This is an open letter to Doug Ford, newly elected leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservative Party, with the assumption that he becomes the next premier of Ontario. It actually doesn't matter if he wins or not, of course. The wants and needs of rural Ontario remain the same, and must be addressed by the next... Read More
Category: Canadian Agriculture Policy
We were warned early on by Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland that the NAFTA talks would be rocky. She was right. We are through seven rounds and more clouds hang over the talks than ever. With a Mexican election on July 1, and the fall U.S. midterms surely pushing talks into 2019, the U.S.... Read More
After signing the CPTPP trade deal in Chile on Thursday, Canada's trade minister flew to Paraguay to announce the launch of formal negotiations on a free trade deal with the Mercosur trade bloc on Friday morning. Mercosur's current membership consists of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, making it the fourth largest trading bloc in the... Read More
The Ontario Progressive Conservative party is scheduled to announce its new leader on Saturday afternoon. After all the theatre surrounding Patrick Brown resigning, then entering the race to replace himself, then dropping out, party members have been left with four choices to lead the PCs into the Ontario election in June: Caroline Mulroney, Christine Elliott,... Read More
Canada and ten other Pacific countries are officially signing the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) this afternoon in Santiago, Chile. This isn't the first time Canada has signed a deal with the words "Trans-Pacific Partnership" in the name. The Liberal government also signed the original TPP in New Zealand in February 2016,... Read More
No one loves red tape, but rules and regulations are necessary. That said, rules and regulations should evolve alongside the advancement of an industry to best meet the needs, demands, and challenges of the value chain. The Canadian Grain Commission is working at doing exactly that, says chief commissioner, Patti Miller. Just over a year... Read More
While grain companies are investing in major upgrades to port facilities in Vancouver, the growing number of ships waiting on the West Coast shows it has been a challenge getting grain to those facilities this winter. Virtually all of the grain terminals in Vancouver are seeing expansion or new construction, to some degree, says Doug... Read More
Accountants and business owners concerned about how Ottawa was going to treat passive income received a somewhat pleasant surprise in the 2018 federal budget. After backpedaling on several major planks of their controversial proposal to change how small businesses are taxed last fall, the Liberals finally shared details on how passive investment income will be... Read More
Time away from the farm is important for so many reasons, even if it can be a challenge to make it work. Whether it's continuing your education, getting some much needed downtime, or speaking up for changes to your sector, there's a whole other world away from the farm that can offer real value back,... Read More
A trade deficit is defined as the amount by which the value of a country's imports exceeds the value of its exports. It's a metric that U.S. President Donald Trump frequently refers to when explaining or tweeting about his positions on trade, whether referring to NAFTA, China, or the new tariffs on steel and aluminum.... Read More