The Ontario Federation of Agriculture has re-elected Don McCabe as its president for 2016. The Lambton County farmer was unopposed for the position, which he won for the second consecutive year during the OFA’s annual meeting in Toronto this week. Despite being acclaimed, there were some challenges for the returning president regarding how he and... Read More
Category: Politics
Official Opposition leader Rona Ambrose unveiled the Conservatives' shadow cabinet on Friday, assigning experienced MPs and former cabinet ministers to new critic roles. Former Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has been tapped to serve as International Trade critic, a natural fit following his work on building market access as ag minister. Ritz will closely follow the... Read More
We know he’s a Liberal MP from Prince Edward Island who was was first elected in 1988. Among other roles, he’s been the Liberal Party Critic for Fisheries and Oceans, Secretary of State for Veterans Affairs, Minister of Labour and Solicitor General of Canada. Before entering federal politics, he was a dairy and potato farmer... Read More
The Swearing-In Ceremony is underway at Rideau Hall, and Justin Trudeau is officially the Prime Minister of Canada. As the swearing-in of the cabinet continues, here are some facts on our new Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Lawrence MacAulay, and Minister of International Trade, Chrystia Freeland. Minister MacAulay | Minister Freeland |Other Notable Ministers |... Read More
The conversation about labeling genetically engineered products is reaching a crossroads in the U.S. I wonder how much longer this can last. On one side, groups like Just Label It (funded by the Organic Voices Action Fund) are lining up their celebrity endorsements to try to sway unaware consumers. They are reaching into the legal... Read More
Farmers’ healthy appetite for information gives agricultural media everywhere a vital role in the agri-food sector. Knowledge mobilization, technology translation and transfer, extension or whatever you want to call the flow of information from a source to a user depends significantly on skilled, trusted media. Feedback from users is an important part of the cycle... Read More
The Ontario Superior Court denied the request for a stay and interpretation on seed treatment regulations submitted by the Grain Farmers of Ontario (GFO) this afternoon. "We are extremely disappointed that the judge did not rule in our favour, leaving the grain industry in a very difficult situation as farmers try to arrange seed orders... Read More
Do big changes in Ottawa mean big changes for Canadian agriculture? Ron Bonnett, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture joins host Kelvin Heppner on this week’s TWORA podcast to discuss the result of Monday’s federal election and what it means for the farm community. New rules have been announced on who can buy farmland... Read More
Uncertainty goes hand in hand with change, and so after almost a decade of Conservative government, the shift to a Liberal majority in Ottawa brings with it plenty of questions, including questions about the future of Canadian agriculture (in no particular order): Who's going to be the next ag minister? The Liberals have several ag... Read More
A tragic event in Alberta has gripped the Canadian ag community and beyond, harvest is wrapping up and what would a Liberal win on Monday mean for the Trans-Pacific Partnership? Here’s this week’s ag news podcast with Kelvin Heppner: Listen to last week’s TWORA here. Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS