Health Canada has issued a long-awaited clarification on how it will regulate different forms of plant breeding, including newer gene-editing methods. Genetically modified crops are deemed "novel" under Canada's regulatory framework, requiring an expensive multi-year safety review before being approved for sale, but there was uncertainty about whether gene-edited crops would also be treated as... Read More
Category: Canadian Agriculture Policy
Canada is standing by its proposed solution regarding dairy tariff-rate quotas under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), as U.S. dairy groups continue to pressure the White House to escalate the matter. Earlier this week, U.S. trade representative Katherine Tai said Canada's changes didn't go far enough, and the proposed solution was a disappointment. Jim Wiesemeyer... Read More
Bill C-234 took a step forward on Wednesday, as the House of Commons voted in favour of it at second reading, sending it to the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food for review. The private member's bill brought forward by Conservative MP Ben Lobb would amend the federal government’s carbon pricing legislation to provide an... Read More
The Chinese government has lifted restrictions on imports of canola from Canada's two largest exporters that dated back to March 2019. Richardson and Viterra were banned from shipping canola seed to China more than three years ago. Both companies are listed as approved for exporting canola to China in a government document that was published... Read More
After Canada defended its standpoint on dairy tariff-rate quotas (TRQs), the U.S. trade representative, Katherine Tai, has released a statement further articulating the country's "disappointment" with Canada's unwillingness to make further changes to the TRQs. "The United States is deeply disappointed by Canada’s announcement today regarding its dairy tariff-rate quotas," says Tai. "Our top priority... Read More
Trade tensions are on the rise as some groups are calling on the U.S. government to impose retaliatory tariffs in response to Canada's handling of dairy tariff-rate quotas (TRQs) under the United-States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA/CUSMA). The call on the U.S. government comes from the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF)... Read More
The Canadian government is still looking at additional measures to reduce the impact of 35 per cent tariffs on fertilizer from Russia and Belarus, according to the federal agriculture minister. However, Marie-Claude Bibeau isn't saying what those measures could be. Farm groups, including Grain Farmers of Ontario and Grain Growers of Quebec, have been calling... Read More
New Zealand has filed a trade dispute against Canada regarding its implementation of dairy tariff rate quotas (TRQs) under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (better known as the CPTPP). It marks the first dispute brought forward by any country under the Pacific trade deal that took effect in December 2018. “New Zealand... Read More
Greenhouse gas emissions from nitrogen fertilizer were reduced by approximately 20 per cent in the Canadian government's official 2022 greenhouse gas inventory report thanks to an update to how nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from fertilizer are estimated. The reduction, however, will not count toward the federal government's mandate to reduce emissions from fertilizer by 30... Read More
Federal, provincial, and territorial (FPT) ministers of agriculture from across Canada met in Ottawa on Monday to discuss the next agricultural policy framework ahead of their annual meeting in Saskatoon in July, where they hope to sign a new five-year agreement. The ministers, nine of whom attended in-person, spent their morning session discussing want they... Read More