It's more common for private member's bills to make more headway in a minority government, such as the one Canada currently has. Several of these kinds of bills are making their way through parliament right now, and some of them have the potential to not only significantly impact agriculture but also Canada's trade relationships as... Read More
Category: Ag Policy
Much has transpired in the weed control world over the past 40 years and Brian Woolley has seen it all. With farming roots in Port Dover, Ont., the Syngenta Canada territory sales representative is getting ready to close the book on a 40-year career in weed control. In this interview with RealAgriculture's Bernard Tobin, Woolley... Read More
In a world where a laptop or cellphone usually travels thousands of miles before it's used, what does it mean to trade when electronic devices are made to explode en masse? Jacob Shapiro, head of geopolitical and macro research for Bespoke Group, isn't exaggerating when he likens this week's electronic-based attack in Lebanon as a... Read More
Not even a week into this latest sitting of Parliament and the sparks are flying. Question Period has been spicy, to put it mildly, and we're already looking at a Conservative non-confidence motion to be voted on next week. What could this sitting mean for the Liberals, election timing, the official opposition, the Bloc and... Read More
The New Democratic Party's lead MP on agricultural files for the past six and half years is moving on. With the resumption of Parliament this week, Alistair MacGregor is leaving the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food and leaving his role as the NDP's agriculture critic, which he has held since early 2018. "I will... Read More
The pressure is on for the Ontario government to back away from a land deal that would see 770 acres of farmland turned into a yet-to-be-determined industrial development. Hundreds of citizens in Wilmot Township near Kitchener, Ont., have posted signs and signed petitions proclaiming they are "unwilling hosts" to the planned development. Farmers — including... Read More
Regardless of political stripe, governing takes energy and ideas. There are many signs Canada's current government, led by Justin Trudeau, is lacking both. Signs that the government's battery is weak and running low. Look no further than the news this week from Liberal campaign director Jeremy Broadhurst — arguably the third most important political player... Read More
Big markets, such as the behemoth that is the Chinese economy, require equivalent or greater time commitments of work, attention, and diplomacy. Canada's relationship to China hasn't been the smoothest in recent memory, to say the least. The arrests of the two Micheals in China and Meng Wanzhou in Canada was a years'-long ordeal that... Read More
There is still much to navigate in the months ahead regarding China's investigation into "dumping" of Canadian canola into the country. The initial cost to farmers with a tanked canola price is not to be understated, but the future losses could be much worse if China does eventually levy a tariff against Canadian canola seed... Read More
The question is not whether Canada is actually dumping canola into the Chinese market — that's bunk, says Chuck Penner — the real question is how badly China decides to punish Canada for its recent announcement of levelling trade tariffs on EVs, steel, and aluminum. Penner, founder of Leftfield Commodity Research and recently named 60-year-old,... Read More