Update: This story originally stated Miller's appointment begins March 13, 2017, but according to the ag minister's office, there was an error in the order posted by the Privy Council. As noted in the minister's official announcement on January 3, Miller's appointment begins February 13, 2017. The president of the Canola Council of Canada is... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
Don’t be surprised to see more hydro bill relief in sight in 2017 for rural Ontarians, says the province’s minister of agriculture, food and rural affairs. In a year-end interview, Minister Jeff Leal said that although the province has started finding ways to reduce energy bills, “there’s more to do.” He said he “wouldn’t be... Read More
Whether we're talking about Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national carbon tax commitment, the signing of the Canada-EU trade deal, the canola agreement with China, or Canada's primary trading partner electing Donald Trump, there was no shortage of agriculture-related news in Ottawa in 2016. This year also marked the Liberals' first full year in power, and... Read More
The Ontario government recently rolled out its Pollinator Health Action Plan, a draft of which had been put forward in January, 2016, and up for discussion. The final product, found here, is remarkably similar, and, as many have commented, it's a solid, balanced approach to improving honeybee and native pollinator health in the province. The... Read More
As America awaits the announcement of the Secretary of Agriculture, speculation rages on what the new Trump presidency will mean for agriculture. In Canada, the opportunistic wave of Trump or the backdraft are possible with so many election promises made and an eagerness to close many deals. At the recent Montana Grain Growers meeting in... Read More
Ontario has released its Pollinator Health Action Plan which includes focusing on four key stressors to honeybee and pollinator health and financial support and increased education for beekeepers. A re-iterated aspirational goal to "restore, enhance and protect" 1 million acres of pollinator habitat is also included in the plan. Found here, the plan is a... Read More
There's certainly a growing emphasis on reducing gender-related barriers in Canadian agriculture, whether that's measured by the success of conferences for women in ag, the launch of the Ag Women's Network, policy projects being led by the Canadian Ag HR Council, or through less formal means within individual workplaces. The topic has been in the... Read More
2016 will be remembered for all sorts of monumental things — many of them bad. If you were in the polling industry in 2016, you may even call it a very bad year. Brexit wasn't exactly a shining example of getting the call right. Then, there's that pesky Hillary Clinton vs. Donald Trump contest that... Read More
The federal government has announced it's dropping the four-year cumulative duration requirement — also known as the "four-in, four-out" rule — from the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) effectively immediately. It's welcome news for agricultural employers and farm groups. “The feedback we received from agricultural stakeholders is very supportive of these changes," noted Portia MacDonald-Dewhirst,... Read More
The Saskatchewan Pulse Growers' board of directors is keeping its levy non-refundable. The board had one year to respond to a resolution passed at the organization's 2016 annual general meeting requesting the check-off be made refundable. SPG chair Tim Wiens informed members of the decision in a letter distributed December 13 (see below.) SPG is... Read More