Canada needs to adopt Blockchain technology to meet ambitious agriculture and food goals
In February, Dominic Barton and the Advisory Committee on Economic Growth set an audacious goal for the country. To become the world’s trusted supplier of safe sustainable food for the 21st century and in doing so double our agri-food exports. The aspiration to market our food as “safe and sustainable” took a beating in August […]
Deep bench bolsters NAFTA trade team facing ‘unworkable’ U.S. demands
As Canada rejects what its chief NAFTA negotiator calls “entirely unworkable” U.S. proposals, a deep bench is working around the clock to keep the tripartite agreement alive. After appearing before the House Trade Committee Monday, Steve Verheul said Canada has yet to offer a counterproposal on American demands some consider “poison pills”—among them attacking supply […]
Supply management keeps ‘family farming’ alive in Canada
Renegotiating NAFTA is not a simple task, and the potential effects of such an important trade agreement go far beyond what we hear in the news. While Canadian, American and Mexican farmers have commonly asked our governments to “do no harm” when it comes to our industries—a position that has since then been adopted by […]
Canada positioned to lead charge in global fight for food security
As the earth adapts to emerging challenges that threaten our food supply, it is clear we need to put together a comprehensive and proactive plan that will ensure food security for years to come. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations defines food security as “when all people, at all times, have […]
TPP to fix Canada’s beef with Japan’s tariffs
For Canadian beef exporters, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is about Japan—a deal the Canadian Meat Council says could increase Canadian beef exports by $200-million annually to the country. This would take the export revenues from the $100-million seen in the early 2010s to between $300-million and $400-million, according to the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA). This comes […]
Advocates lukewarm on Canadian Agricultural Partnership; don’t see major change from Ottawa
The upcoming Canadian Agricultural Partnership is a “small step in the right direction” with the potential to improve on the latest national agricultural policy framework, but more cross-departmental collaboration is needed, according to the head of Canada’s largest farmers advocacy group. Ron Bonnett, president of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, said he was impressed with CAP’s […]
Asia: farming’s new frontier
Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector brings jobs, high-quality food, and economic growth to Canadians. “From gate to plate,” farmers and food processors generate more than $62-billion of our exports, employ more Canadians than any other manufacturing industry in the country, and bring innovative, high-quality food to Canadians’ dinner plates every day. At the foundation of […]
Progress seen in bolstering agricultural research funding, though hiring gaps remain: advocates
The Trudeau government has made made strides in increasing publicly-funded agriculture research, though more work is needed to return to the previous high-water marks of the past decades, say advocates. Serge Buy, CEO of the Agricultural Institute of Canada, an advocacy body for agricultural research and innovation, said Canada is well positioned to tap into surging […]
‘Don’t fix something, that isn’t broken:’ AG Minister MacAulay defends supply management amid NAFTA talks
The long-winding renegotiations of the North America Free Trade Agreement have many trade-dependent industries in Canada on edge. At first, talk was that the negotiations would amount to nothing more than mere tweaks to the decades-old pact that lifts most tariffs on commerce flowing between the three North American countries. But that narrative has been […]
Farmers reeling from the unintended consequences of new Liberal policies
Selfies, symbolic appointments, and carefully crafted PR can only buoy a government for so long before its ship begins to sink under the weight of so many broken promises. And as the Liberals’ disappointments and deceptions keep piling up, Canadians are rapidly waking up to the fact they elected a government that can never be […]
