Agriculture minister Ralph Goodale last week hinted the new Liberal government may be willing to inject additional money into a farm safety net system it has spent years cutting. With indications that net farm income is falling because of higher costs and lower commodity prices, farm leaders have been warning the safety net program might […] Read more
Stories by Barry Wilson
Legendary politician Stanley Knowles dies
Stanley Knowles, an icon of the Canadian political left and one of the last links to the post-Depression fight for the welfare state, died in Ottawa June 9. He was a week away from his 89th birthday. For 35 years, Knowles represented Winnipeg North Centre in the House of Commons. He inherited the seat in […] Read more
Rebuilding needed in West: PM
Expect the re-elected Liberals to be more liberal in spending on social programs and health, says prime minister Jean ChrŽtien. After losing more than 20 seats to Maritime rage over program cuts, he said the Liberals will be running budget surpluses in two years and then will be able to reinvest in programs they have […] Read more
ChrŽtien denigrates millions of Canadian voters
Prime minister Jean ChrŽtien has made clear his strategy for dealing with the Reform party, the “government-in-waiting” in the new Parliament. He will try to marginalize the party, refuse to recognize its legitimacy, paint it as unCanadian, describe it as an agent for destroying Canada. Presumably, New Democrat leader Alexa McDonough and Tory leader Jean […] Read more
Industry fears consumer uproar if growth hormone approved
Dairy industry leaders say they are bracing for a crisis this autumn when they expect Health Canada to announce it has approved sale of a dairy growth hormone. “It’s our assumption rBST (recombinant bovine somatotropin or BST) will be approved,” said Kempton Matte, president of the dairy processor lobby National Dairy Council of Canada. “We […] Read more
Egg monopoly case watched by wheat board foes
The Supreme Court of Canada has reserved judgment on a constitutional challenge to the monopoly exercised by the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency over interprovincial and export sales. And Alberta’s barley farmers who are challenging the Canadian Wheat Board’s export monopoly believe the case could be a major boost for them. “If the case against the […] Read more
Welcome to Agriculture Canada’s world, minister
By mid-June, a new federal agriculture minister is expected to be sworn into office. A memo like this should be high in the pile in the new minister’s in-basket, written by officials who want to flag issues requiring quick attention. Welcome, minister, to the corner office on the ninth floor. Enjoy the view of the […] Read more
Liberals win majority; Reform earns 60 seats
The Liberal party won government Monday night with a thin majority – 155 seats in a 301 seat Parliament – and a much stronger and more diverse four-party opposition. Reform, with an overwhelming base in western Canada but no breakthrough east of Manitoba, will be the Official Opposition with 60 seats. And the New Democratic […] Read more
Prominent Liberal ministers lose, New Democrats make a comeback
During the last government, Atlantic cabinet ministers David Dingwall and Doug Young represented the tough image of the Liberal cabinet. As transport minister, Young sold CN Rail and pronounced the death of the Crow Benefit subsidy. As human resources minister, he cut unemployment insurance. As defence minister, he cut short the Somalia inquiry. Health minister […] Read more
Gun control, CBC cuts, free trade are hot issues
Ed Fahlman stood in front of his Weyburn home on the holiday Monday, speaking in the code that voters use when they want to be polite to a politician they do not support. His issue was the Liberal gun registration law. As an owner of a dozen guns, and a worker in the Weyburn Co-op […] Read more
