In a leadership race finale that stretched well into the early hours of August 24th, Erin O'Toole emerged victorious. O'Toole, Member of Parliament for Ontario's Durham riding, succeeds Andrew Scheer as Conservative Party leader. He defeated party co-founder Peter MacKay on the third ballot. Leslyn Lewis, who received the most votes in the majority of... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
This week there was a small but significant cabinet shuffle that will prove very impactful on how Canada steers through the remaining COVID-19 economic challenges. Chrystia Freeland was sworn in as finance minister after the resignation of Bill Morneau. With such a big change at the most senior levels of the cabinet, it may create... Read More
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) is expanding eligibility for agriculture societies to apply for funding to help offset financial losses due to the cancellation of fall fairs, exhibitions, and activities during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. For this year only, nearly $1 million will be made available to all qualifying agricultural... Read More
I know I'm not alone when I say the recent decision by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) surprised me. I'm also likely not alone when I say the decision made me incredibly angry. And angry for a few reasons, I might add. Angry, because I assumed (wrongly) that my name... Read More
The Maple Leaf Foods hog plant at Brandon, Man., has temporarily suspended pork exports to China on a voluntary basis. China has recently instituted new rules where any plant reporting COVID-19 cases is required to suspend exports. The Brandon plant has seen over 50 cases of COVID-19 among employees in the last few weeks, accounting... Read More
The Mexican government is planning to phase out the use of glyphosate by the end of 2024. The country has already blocked imports of the active ingredient of the world's most commonly used herbicide, citing the precautionary principle and risk to the environment. With his agriculture and environment ministries in conflict over the issue, President... Read More
The eligibility declaration you'll sign at the elevator this crop year will look a lot like declarations you've signed before, but there are some very important differences you need to be aware of. Team Alberta, the communications collaboration between Alberta's major commodity groups, is working hard to make sure farmers fully understand the changes made... Read More
Domestically, Canada's agri-food system is facing a lot of challenges, but the pressures aren't from just within the country. Many newly-felt pressures are from external forces. A new report from Agri-Food Economy Systems based out of Guelph, Ont., outlines these new pressures on agri-food policy in Canada. The list of those pressures in the report... Read More
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs says it has reached a decision regarding a recent Freedom of Information (FOI) request that drew plenty of attention in the farm community. OMAFRA says it will not release the FBR numbers but will release the names of those who hold said numbers, except in a... Read More
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has released an update on reported mystery seed packages. Over 750 individuals from across all 10 provinces have received mystery packages of seeds. Information that the CFIA has collected, to date, includes: packages postmarked from several countries and are declared as toys or jewelry; seeds are from a range... Read More