Big and powerful | Supermarket chains are demanding food suppliers to cut prices
As Canada’s food retailing sector becomes more concentrated and economically powerful, some companies are beginning to throw their marketplace weight around with demands for lower-cost products from suppliers. In recent weeks, Canada’s second-largest supermarket chain, Sobey’s Inc., indicated that it expects suppliers to cut prices by one percent and hold that level through 2014. The […] Read moreStories by Barry Wilson
Some EU states steadfast on GMOs
The European Union remains one of the most GMO-skeptical markets in the world, but agriculture minister Gerry Ritz figures he is making progress on opening doors for Canadian products. However, he acknowledged during a Jan. 20 telephone news conference after a weekend meeting of world agriculture ministers in Berlin that there are holdouts, who he […] Read more
Free trade deal negotiations prompt familiar debate south of the border
It is a familiar Canadian trade argument with a distinct American twang. In January, Michigan Republican congressman Dave Camp, Republican senator Orin Hatch from Utah and Montana Democratic senator Max Baucus teamed up to introduce into Congress legislation authorizing ‘fast track’ treatment of any trade deal legislation introduced by the government. The essence of “fast […] Read more
Grain growers ask feds for rail plan
Grain Growers of Canada is calling on Ottawa and the railways to come up with a rail capacity plan to deal with current and looming economic damage caused by inadequate car numbers. The Ottawa-based farm lobby group that often has the ear of agriculture minister Gerry Ritz sent a letter the minister and transport minister […] Read more
Importers circumvent tariff rules
Importers have found ingenious ways to skirt triple-digit tariffs for chicken products coming into Canada’s protected supply managed system, government documents show. Some of the imported product improperly finds its way into the domestic market and costs Canada’s poultry industry tens of millions of dollars in lost market share. And according to an exchange of […] Read more
Dairy needs national rules to show ag sector’s international commitment
Once upon a time — well, not so long ago actually — butter-coloured margarine was contraband in Eastern Canada. When Newfoundland negotiated its way into Canada in 1949, a key clause was that it be able to continue creating butter-coloured margarine. The province had a small dairy industry and only the rich could afford to […] Read more
Gov’t regulations,red tape hinder hiring of foreign workers
Approval to hire a worker can take up to three months
Federal regulations aimed at ensuring that Canadian employers don’t exploit temporary foreign workers are a cost and bureaucratic burden for farmers, says an agricultural labour specialist. Mark Chambers of Sunterra Farms in Acme, Alta., represented the Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council on a labour task force that examined industry worker issues, including a chronic worker […] Read moreBig decline in farm workers: Stats Can
Statistics Canada is reporting a sharp drop in agricultural employment, even as the industry frets about a significant gap in workers available for unfilled positions. The federal agency reported Jan. 10 that employment in agriculture declined by 14,000 workers last year to fewer than 300,000. It was one of the largest reasons for an unexpected […] Read more
Former MP faces lobby restrictions
Former Alberta MP and federal cabinet minister Ted Menzies began his new job as president of CropLife Canada last week with one lobbying hand tied behind his back. When Parliament resumes Jan. 27, the key agricultural legislation facing MPs will be Bill C-18, an omnibus agricultural bill that will increase plant breeders’ rights protections. For […] Read more
Food processing sector takes big hit in Ontario
George Morris Centre calls for change | Saskatchewan passes Ontario as Canada’s largest agricultural province
Ontario’s food processing industry continues to shed plants and jobs, despite a call from the government for a doubling of the province’s agriculture and food production value. Ontario, traditionally Canada’s largest agricultural province, has lost that position during the past two years to Saskatchewan. Meanwhile, Ontario farmers are finding fewer local processing market for their […] Read more
