Canada’s dairy farmer lobby is nervously urging the federal government to delay approval of a dairy growth hormone until there is no controversy about its safety or the system used to approve it. Neil Van Ryssel, from Oakbank, Man., a Dairy Farmers of Canada board member, said DFC is uneasy about the prospect of bovine […] Read more
Stories by Barry Wilson
ChrŽtien strives to win hearts and minds in West
How did Jean ChrŽtien’s Liberal Party fare in Western Canada this past election? Many people might be surprised to hear that the answer, if history is a standard against which to judge the present, is: very, very well. In the weeks since June 2, this is not the conventional wisdom that has settled in as […] Read more
Feds plan to tackle shipping problems
Key grain industry players are being summoned to Winnipeg by the federal government July 25 to begin planning a more glitch-free grain transportation system. And the federal agriculture minister says the time for acrimonious debate or vague promises of “best efforts” is past. “I will not be satisfied in the long run, and the problems […] Read more
Divided responsibility hampers transport reform
In the complicated world of grain politics, this is the summer of The Promise. From all directions, there is one message: the snags and backlogs of last winter must not happen again. There are promises all around. Federal and provincial agriculture ministers agreed in July a solution must be found. Federal opposition critics cheer from […] Read more
Governments revisit safety net for possible cuts
news TROIS RIVIERES, Que. – Even as lobbyists call for more farm safety net funding, governments are eyeing the existing $1 billion pot as a possible target for cuts, federal officials confirmed last week. In Ottawa, finance department officials are beginning the search for cuts which they can take into their 1998 budget to help […] Read more
Minister wants transport changes before winter
TROIS RIVIERES, Que. – The federal agriculture minister has vowed changes will be made to end snarls in the western grain transportation system before the winter shipping season. Prairie agriculture ministers emerged from the annual federal-provincial ministers’ meeting July 4 prepared to take Lyle Vanclief at his word, even though prairie grain is not his […] Read more
Food exports soaring with help of value-added engine
TROIS RIVIERES, Que. – The value of Canadian food exports could hit dizzying heights in the medium term, reaching $34 billion or higher by the year 2005, said a senior federal trade official. The largest growth is expected to be in value-added products, said Lawrence Dickenson, director general of Agriculture Canada’s international markets bureau. And […] Read more
Sole western Conservative MP longs for ag critic position
As the only Progressive Conservative elected west of Toronto, Brandon-Souris MP Rick Borotsik has a lot of territory to represent in the new Tory caucus. But he hopes party leader Jean Charest gives him special responsibility for the issues in an industry near to his heart and key to his riding. “I just finished off […] Read more
New NDP ag critic hopes party will be more vocal
The federal New Democratic Party’s new agriculture spokesperson says he hopes the enlarged and invigorated NDP caucus will play an influential role in some upcoming debates crucial to prairie grain farmers. Regina Palliser MP Dick Proctor figures the future of the Canadian Wheat Board and improvements in the western grain movement system are two key […] Read more
CWB sides with pasta makers against imports
For a second unprecedented time, the Canadian Wheat Board is teaming up with Canada’s pasta manufacturing industry in a court bid to win duty protection from dumped and subsidized Italian pasta imports. They are asking the Federal Court of Appeal to overturn a June Canadian International Trade Tribunal ruling that threw open the border to […] Read more
