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 […]
House Agriculture Committee has lots on the menu
The Canadian agriculture and food industry generates close to $50-billion of our country’s exports, over eight per cent of our GDP, over $90-billion in food and beverage sales and $12.6-billion of our balance of trade. Those dollars help generate one in every eight jobs in Canada. As well as representing the hardworking constituents in […]
Why Agriculture Minister Ritz is still top-lobbied minister in Cabinet
In the first quarter of 2013, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz remains the top-lobbied minister, according to the Office of the Lobbying Commissioner’s monthly communications report. Mr. Ritz (Battlefords-Lloydminster, Sask.), who was the top lobbied minister for 2012, also met with registered lobbyists 31 times since Jan. 1 to discuss issues such as international trade, environment, […]
Red tape stressing out farmers, distracting from business
Red tape is stressing out farmers and deterring them from growing their businesses at a time when the sector needs to innovate, say experts. “We get hundreds of comments from our members, and what they reveal is farmers’ frustrations with regulators who often don’t understand the challenges of running a farm,” said Marilyn Braun-Pollon, […]
Canada-European trade deal could take two years to put in place, says trade expert
Canadian farmers may have to wait at least two years before they begin to see any benefits—or challenges—from a trade deal with the European Union, says former federal international trade negotiator Peter Clark. The European Union’s own protective policies on agricultural imports and the various agriculture interests of the 27-member bloc are only a […]
Feds ‘modernizing’ agriculture sector with Growing Forward 2, says Ag Minister
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says that the federal government’s latest five-year agriculture policy framework will stimulate innovation and make Canada’s agriculture sector more competitive, but critics of the new policy framework say it benefits big agribusiness at the expense of independent farmers. Growing Forward 2 (GF2), the federal government’s new five-year policy framework for […]
It’s time to put knowledge to work in Canada
Post-secondary institutions are now working to exploit more effectively the knowledge they develop, and in which governments invest, to the benefit of the Canadian economy. In the past, such efforts primarily occurred through the licensing of inventions developed in universities and colleges. This approach has proven to be disappointing. In Canada, licensing produces annually some […]
Conservatives fail to implement digital economic strategy today
Why has the federal government failed to develop a comprehensive digital economic strategy that will ensure Canada regains its role as a world leader in innovation and technology? In 2010, the Conservative government recognized the need to develop a new strategy for Canada’s digital economy and even launched public consultations on how to improve […]
