It's no surprise that Canada's dairy supply management was discussed in the first face-to-face meeting between Canadian Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay and new U.S. Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue. However, some of Perdue's comments on supply management after the meeting on Monday are surprising or noteworthy with many on the U.S. side calling for the system... Read More

Producers need to make their voices heard now, as Ottawa proceeds with public consultations about the first-of-its-kind national food policy. Ottawa says a food policy is a way to address issues related to the production, processing, distribution, and consumption of food. It says such a policy “will set a long-term vision for the health, environmental,... Read More

Ontario’s minimum wage is set to climb to $15 per hour by 2019 and that could have a significant impact on agriculture in the province. Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Keith Currie says labour intensive sectors such as horticulture and greenhouse operations will likely suffer the greatest impact from the Liberal government’s announcement this week... Read More

The federal government is moving toward establishing a national food policy that will revolve around four "pillars," but details on what it will look like beyond that have yet to be determined, according to Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay. The minister launched consultations, including an online survey, on establishing a national food policy in a speech... Read More

With the United States' exit from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the new administration says it's focusing on bilateral agreements instead of multilateral deals in its attempted execution of an "America first" ideology on all things, including trade. Now that President Trump has formally notified Congress of his desire to renegotiate NAFTA, the countdown has started... Read More

There's been a change in the top public servant role within Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. As of Monday (May 29, 2017), Chris Forbes is the new Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. Forbes replaces Andrea Lyon, who has moved on to become the Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council and Associate Secretary to the Cabinet.... Read More

After years of discussion about the idea, the federal government has launched consultations on creating a national food policy. “Developing this food policy is an exciting opportunity for Canadians to have their say about how government can help address those opportunities and challenges that exist in our food system," said Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay, announcing... Read More

Many dairy and poultry farmers across Canada breathed a sigh of relief on Saturday night as Andrew Scheer defeated front-runner Maxime Bernier to become the leader of the Official Opposition and the Conservative Party of Canada. One of Bernier's main promises during the campaign was to dismantle supply management (SM) — the quota system that... Read More