Now that we know more about how the Surplus Food Rescue program will work, there should be a recognition for its need beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. The program was announced as part of Ottawa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and comes with $50 million in funding to help move extra food to vulnerable Canadians. First […] Read more
Opinion — page 2
Food rescue program should be permanent, expanded
1986 was the year of the smudge
A trip to the country is always nice, but this was ridiculous. It was 1986, and Halley’s Comet had arrived. I had read about this astronomical sensation for years and was keen to finally see what all the fuss was about. Drawings from medieval times that I had seen as a kid showed a frightening […] Read more
Don’t miss out on money by ignoring CEBA
It’s called the Canada Emergency Business Account and it’s been expanded so that most farms now qualify. Don’t let your pride or your disdain for filling out forms prevent you from taking this $40,000 loan and having $10,000 of the loan forgiven. CEBA is part of the massive flow of funds from a wide range […] Read more
Transition Planning Forward takes changes to next steps
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Or so the saying goes. There will be a great many of us that prefer the status quo. Change typically brings the unknown. We’ve not done that before. Or the other way of saying it … this is the way we’ve always done it. Some […] Read more
Cowboys, masked men, risk and mitigation
Risk minimization appears to be a challenging concept
Why not go all-in on stocks right now? After all, we’ve had a three month rally going on. Sure, you can say markets go up and down, and there’s a lot of downside risk, but what if stocks only go up? As newborn day trader David Portnoy told Fox Business about market bears and the […] Read more
Plant technology rules need thorough review
Compared to other big crop-exporting countries, Canada has a unique way of looking at plant breeding regulations. No matter how a plant develops a new trait, that trait must be evaluated on its relative merits and potential threats. Whether a breeder uses gene dicing and splicing of a plant’s own genome or crosses and crosses […] Read more
Recovery needs rural communities
It’s been more than three months since the COVID-19 pandemic turned life upside down. From coast to coast to coast, municipal leaders are working flat-out to protect people and businesses, all while keeping essential services running. In communities big and small, local leaders are taking extraordinary steps to keep people safe —turning arenas into shelters, […] Read more
What’s next: higher taxes or program cuts?
In an attempt to bridge the economic chaos brought on by the pandemic, Canada has had to take on massive amounts of new debt, largely funded by foreign lenders. Canada’s accumulated deficit last year amounted to $685.45 billion, the highest in Canadian history. With all the COVID-19 related emergency spending programs, even the government agrees […] Read more
Fusarium can be managed if we work together
This month, the Alberta government announced that fusarium graminearum would be removed from the Pest Nuisance Control Regulation of the Agricultural Pests Act. What this means is that the provincial strategy toward this devastating disease will focus on managing it rather than regulating it away completely. An industry-led fusarium head blight (FHB) working group pushed […] Read more
Conservative front runners are both ag supporters
A new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada is expected to be crowned in August. For non-members of the party, it might be easy to miss. COVID-19 related news has dominated headlines for months and overshadowed the leadership race that could determine who may become Canada’s next prime minister. The two names to watch […] Read more
