Reading Time: 3 minutes A Canadian election is around the corner and trade is an important issue to consider, particularly for agriculture. Agri-food accounts for 12 per cent of all of Canada’s exports. One-half of all Canadian agricultural production is exported. One in two jobs in grains and oilseeds is export dependent and one in four jobs in food […] Read more
With a federal election looming, spare a thought for trade
Trade is a complex issue but needs to be a priority for our export-dependent farm sector
Alberta ag minister says he got the message on workplace safety laws
Devin Dreeshen says new workplace safety law will have ‘have some common sense attached to it’
Reading Time: 4 minutes He made 25 stops across the province, met with more than 1,000 farmers, put over 8,000 kilometres on the truck and drank countless cups of coffee. Devin Dreeshen has been a busy man during his first summer as provincial agriculture minister and he’s promising a replacement workplace safety law is introduced this fall. “What we’ve […] Read more
Government aid may be needed for canola growers, says analyst
China situation will drag on and stocks of unsold canola will continue to mount, says trade expert
Reading Time: 3 minutes With no end in sight to China’s ban on their biggest money-making crop, Ottawa may have to offer financial aid to canola growers, says an ag trade expert. “There will likely be discussions of compensation for canola farmers,” said Sarah Pittman, a policy analyst with the Canada West Foundation in Calgary. “I’m not sure we […] Read more
Producers and their farm workers urged to take workplace safety survey
The new government wants views and suggestions before introducing the Farm Freedom and Safety Act
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmers, ranchers, and their workers are being asked by the provincial government what they would like to see in new farm workplace safety legislation. The United Conservative government says it plans to introduce the Farm Freedom and Safety Act this fall “to put choice back in the hands of farmers and have legislation that reflects […] Read more
Federal government funding $6 million to Canada Pork International
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has announced $6 million will be invested in Canada Pork International (CPI) to focus on strengthening, diversifying and growing of Canada’s pork exports. It will help to boost the awareness of the industry in the priority international markets. Why it matters: A halt to exports to China has made finding other […] Read more
Livestock sector suspicious of China ban but hopeful
Politics, not fraud, may be behind latest Chinese ban of our exports but officials hopeful it can be resolved
Reading Time: 4 minutes Some sort of fraud or more payback from China? That’s the question facing Canadian pork and beef producers after Beijing banned their products last month. As was the case with canola seed, the official Chinese explanation is that it halted imports because of contamination issues — “pests” in canola and the growth promotant ractopamine in […] Read more
Opinion: We need to welcome our new Canadian neighbours
To fill the tens of thousands of jobs in agriculture, we must make the sector more attractive to immigrants
Reading Time: 3 minutes As agriculture faces acute shortages of people at every level, it is a good time to talk about the value in immigration. The federal government has committed to increasing the number of immigrants to 350,000 annually by 2021. What does that mean for Canada? The majority of immigrants currently come from three countries: China, India […] Read more
France’s Hulot calls on parliament to vote against EU-Canada trade deal
Paris | Reuters – Popular former environment minister Nicolas Hulot on Monday urged the French parliament to vote against the EU-Canada trade deal in a last-minute bid to block the agreement. The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) provisionally took effect from September 2017, but still needs to be approved by all 28 EU […] Read more
Fish habitat clause sent swimming
Reading Time: < 1 minute Senate amendments to the recently passed Fisheries Act repealed the ‘Deeming Habitat’ provision opposed by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. The provision would have greatly expanded what could be deemed fish habitat to include any watercourse or water body with water flows able to sustain fish ecosystems. It would have meant virtually all water bodies could […] Read more
Opinion: An open letter to Agriculture Minister Devin Dreeshen
To be effective, farm safety education must be part of the regular curriculum in elementary schools
Reading Time: 3 minutes Following your appointment as Alberta’s agriculture minister, you were praised for being “smart, grounded, and ‘a stand-up guy.’” Let’s hope everything I’ve read about you will prove true. But based on past experience, I am somewhat cynical, as I have asked your predecessors to take action on embedding effective farm safety within the elementary curricula… […] Read more