices, businesses, bars and social activities through March 14, while lifting restrictions on the number of visitors allowed in private homes.

Legault said a recent protest by truckers in Quebec City did not influence his plans, but acknowledged some people in the province were fed up with the restrictions.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe said that province’s requirement to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for businesses, workplaces and other public venues will end on Feb. 14.

— Reporting for Reuters by David Ljunggren and Ismail Shakil; additional reporting by Anna Mehler-Paperny in Ottawa, Allison Lampert in Montreal and Susan Heavey in Washington; writing by Denny Thomas. Includes files from Glacier FarmMedia Network staff.

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