Reform leader Preston Manning says he will make one last pre-election effort to have his party and caucus named the Official Opposition in the House of Commons. On April 9, he will ask speaker Gilbert Parent to allow a vote among Opposition MPs to decide who will be Official Opposition in the final weeks of […] Read more
Stories by Barry Wilson
Opposition smoking over government nicotine research
Opposition MPs last week accused Agriculture Canada of unhealthy hypocrisy – funding research to increase nicotine levels in tobacco, even as Health Canada campaigns against smoking. They quoted government documents outlining discussions about how to increase nicotine levels in a tobacco variety being proposed for Maritime production. A government spokesperson insisted that nicotine levels, and […] Read more
Pasta panel dispute goes back to court
The Canadian pasta-making industry is back in court in its continuing, unprecedented legal challenge to decisions of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal. This time, it is to protest a decision that the same three tribunal members who earlier denied the industry protection from dumped imports now will hear the court-ordered appeal. “The applicant does not […] Read more
Human rights raised in Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia – Agriculture was the focus of Ralph Goodale’s trade mission to Indonesia last week, but when he had the chance, he raised Canada’s concerns about human rights abuses. He also put in a good word for the dozens of Canadian companies facing delays on mining projects. And he was able to raise the […] Read more
Goodale names Senft to top CGC position
Just two months after leaving his job as Saskatchewan Wheat Pool vice-president, Barry Senft has been appointed chief commissioner of the Canadian Grain Commission. And Chicken Farmers of Canada is losing a second senior official to a Liberal appointment as general manager Cynthia Currie prepares to become chair of the National Farm Products Council. Last […] Read more
Future not in ashes despite politics: tobacco grower
MORRISVILLE, North Carolina – For more than half a century, 69-year-old Bill Upchurch has maintained the family tradition of growing tobacco on a rich patch of soil in central North Carolina. That tradition, which started in 1861 when his great-grandfather bought the land and planted tobacco even as the Civil War raged, soon will end. […] Read more
Goodale’s tactics ensure CWB bill will fail to pass
Please keep reading, even though the next few paragraphs will be filled with numbers and parliamentary jargon. They also will offer 22 of the reasons why Canadian Wheat Board reform is not likely to make it through this Parliament before an election, if it is called as expected for June. Last week, before the Commons […] Read more
Canadian grain exports to U.S. under scrutiny, Glickman warns
& Reuter News Agency news Canadian wheat sales to processors in the United States are 70 percent higher this year than last year and American officials have taken note. Last week, responding to pressure from midwestern grain states, U.S. agriculture secretary Dan Glickman warned that Canadian grain volumes are being watched. “We are monitoring it. […] Read more
Liberal MPs condemn their party’s rural record
After more than three years of Liberal government, a report last week on its rural policy record was far from flattering. “Recent federal policy action taken at the national level has had adverse repercussions for rural Canada … devolution of responsibilities from the federal level has resulted in a loss of federal presence and influence […] Read more
Prairie Pools point out gaps in wheat board bill
Representatives of Prairie Pools Inc. traveled to Parliament Hill last week to argue the inadequacies of government attempts to reform the Canadian Wheat Board. As the first public session to hear prairie opinion on the bill, last week’s criticism likely was a preview of what MPs will be hearing this week as they tour the […] Read more
