Saskatchewan will likely introduce legislation this fall to tighten up the province’s farmland ownership laws, agriculture minister Lyle Stewart said Oct. 7. The results of an online survey conducted in summer found that most respondents, 62 percent of them farmers, opposed allowing investors such as Canadian pension funds to own land. “People were pretty clear […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Ritz defends supply management stance at TTP talks
Dairy Farmers of Canada says it is pleased with the compensation package that will mitigate the effects of imports
Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz said he isn’t surprised that there has been little outcry from supply managed farmers since the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal was announced. “We did exactly what we said we would do, and they trust us to deliver that,” he said. There was much speculation leading up to the deal about […] Read moreFormer UGG president became champion of wheat board
Lorne Hehn, a key figure in prairie farm policy for more than 30 years, died recently in Saskatoon. He was 79. Hehn was born and raised on a farm at Markinch, Sask., and studied agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan. He returned to the farm in 1962 and became active in farm policy five years […] Read more
Sask. premier warns against NDP win in federal election
Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall waded into the federal election campaign today, saying it’s clear an NDP government wouldn’t be in the province’s best interests. Wall released the responses from the three main party leaders to questions he asked them in August. He wanted to know their positions on pipelines, equalization and genetically modified crop production. […] Read more
Safety net changes provinces’ idea: Ritz
OTTAWA — Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz says provinces wanted the changes made to business risk management programs in Growing Forward 2, and Ottawa didn’t stand in their way. He said he hasn’t seen any downside to the changes that took effect in 2013, but farmers continue to complain that the payment trigger reduction from […] Read more
Ritz intends this to be his last race
This federal election campaign is likely Gerry Ritz’s last. “My wife had me 90 percent convinced not to run again,” he said of the current campaign where he is seeking his seventh term in Battlefords-Lloydminster. In the last four years he averaged only three to four nights a month at home and spent weeks travelling […] Read more
Few expect big Liberal gains despite strong candidates
Political experts say rural ridings on the Prairies still have a strong Conservative base, with the NDP gaining ground
CALGARY — Kent Hehr zips into a coffee shop in his wheelchair like the man on a mission that he is. The Liberal candidate in Calgary Centre has been given the job of defeating Conservative incumbent Joan Crockatt and is one of several the party hopes will increase the western Liberal presence in Ottawa. Hehr […] Read moreFormer CWB head dies
Lorne Hehn, a key figure in prairie farm policy for more than 30 years, died recently in Saskatoon. He was 79. Hehn was born and raised on a farm at Markinch, Sask., and studied agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan. He returned to the farm in 1962 and became active in farm policy five years […] Read more
Foreign farmland ownership opposed in Sask. survey
UPDATED – October 7, 2015 – 1430 CST – The vast majority of more than 3,200 people who responded to the Saskatchewan survey on farmland ownership don’t want investors such as pension funds to own farmland. They also want the government to more strictly enforce the rules. Agriculture minister Lyle Stewart released the results of […] Read more
Opposition uses TPP deal as political fodder
When the 12 country Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement was announced, it instantly became the dominant talking point on the federal election campaign trail. The NDP has already said it might tear up the deal, while the Liberals are waiting for more details. The deal was announced with just 14 days to go in the federal […] Read more
