With a tractor and bales as a backdrop, Finance Minister Bill Morneau made the latest in a series of political damage control announcements regarding the Liberals' proposed tax changes on Thursday morning. Facing serious conflict-of-interest and ethics questions about his own finances, Morneau left Ottawa to make the announcement with Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay at... Read More
Category: Canadian Agriculture Policy
Finance Minister Bill Morneau made a second announcement regarding changes to the Liberals' small business tax proposal on Wednesday, focusing on the passive investment income policy. He said the government will allow up to $50,000 in passive income in a year before higher tax rates kick in to provide flexibility for business owners who want... Read More
As round four of the NAFTA talks comes to a close, you have to wonder why it took the U.S. this long to finally come around to the stiff demands laid out in round four. From auto to dairy, the U.S. provided a list of demands that Canada and Mexico have described as unacceptable, and,... Read More
This was probably not the scenario Bill Morneau envisioned when he decided to leave his Bay Street executive position and run for the Liberals in the 2015 federal election. The finance minister has quickly fallen from star candidate status to liability, as underlined by Prime Minister Trudeau's awkward attempts to block reporters from questioning him... Read More
The tone surrounding NAFTA negotiations certainly turned during the fourth round of talks, which wrapped up Tuesday in Arlington, Virginia. Pessimistic or gloomy would be appropriate descriptors, definitely out of tune, even if you're optimistic. After three rounds with little progress, U.S. negotiators came out swinging, tabling multiple 'non-starters' in the eyes of Canada and... Read More
The federal government's announcement that it will reduce the small business tax rate over the next two years and cancel plans for new restrictions to lifetime capital gains exemptions is "a positive sign," according to the president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Small Business and... Read More
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Small Business and Tourism Minister Bardish Chagger took a quick trip to Stouffville, Ontario on Monday morning to announce the lowering of small business tax rates, and a change to the controversial small business tax proposal they introduced in July. "We made a promise to middle... Read More
American requests for changes to Canada's supply management system for dairy and poultry are a "non-starter," said Canada's agriculture minister on Monday. U.S. negotiators introduced an initial dairy proposal on Friday, which calls for increased transparency and changes to Canada's milk class system, including the elimination of the new class 7 that has taken away... Read More
The U.S. introduced its much-anticipated proposal regarding dairy during NAFTA negotiations on Friday, although it did not contain an explicit request for a percentage increase in market access into Canada. The American proposal was focused on changing Canada's milk class system and increasing transparency in supply management. The proposal would reverse recent changes to Canada's... Read More
The tone surrounding the negotiations to update NAFTA has taken a gloomy turn, especially for agriculture, with a growing consensus that there's a real chance President Trump will try to follow through on his repeated threats to pull the U.S. out of NAFTA. Even Prime Minister Trudeau, after meeting with Trump on Wednesday, sounded like... Read More