New Delhi | Reuters – India’s main opposition party pressed the government on Thursday to call a special parliamentary session to withdraw new agricultural laws that farmers say will leave them at the mercy of big corporations. Rahul Gandhi, a senior leader from the opposition Congress party, handed the president a copy of a petition […] Read more
Indian opposition demands repeal of farm laws after protests
Farmers protest across India against Modi’s farm market reforms
New Delhi/Mumbai | Reuters — Farmers’ protests against new laws liberalizing agricultural markets spread across India on Tuesday, as farm organizations called for a nationwide strike after inconclusive talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government. In eastern and western states, farmers blocked roads and squatted on railway tracks, delaying hordes of people getting to work, […] Read more
Peru farm protests grip country, turn deadly
'There are no harvests, there is nothing'
Lima | Reuters — Protests by farm workers demanding better wages in Peru raged on for a fourth day Thursday, spreading north into key agricultural areas of the Andean nation, derailing harvests of some crops, snarling transport of produce and leaving at least one dead. Peruvian interim President Francisco Sagasti called the death of a […] Read more
India’s Modi refuses to back down on farm reforms despite protests
New Delhi | Reuters — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday resisted calls for the repeal of farm reforms that have ignited the biggest protests by farmers in years around the national capital, saying they were being misled and that deregulation would benefit them. Thousands of people from the big farming state of Punjab […] Read more
Grain is moving but it will take months to catch up
Canada’s reputation as a reliable grain supplier has taken a hit
Reading Time: 4 minutes There won’t be a quick fix for a ‘perfect storm’ that has set grain movement back by at least three months. The problems started with the late harvest across the Prairies followed by the week-long CN Rail strike in November and then cold weather and mudslides. By the time the anti-pipeline rail blockades hit in […] Read more
Rail delays have everyone ‘ripping their hair out’
Every West Coast anchorage spot is filled as ships wait for rail traffic to get back to normal
Reading Time: 4 minutes It was a cold and rainy day — a gloomy but an apt setting for producers and grain industry officials touring the Port of Vancouver and witnessing the backlog of ships anchored in Burrard Inlet. The ships were barely visible in the fog for tour attendees, delegates to the Canadian Crops Convention held here earlier […] Read more
OPP clear rail blockade, arrest 10
No word yet on when CN service through area will resume
Tyendinaga, Ont. | Reuters — Ontario Provincial Police on Monday made 10 arrests and cleared a rail blockade that had been stopping freight and passenger traffic for almost three weeks on one of the country’s busiest lines. OPP secured the area just east of Belleville, Ont., Canadian National Railway Co (CN) said, and CN technicians […] Read more
Fraser: Rail blockades should be a lesson for all
Our latest so-called national crisis led to calls for police to arrest protesters and tear down blockades, but perhaps we should be thinking about how to prevent conflicts like this from happening in the first place. It’s amazing how much can change in just a few days. Canada’s Agriculture Day on Feb. 11 brought together […] Read more
Passenger trains to run again, pipeline protests block freight
Ottawa | Reuters — Passenger rail operator Via Rail said Tuesday it would soon resume partial services between Quebec City and Ottawa while the government sought to end anti-pipeline protests that are blocking rail freight in Eastern Canada. Via said passenger services between the two cities would start on Thursday after it received a notification […] Read more
CN halts rail traffic in East due to protests
Grain groups seek dispute resolution or enforcement of court orders
Canadian National Railway (CN) is shutting down its Eastern Canada operations due to ongoing blockades on its rail lines in Ontario. The company announced Thursday it’s been “forced to initiate a disciplined and progressive shutdown” in the region, which means “stopping and safely securing all transcontinental trains across its Canadian network.” The decision “may imminently […] Read more
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