AgriStability, the whole farm, business risk management program has been in place for Canadian farmers for 16 years. In that time, it's been maligned and criticized, and it continues to be subject to an ongoing tug-of-war between federal and provincial politicians. But with a new ag policy framework to be unveiled for 2023, changes to... Read More
Category: Canadian Agricultural Policy
Former federal Agriculture Minister Bob Speller has passed away at the age of 66. Speller (above left) was named Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food by Prime Minister Paul Martin in December 2003, during the Canadian cattle industry's BSE crisis. He passed away on Dec. 16 at a care facility near Waterford, Ontario, following an illness.... Read More
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has issued mandate letters to his ministers, outlining the Liberal government's priorities for the session of Parliament that started last month. The letters were made public on Thursday (Dec. 16), 51 days after the cabinet was sworn in, and the second last day of sitting in the House of Commons before... Read More
2021 has been a tough weather year. From prolonged drought and excessive heat, to the flooding witnessed in recent weeks in British Columbia — weather disasters have had a tremendous impact on Canadian farms and agriculture businesses. Erik Davies, from Barefoot Consulting, has spent his career working on disaster recovery and risk management issues. Last... Read More
A month into the job as Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Economic Development, Nate Horner says he's catching up with producer groups in the province and working to get up to speed on the priorities for Alberta agriculture. Up first on the docket following his appointment was the Federal-Provincial-Territorial ministers meeting last month, where... Read More
New details on how the federal government plans to rebate carbon taxes paid by farmers in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta were included in the Dec. 14 fiscal update presented by Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland. The Liberal government had previously promised, in the lead-up to the federal budget in spring 2021, that it would refund... Read More
This column was written by Greg Northey, with Pulse Canada, prior to the flooding of B.C.'s Fraser Valley. If Canada wants to address climate change in the now, we can start by fixing the current supply chain issues plaguing our exporters and driving up the cost of living for us all. The global container shortage... Read More
In November, John Barlow, MP for Foothills, was re-named to the position as the Conservatives' shadow minister for agriculture. Among Barlow's current priorities is the attention — or lack thereof — that country-of-origin labelling (COOL) is currently getting in Ottawa. As the conversations grow in strength with a bipartisan bill in the U.S. senate surrounding... Read More
The lists of which MPs will sit on the House of Commons' committees for the session of Parliament that started last month were finally unveiled on Thursday. The 12-member Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food includes some returnees, as well as several new faces (denoted with *): Francis Drouin (Liberal, newly-appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture... Read More
The political jurisdiction of federal and provincial governments has perhaps never been made more clear than during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw provinces taking the lead on regulations, recommendations, and requirements. Along the same vein, Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says that federal policy should take a regional approach to delivery. For example, Saskatchewan doesn't need... Read More