Ottawa’s weird political season began this week as MPs assembled for the last parliamentary session before an election. The rhetoric will be heated and, at times, extreme. The Opposition will see evidence everywhere of the end of Canada due to Liberal mismanagement (except, of course, the Bloc QuŽbeois, for whom Canada cannot end soon enough). […] Read more
Stories by Barry Wilson
McDonough credits NDP for saving CWB powers
OTTAWA – The political fight to save the Canadian Wheat Board has been a powerful illustration of why Canada needs a stronger New Democratic Party, NDP leader Alexa McDonough said last week. She claimed the NDP has been instrumental in forcing the Liberal government to reject proposals that the board’s export marketing monopoly be diluted. […] Read more
Canadian agricultural exports soar as nation sees record trade surplus
OTTAWA – Canada’s food trade surplus hit a record $3 billion during the first half of the year as Canadian agricultural exports continue to soar. Agriculture Canada reported last week that the value of exports during the six months ending June 30 hit a record $9.361 billion. It was a 9.9 percent jump over 1995 […] Read more
Several rare breeds of livestock lost in experimental farm fire
OTTAWA – For Michelle Dondo-Tardiff, the saddest part of the end-of-August fire that wiped out a lot of history at Ottawa’s Central Experimental Farm was the friends she lost. For the director of the national agriculture museum, they were friends like Lion and Bright, two rare ancient White Park oxen that perished when flames consumed […] Read more
Farm chemical lobbies set to contest user fees
OTTAWA – The agriculture and farm chemical lobbies are gearing up for a September showdown with the federal Pest Management Regulatory Agency over its plan to charge $16.5 million a year in cost recovery fees. In what is expected to be a tense session, the two sides will sit down Sept. #24-25 to go through […] Read more
Railways see rainbow after weathering dismal financial year
OTTAWA – Canada’s railways saw profits and revenue decline last year but an industry spokesperson says better days are just around the next bend in the track. Robert Ballantyne, president of the Railway Association of Canada, said in his annual report on the industry that changes being made now will soon make an appearance on […] Read more
Cattlemen want pure ideology more than money
Alberta cattleman Dave Andrews is the first to concede the irony of it. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, by jumping into the Canadian Wheat Board debate as a dual market advocate, actually is working against the economic interests of some of its members. Andrews, the Brooks, Alta., rancher who leads the CCA, says an open border […] Read more
Conservative party shrugs off agricultural policy
In the past four decades, rural Canada has been kind to the Progressive Conservative Party. Since John Diefenbaker turned the Prairies from Liberal red to Tory blue in the companion campaigns of 1957 and 1958, rural constituencies have represented the bulk of Tory seats in the House of Commons. Of course, 1993 broke that pattern, […] Read more
Reform want inquiry into spy tactics
OTTAWA – When Parliament re-assembles Sept. 16, Reform MPs plan to demand some answers from the Liberals about why Canada Customs agents planned to spy on anti-Canadian Wheat Board protesters. One MP will call for a parliamentary inquiry. “I take this very, very seriously,” Calgary MP Art Hanger said Aug. 29. “I see this as […] Read more
Hog farmers get environment survival guide
OTTAWA – Canadian hog industry leaders are urging farmers to clean up their act, both to improve the industry’s image and to try to head off the threat of more restrictive government regulation. Last week, the Canadian Pork Council published a Canadian Code of Practice for Environmentally Sound Hog Production which will be distributed across […] Read more
