Russian president Boris Yeltsin has ordered senior officials in his government to try to increase two-way trade with Canada through the Port of Churchill. A Canadian government official traveling this week with prime minister Jean ChrŽtien in Russia said in an Oct. 20 interview from Moscow that Yeltsin issued the order during a meeting earlier […] Read more
Stories by Barry Wilson
CWB reform may help gain U.S. approval: Goodale
Changes proposed for the Canadian Wheat Board should make it less susceptible to challenges from the United States, wheat board minister Ralph Goodale said last week. He told the House of Commons agriculture committee studying wheat board legislation that changes are needed to meet pressures in Canada. But a side effect could be that the […] Read more
Seaway privatization bill zips along
Parliament is moving quickly this autumn to deal with legislation aimed at allowing commercialization of the St. Lawrence Seaway and private operation of ports. The House of Commons last week sent the legislation to a committee for public hearings and study. Reform and New Democratic Party MPs opposed it, although for different reasons. Reform critic […] Read more
Big farmer, big vote? Ag committee to decide
MPs on the Commons agriculture committee ended last week pondering a fundamental question about the rules for Canadian Wheat Board democracy. When elections are being held for the board of directors next year, should the votes of large farmers carry more weight than votes of small farmers? It happens in Australia. Reform agriculture critic Jay […] Read more
Farmers a tough sell for private insurers
The private insurance industry is anxious to gain a share of the basic crop insurance business, but it faces a challenge convincing farmers to support the move, says a prairie insurance executive. Rob Goeres, Regina-based president of Rain and Hail Insurance Service Inc., said Oct. 21 he understands some initial farm group reluctance about introducing […] Read more
Goodale’s delays cause demerit points for Liberals
Late in the Ottawa night, when Liberal government operatives sit around and ponder might-have-beens, they must occasionally curse Ralph Goodale for not getting Canadian Wheat Board reform legislation through the last Parliament when he had a chance. He dithered and delayed before getting the bill into the House of Commons, then watched it die for […] Read more
U.S. aware of Canadian wheat export level: Claydon
Politicians in Washington shouldn’t have been surprised this year over the amount of Canadian grain moving south, despite complaints to the contrary, according to a senior Canadian agriculture bureaucrat. Senior United States administration officials knew as early as the end of July that Canada’s grain exports would exceed 1.5 million tonnes. And Canada will not […] Read more
Quiet, behind-the-scenes lobbying can pay off
It was not an auspicious beginning to a lobby effort. Norman Lafreniere felt like hell and did not look much better. It was Oct. 31, 1996, and the Ottawa-based lobbyist for the private mutual insurance industry was on Parliament Hill to unveil a radical idea: Private companies should be allowed into the core crop insurance […] Read more
Manning dons farmer’s cap to push Reform position
Preston Manning – urban politician, systems analyst, management consultant and prime minister-in-waiting – recently became Preston Manning, farmer, if only for 10 minutes. When the Reform leader rose to lead his party in the Canadian Wheat Board debate, he waxed nostalgic about his grandfather’s Saskatchewan grain farm and his father’s Alberta dairy farm. He identified […] Read more
Cost-of-business statistics help Canada lure investors
When agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief traveled to Europe last week, beating the bushes for investment back home, he had a powerful persuader in his hands. A comparison of business costs in Canada and six other industrialized countries shows Canada is the most cost-effective place to locate a business. It has lower start-up and operations costs […] Read more
