Barry Wilson

ST. THOMAS, Ont. – It is enough to make your head spin, says former federal agriculture minister John Wise. In the eight years since he resigned as agriculture minister and walked away from a political life, he has seen attitudes in Canada’s farm sector take a sharp turn to the right. “It is mind-boggling,” Wise […] Read more

OTTAWA – Agricultural marketers trying to cash in on the government’s ambitious food export goals have an increasingly helpful ally in the Export Development Corporation. During the past several months, the federal agency has added money, flexibility and eligible countries to its credit program. Corporation official Keith Milloy said food exporters are major users of […] Read more

OTTAWA – The United States government issued an election-year threat against Canadian grain exporters last week, warning it will try to limit imports which threaten damage to American farmers. “The administration reiterates its longstanding position that it will not accept market disruption from imports of Canadian wheat,” trade ambassador Charlene Barshefsky and agriculture secretary Dan […] Read more

OTTAWA – The federal government late last week announced it will try to use world trade rules to win access to European markets for Canadian beef. It is taking the European Union to a World Trade Organization trade disputes panel to challenge the seven-year-old ban on imports of beef from countries which allow use of […] Read more

OTTAWA – The majority of prairie farmers support in theory a proposal to remove feed barley exports from Canadian Wheat Board jurisdiction, but support declines when they are queried about the implications of the move, a government-commissioned opinion poll indicates. Three pages of poll results written in August by the Angus Reid Group for Agriculture […] Read more

OTTAWA – The Liberal government will use its majority to cut off parliamentary debate on Canadian Wheat Board reforms this winter if the opposition tries to drag out the debate, says agriculture minister Ralph Goodale. The government has a packed legislative agenda for the pre-election Commons session which began Sept. 16. Amendments to the Canadian […] Read more

OTTAWA – As the clock ticks down before his announcement on the future of the Canadian Wheat Board, agriculture minister Ralph Goodale last week called for calm among the warring factions. One of his opponents accused him of being responsible for prolonging the divisions that have wracked the farm community. Manitoba Reform MP Jake Hoeppner […] Read more

ILDERTON, Ont. – On Ken Nixon’s farm, the story of this year’s Ontario wheat crop disaster is a story of disappearing dollars. For as many as 8,000 Ontario farmers who gambled by not buying crop insurance, it also is a glimpse of a world without safety nets. On his 1,200 acre farm north of London, […] Read more

OTTAWA – Bell Canada, the private telephone company that dominates the communications industry of Eastern Canada, is promising thousands of Ontario farmers a ramp onto the information highway within a few years. For more than a year, the Ontario farm lobby has complained that in many areas of the province, party line service denies farmers […] Read more

OTTAWA – When it comes to offering tax breaks to the energy industry, the federal government is most generous with the ethanol sector, according to a federal study published last week. “It is clear that ethanol and other alternate transportation fuels enjoy a significant tax preference…” says a report on energy industry taxes compiled by […] Read more