Barry Wilson

The current phase of the cattle cycle, featuring increased slaughter and a shrinking Canadian herd, has produced some pleasant surprises for Brooks, Alta. cattle producer Dave Andrews. The main one is price. Normally, prices soften in the phase of the cycle that features increased slaughter and sales. This year, prices remain strong and there are […] Read more

Faced with consumer unease about mad cow disease, genetically altered food or the dangers of food-borne disease, the Canadian government routinely mishandles attempts to reassure the public that risks are properly assessed and controlled, say two academics who have written a book critical of Ottawa’s record. Titled Mad Cows and Mother’s Milk: The Perils of […] Read more

A Canadian trade official said last week the government may be on the verge of taking the United States to a trade court over its sugar policies. The future of Alberta’s sugar beet industry could be at stake. The two countries have been negotiating for almost two years over the American failure to live up […] Read more

Each year, Canadian farmers receive federal tax breaks worth more than $400 million, the finance department reported last week. The major farm sector tax break is the ability to claim a $500,000 lifetime capital gains exemption for farm property. This year, Finance Canada estimates it will reduce the farm sector tax bill by $305 million. […] Read more

Canadian consumers were told last week they will have a six-month reprieve from dairy product price increases, until February 1998. Then, prices likely will rise as the first of the reductions in the federal dairy subsidy takes effect. Until February, dairy support prices and the target price for industrial milk will remain frozen, the Canadian […] Read more

Canadian farmers who depend on tariff protection from imports will be less secure after the next round of world trade talks are completed in 2001, says agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief. But he vowed the Canadian government will go to the trade negotiations in 1999 with the intention of keeping tariff protection as high as possible. […] Read more

Retired Alberta Reform MP Ray Speaker is not quite finished with parliament yet. On Aug. 1, Speaker was one of three people appointed by the government to study compensation for MPs and senators. Such a review is required by law after each election. The commission must report to Parliament by the end of January 1998, […] Read more

THUNDER BAY, Ont. – Canadian farm leaders tip-toed gingerly into the thicket of a controversial question – the question of life – when they met in late July. Should companies or scientists be able to patent life forms created from genetic manipulation? In the end, leaders of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture decided their organization […] Read more

As the federal government starts a review of the grain handling and transportation system, prairie provincial governments are warning against the seductive appeal of simple solutions or radical market proposals. They are urging caution when evaluating proposals to move totally away from government regulation to a commercial, market-based system of organizing grain movement. Before abandoning […] Read more