It’s time to bridge our country’s great digital divide
If you’re of a certain age, chances are you’ll never forget the screeching symphony of sounds your computer once had to perform just to get online. Today, dial-up internet is a relic of the 90s for most—something many reminisce and chuckle about. However, for many rural Canadians, particularly farmers, lack of broadband internet is still […]
Migrant workers have paid their dues and should be given a path to permanent residency
Canada has expanded its temporary migration system to bring in a steady supply of exploitable and interchangeable migrant workers who are coerced into accepting low wages and miserable working conditions below standards that Canadians would accept. Now, exposure to COVID-19 has been added to the terms of the bargain. As scholars, researchers, and teachers of […]
Canada is falling behind when it could be an agri-superpower
We all know that global population growth and climate change are challenging the world’s leaders to find ways of protecting the food security of future generations. It’s a daunting task. At the same time, Canada faces a huge opportunity since our farms and food system will become even more important globally over time. The question […]
Inclusive and resilient global agriculture systems can address climate crisis and COVID recovery
Global hunger has been rising since 2015, and food producers are hardest hit. Erratic weather is making it harder to produce food. Gender inequality holds back women, who make up a large percentage of farmers in developing countries. And now COVID-19 is impacting producers and consumers alike. Canada has taken bold actions on the global […]
Some politicos, dairy groups say the feds promised new NAFTA would start in August, while trade experts say start date was being hurried by Trump
Some opposition Parliamentarians say the federal government misled them on when the new NAFTA will come into force, believing they had an assurance that the updated trade pact would start at the beginning of August and not a month before, to the detriment of Canada’s dairy sector. But trade experts say the Trump administration forced the […]
Domestic food supply is critical: supply management guarantees delivery
Ideology has never been a good substitute for data, a fact that has been brought out very vividly by the pandemic that is ravaging the world presently. The Canadian government response has been practical and pragmatic and has made a potentially horrendous situation less so. The fact that Canadians have not experienced persistent shortages of […]
Inside the Campaign: Managing Elections In Canada: a new book pulls curtain on the people and machinery behind the vote
Crashed buses and a blackface scandal highlighted the 41-day campaign of the 2019 election. A new book with contributions from political staffers, campaign managers, pollsters, and journalists takes readers inside Canadian political campaigns. From the day the writs are issued and the race is off and running, politicians crisscross the country stumping, but behind the […]
Food supply, emergency vehicle repair: keeping Canada-U.S. trade open key to fight against COVID-19, say stakeholders
With the epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic having shifted to the United States, industry stakeholders say Canada-U.S. trade is too vital for cross-border commerce to be halted. While non-essential travel between Canada and the United States has been barred since March 17, with commerce being exempted, U.S. President Donald Trump publicly floated ending physical distancing […]
Coronavirus, newest challenge facing Bibeau, adds impetus to risk management reform
Canada’s federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has been at the head of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada for just over a year. She hardly had a chance to breathe since she was ushered into the post on March 1, 2019, in the midst of the SNC-Lavalin scandal. Just five days later, on March 6, 2019, China […]
Agricultural priorities before and after COVID-19
Parliament is now suspended until at least April 20 in the wake of the recent COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the globe, as parliamentarians do their part in social distancing. With the support of all parties, a motion was moved in the House on Friday, March 13, which moved certain legislative measures ahead with great rapidity. Among […]
