CSI poultry: lobbyists win rare summer committee meeting on illicit chicken imports, dairy
It looks like Canada’s dairy and chicken farmers will have to sit tight over the summer as losses from American imports continue to pile up. Lobbyists for those industries, which form the backbone of Canada’s supply-managed agriculture sector, have caught the attention of MPs and the Canadian press over a pair of seemingly obscure regulatory […]
How agricultural research reduces poverty
On the dusty backroads of Kenya, farmers with one or two acres of land talked about some of the difficulties they face: a disease in cassava, inadequate fodder for their animals, degraded soils and moulds in maize. And in two world-class research centres nearby, scientists from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research talked about […]
Politics this morning: Trudeau to make youth council announcement
*An important note to our readers: tomorrow’s Wednesday edition will be an online only version of The Hill Times. There will be no physical paper or digital download, but you can still count on full coverage of all the usual insider news, global developments, and opinion pieces on our website, www.hilltimes.com. Happening today in the […]
Too much at stake for Canada to ignore agribusiness mega-mergers
A series of mega-mergers among global seed and agricultural chemical companies is threatening to consolidate the sector and curtail competition. Bayer’s $62 billion offer to buy Monsanto in May was just the latest in a spate of deal-making among the major firms in the sector. In December last year, Dow and DuPont announced a $130-billion […]
Food insecurity: Not just a poor country’s problem
We are accustomed to thinking of food security as a poor country’s problem, something for national governments and the United Nations to solve. But a week-long trip to Whitehorse with the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation was a stark reminder of the food-security challenges faced here in Canada. Listening at the first-ever Yukon Food Security Summit, organized by […]
Innovation Minister Bains most lobbied minister in Trudeau cabinet
Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains is easily the most lobbied member of the Trudeau cabinet in the Liberal government’s term so far. Mr. Bains (Mississauga-Malton, Ont.), the top official of the newly named department of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (formerly Industry Canada), had 116 communication reports filed since the new government took office in […]
Animal transport regulations: time for change
Imagine travelling—mostly standing—more than two days and two nights without water, food, or rest. Yet 52 hours is the allowed travel time for Canada’s cattle, sheep and goats, according to federal animal transport regulations. For pigs, poultry and horses, the prescribed time is 36 hours without water, food, or rest. That’s in addition to the […]
Is another dust bowl coming?
GUELPH, ONT.—In the 1930s, a bad drought and an economic malaise upended farming systems around North America causing the Dust Bowl. Could climate change and the persistent post-2008 economic doldrums do the same? On one hand, the environmental signals are sobering. The drought in California seems to be long-lasting and even this year’s record El […]
Action needed to help drought-stricken small farmers in Africa
A massive drought that has devastated huge swaths of southern and eastern Africa is putting nearly 14 million people at risk of hunger. This is a humanitarian emergency demanding immediate action. But while short-term action to address current food needs is critical, the international community must also take ambitious action to support smallholder farmers in […]
Bernier’s frank talk on supply management starts Tory leadership race on right foot
TORONTO—During my previous political job, I had the opportunity to talk and privately meet many people in Ottawa, including then ministers of the former government of Stephen Harper. I learned a lot during those meetings and I had a chance to know good people and politicians. One of those who impressed me the most was […]
