The provisional application of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the European Union (EU) officially started this week, which had the Canadian trade team in Brussels actually jumping for joy. But the work is far from over, as technical barriers are holding the agriculture and agri-food industry back from reaching their... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
The length of time it takes to a new technology to clear regulatory approvals is often seen as a barrier to innovation. In the case of a new wheat variety, for example, there are multiple pieces of federal legislation (ie. the Canada Seeds Act and the Canada Grains Act) and government departments involved in bringing... Read More
The federal government thinks too many Canadians are using private corporations as tax-advantaged personal savings accounts, and so it's proposing having much higher tax rates apply to income that comes from investments made within a company. For an incorporated farm business, this "passive" investment income might include returns from GICs, mutual funds, stocks, bonds, or... Read More
Members of Parliament are back at their seats for the fall sitting of Parliament, and tensions are high, with the Conservatives and NDP questioning the Liberals' proposed tax changes announced in July. Farm groups and farmers have also been vocal in criticizing the government's plan. "I don't think the government realized the opposition that would... Read More
The latest three-month exemption to India's rules requiring fumigation of pulse crops is nearing its expiration date, and Canadians are no nearer to an understanding of what, exactly, that might mean. "As of today, we don't know what India's policy is going to be for bills of lading that are dated October 1 or later,... Read More
There's a reason most farms pay accountants to provide tax planning advice. Taxes are complicated. Add multiple pages of new information, unclear definitions, 'tax cheat' accusations, some emotional rhetoric, and it's a challenge, even for accountants, to assess what Finance Minister Bill Morneau's proposed tax changes could mean for an individual farm business. We're going... Read More
Canada's wheat industry, working together with the federal government, laid out its priorities for research in a national report unveiled at press conference in Saskatoon on Tuesday. Led by Cereals Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the 2017 Canadian Wheat Research Priorities Report is being described as the first time the wheat industry has come... Read More
Finance Minister Bill Morneau asked several Opposition MPs to send him contact information for Canadians concerned about the Liberals' proposed tax reforms during Question Period on Monday, saying he would call these individuals personally. After hearing Morneau say this, some farmers and small business owners picked up the phone to call the minister, only to... Read More
With farmers, farm organizations, and accounting firms that work in agriculture voicing serious concerns about the federal government's proposed tax changes, Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay broke his media silence on the subject on Friday afternoon. For all of 50 seconds. The Full Story: Facing the politically dangerous choice of siding with the farm community or... Read More
With finance committee chair and fellow Maritime Liberal MP Wayne Easter speaking out against the rollout of the proposed tax changes to small business, the door has opened for Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay to voice his concern on the possible impacts that the changes could have on incorporated farmers and ranchers. If the crack wasn't... Read More