Low food prices and competition from discount American chains is putting Canada’s food retailers under pressure, says a University of Guelph food chain expert. “In food prices, we really are seeing almost no increases and in some cases, food price deflation,” said Sylvain Charlebois, associate dean and professor of food distribution and policy. “I think […] Read more
Stories by Barry Wilson
Brian Jean retires as MP from northern Alberta
Four-term northern Alberta Conservative MP Brian Jean resigns his seat at the end of this week, almost a decade after he was first elected. The Fort McMurray-Athabaska MP said in his Jan. 10 announcement that when first elected, he committed to no more than a decade in public life. The 50-year-old lawyer and business owner […] Read more
Canada lost two federal agriculture ministers in 2013 and honoured a third
The past year saw the passing of two former agriculture ministers who represented a unique era in Canadian agricultural policy and the elevation of another to the country’s highest political honour. But let’s start with the departed. Eugene Whelan and John Wise represented different political parties but in many ways were peas in a pod. […] Read more
Quebec plans to boost farm subsidies
The election-bound minority Parti Québécois government is promising to spend millions of dollars to fill in the gaps in farm support funding cuts implemented “by Ottawa” April 1 last year. Quebec agriculture minister François Gendron has announced that provincial farmers can expect more than $11 million a year in compensation. Details have not yet been […] Read more
Supply management scores two wins
As the year ended, one of the most fierce critics of Canada’s dairy supply management system suffered two setbacks and a rebuke from the federal agriculture minister. In late November, the federal government tabled a budget-implementation ways-and-means motion in the House Commons that ends a scheme created by J Cheese Inc. to import tariff-free a […] Read more
Ritz reshapes ag sector
More than six years into his term as Canada’s 32nd agriculture minister and soon to be among the longest serving, Gerry Ritz sounds content that he has changed the landscape. “I started in this game with two mottos: farmers first and marketplace, not the mailbox,” he said in an expansive year-end interview about issues past […] Read more
Canadian farm debt doesn’t concern agriculture minister
Record debt levels Gerry Ritz said farmers must decide if they are over-extending themselves
Despite record Canadian farm debt that rises annually with ensuing increased debt-servicing charges and predictions of higher interest rates, federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz does not see a problem. “I am not concerned about the debt level because the asset level has also gone up exponentially,” he said. “I compare the debt to asset ratio […] Read moreRitz positive about insurance program
After years of discussions and a largely successful pilot project in Alberta, federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz says he is confident 2014 will produce significant progress in trying to create price-based livestock insurance. He is predicting a multi-province scheme by 2015. Part of the reason for the optimism is growing government and industry support as […] Read more
Don Mazankowski receives Companion of the Order of Canada
Former federal Conservative agriculture minister and deputy prime minister Don Mazankowski has been awarded Canada’s highest civilian honour. On Dec. 30, governor-general David Johnston announced that the former long-time Conservative MP will be elevated to status as a Companion of the Order of Canada. He has been an officer since 2000. Mazankowski, a former northeastern […] Read more
Now: Political, marketing ideology changes wipe out pools; Then: Elections of wheat pool delegates to be rushed with all possible speed
NOW: In its infancy, The Western Producer was the voice of the exploding wheat pool movement on the Prairies. “The Alberta Pool Campaign Now Forging Ahead Rapidly,” screamed an excited front page headline Aug. 27, 1923. “The Saskatchewan Wheat Pool — the biggest thing the farmers of Western Canada have ever undertaken is the wheat […] Read more
