Blackburn sets feds’ sights on young farmers
In order for the agriculture industry to remain stable, the government must focus on young farmers, says Minister of State for Agriculture Jean-Pierre Blackburn. “We need absolutely to be sure that young farmers will be there for the future of this country and to feed our population,” Mr. Blackburn (Jonquière-Alma, Que.) told The Hill Times […]
Liberals promise to wipe slate clean, rebuild Canadian agricultural and develop food policy
Responsible for eight per cent of Canada’s GDP, agriculture remains one of Canada’s most important industries. Farmers and their production base are the main drivers of the industry and yet the financial support from the federal government continues to be eroded away. For farmers, the budget was an absolute failure, however, the main estimates contains […]
Feds should revise AgriFlexibility program, apply it to risk management
In 2006, the Conservatives’ election campaign focused on five key priorities. Agriculture was not one of those priorities. So where does agriculture stand five years later? With some 42,000 farmers on just under 30,000 farms generating $6.9-billion in sales, agriculture is essential to Quebec. Agriculture is a priority for the Bloc Québécois. The Bloc Québécois […]
Feds should recognize agriculture as real opportunity for economy, say farming groups
While the federal government is working aggressively to gain access to world markets for the Canadian agriculture industry, farming groups say the government needs to put out a strong signal that they “recognize agriculture as a real potential opportunity” for the Canadian economy. “If you read some of the articles on the growing demand for […]
Farmer groups welcome to proposed Canada-European Union free trade agreement
Farmers groups say they are not worried about European competition and welcome a proposed Canada-European Union free trade agreement which they say will open up markets for their agricultural products and keep Canada globally competitive. “Europe, for us is almost a dream market. It is a large beef-consuming market, it’s a high income market, very […]
On improving dialogues between scientific illiterate and politically clueless
GATINEAU, QUE.—The interactions between politicians and scientists are undergoing more scrutiny these days. And well they should as science underpins much of what constitutes public policy. It is also a two-way street. Science needs to better grasp the oft-complex context behind policy and the polity needs to better understand the growing knowledge agenda. Thirty years […]
Next steps toward a more innovative Canada
Canada is poised to raise its innovation game, a job that calls for a multi-faceted approach merging the creativity and cooperation of industry, government, academia, and all other players. Last October, the Coalition for Action on Innovation in Canada (CAIC) released its report, “An Action Plan For Prosperity,” which offered a series of practical recommendations […]
Innovation: Canada’s entrepreneurs must show us how
Canada’s economic prosperity depends on us becoming a more innovative and productive nation. Innovation makes businesses and societies more competitive and prosperous. But Canada is weak in innovation. Legions of studies have investigated the issue, including a February 2010 Conference Board of Canada report that assigned the country a “D” for innovation and ranked it […]
New ideas open doors for women around the world
Canada’s Innovation Strategy, launched in 2002, is based on a simple premise: Our prosperity depends on investments in science, technology, and innovation (STI). In economic terms, innovation means converting knowledge into value. Put more simply, it means improving people’s lives by finding ways to do things better than before. STI is as critical in the […]
Private-sector innovation: investing in universities and colleges makes good business sense
When the University of British Columbia licensed a novel drug technology to a leading global provider of healthcare products at the end of last year, it highlighted the Centre for Drug Research and Development’s role in closing the gap between discovery research and commercial opportunity in Canada. The technology, which allows potentially toxic drugs to […]
