WINNIPEG — Canada’s agriculture ministers met today in Winnipeg after postponing their usual July in-person meeting due to wildfires.
They heard from Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Keith Currie that they should focus on regulatory modernization and economic development.
“How do we make better rules, change the rules, get rid of some rules that are redundant or hurting progress on the farm?” he said in an interview after his presentation.
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He said prime minister Mark Carney ‘s focus on NATO spending provides agriculture with an opportunity to capitalize on infrastructure spending such as ports, rail and energy pipelines.
Communication remains a key issue for rural Canada, he added. The previous government promised to connect the entire country by 2030.
“I think given the technology we have in agriculture today that’s really important to advance our farming operations,” he said.
Currie said the suite of business risk management programs needs an overhaul.
That could include improvements to crop insurance or a shift to private insurance, he said.
Ministers were scheduled to discuss BRM, international trade and market access, and internal trade.
Other topics on the agenda include animal disease preparedness, crop protection and pesticides, labour and the temporary foreign worker program.
The meeting concludes Tuesday, Sept. 9.
