Trudeau smart to hold his tongue after tough Trump trade talk
MONTREAL—In the big picture, the world is probably having a decent week when Donald Trump turns his rhetorical guns on Canada rather than on North Korea or Russia. On the scale of a nuclear showdown, the stakes involved in a Canada/United States milk war are—to put it mildly—in a different league. But even in the […]
Tory leadership candidates courting supply management group for support
Multiple candidates in the Conservative leadership race have reached out for support from the organizers of a politically active Facebook group in Quebec created to defend supply management. Staff on the campaigns for Andrew Scheer (Regina-Qu’Appelle, Sask.), Michael Chong (Wellington-Halton Hills, Ont.), and Steven Blaney (Bellechasse-Les Etchemins-Lévis, Que.) have contacted the administrator or one of […]
U.S. dairy industry better off adopting Canada’s supply management system
SAANICHTON, B.C.—It is because the United States dairy industry does not have a supply management system like Canada’s excellent one that their dairy farmers suffer at the mercy of their unregulated system and regularly go through boom and bust cycles. Canada is one of the few countries in the world that had the foresight to regulate the production […]
Verbatim: Canada, trade and Trump in a changing world
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney addressed the FarmTech conference in Edmonton on Feb. 2, telling Canada’s agricultural producers that he’s sanguine about the Trump administration on trade and calling for an end to the country’s supply management system. EDMONTON—I am not here today as an expert in farm technologies. If I were, that would make […]
How to make NAFTA great again
MONTREAL—During the American election campaign, Donald Trump criticized the North American Free Trade Agreement on several occasions, going so far as to call it “a disaster,” and he clearly stated his intention to renegotiate it. Although the new president is wrong to target it as the source of the economic ills afflicting his country, it […]
Indian high commissioner remains ‘hopeful’ pulses trade spat will be resolved before deadline
India’s new high commissioner, Vikas Swarup, says he is hopeful that India will renew its six-month relaxation period on Canada’s pulse exports. “I can only remain hopeful” he said. “It eventually depends on what comes out of India. But the conversations I’ve had lead me to go in a positive direction.” India is Canada’s biggest […]
Agriculture complicates Trump’s trade bluster
Questions are swirling around the direction of United States trade policy now that Donald Trump is in the White House. He came out swinging against Mexico and China for what he perceives to be the theft of American manufacturing jobs. He is considering a 20 per cent border tax on imports from Mexico as a […]
Does China trade deal line up with ‘Canadian values’? Feds want to know
It’s not just Conservative MP Kellie Leitch who wants to talk about Canadian values; Canada’s foreign ministry is looking for public submissions on just that topic as part of an online consultation on the prospect of a free trade deal with China. The consultations launched with little fanfare March 4, with a webpage and online […]
Transparency in today’s grain market just not possible
Many farmers are complaining about grain prices being offered this winter, especially for wheat. It is hard to find a port price for wheat, but data from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada states the average price this year is north of $8.60 per bushel at Vancouver and even higher on the world market. Yet farmers are only […]
Canadian agricultural policy: why supply management?
OTTAWA—In Canada and in other countries, the markets for agricultural products are characterized by considerable instability due to factors such as unpredictable weather, technological advances, and changing demands. This poses an immense challenge to agricultural producers who often face fluctuations in prices that subsequently result in uncertain incomes. Supply management systems were established in Canada […]
