Tory rhetoric doesn’t match their record on innovation
Expert analysis continues to stress that weak innovation policies are putting Canada’s future economic growth and productivity at risk. Most recently, the World Economic Forum’s 2013-2014 Global Competitiveness Report underscored how we need to improve our innovation ecosystem and promote private-sector investment in research and development. Despite having advantages when it comes to global […]
Canadian manufacturing at a crossroads
The federal government and industry are banking that the recently-announced Canada-EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement will help revive Canada’s value-added sector, but critics of the government’s industrial policy say a more coherent strategy is needed to reverse a decade of manufacturing job losses. Whether CETA is going to help, hinder, or maintain the […]
Canada’s innovation record continues to lag in latest World Economic Forum report
Canada’s economic competitiveness has stalled according to the latest rankings by the World Economic Forum, but experts see progress in recent federal policies aimed at bolstering Canadian firms’ access to venture capital and encouraging public-private collaboration. If there was a silver lining in the World Economic Forum’s latest Global Competitiveness rankings, it’s that Canada […]
Agriculture
Prime farmland disappearing under development across Canada
Canada’s limited amount of prime farmland is disappearing under subdivisions and strip malls, risking the country’s ability to feed itself, say experts. “Ensuring that we hang on to our agricultural land is really key,” said Abra Brynne, a researcher with Food Secure Canada an umbrella organization for dozens of food banks, growers and community […]
Climate crisis threatens Canadian agriculture, we need an agricultural adaptation plan, now
Canada’s agricultural production is under threat as never before, but the Harper government is deaf, dumb, and blind to the threat. The threat is the climate crisis. Even if global emissions of greenhouse gases were to be stabilized tomorrow, we would face decades of destabilized climate conditions. However, there is no sign of current […]
Five years since the Weatherill report, feds haven’t moved on key recommendation
From field to fork, our food goes through a lot and it is often not until a major crisis that Canadians consider just how much faith they place in our food safety system. Canadians care deeply where their food comes from—but trust that Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Public […]
Can our farmers afford us?
The number of young farmers under the age of 35 has dropped by a staggering 70 per cent since 1988 and the current average age of a farmer is 55 years of age or older. In the next 15 years, we will face a renewal crisis in agriculture as fewer young people take up […]
Strong farm incomes and international trade bolstering optimism in agriculture
There is an unmistakable optimism in Canadian agriculture today. This optimism is rooted in the realities of the sector’s performance in recent years and our government’s expanded focus on leveraging investment in science and innovation to ensure the upward swing of Canadian agriculture continues strong into the future. Last year, Canada’s hardworking producers and […]
Organic farmers, opposition ask feds to stall genetically-modified alfalfa sales
Organic farmers are calling on the federal government to put the brakes on the commercial sale of genetically-modified alfalfa seed in Canada, but both the Canadian Seed Trade Association and the company applying to register herbicide resistant strains of the crop deny there’s any risk of the product eventually overtaking organically grown crops. The debate […]
