During an interview with the Western Producer in mid-July, Ritz freely shared his thoughts about his stint as Canada’s minister of agriculture, current issues within the ag industry and rural politics.
Tag Archives Gerry Ritz
Ritz looks back on his time as agriculture minister
Whether it’s supply management or farmer support for the wheat board, the former minister has an opinion
Ritz still getting things done
Former federal agriculture minister now serves as reeve of a rural municipality in Saskatchewan
Gerry Ritz served as Canada’s minister of agriculture from 2007-15. Ritz is now the reeve of the RM of Mervin and has been since 2020.
Public reaction muted to recent plant-based milk recall
Consumers haven’t turned away from products despite a listeria outbreak that caused three deaths and 20 hospitalizations
WINNIPEG — Arlee Jones of Winnipeg describes her household as a “dairy family,” but she does use almond milk and adds it to coffee because she likes the flavour. After learning of this summer’s recall of certain brands of plant-based milk due to cases of listeriosis, the mother of two girls, aged 10 and 7, […] Read more
Colleagues praise Gerry Ritz for dedication
Former agriculture minister proud of getting all sectors in the supply chain ‘rowing in the same direction’
Gerry Ritz knows most people will point to the end of the Canadian Wheat Board as his legacy. But the Battlefords-Lloydminster MP who was federal agriculture minister under Conservative prime minister Stephen Harper from 2007 to 2015 said he’s actually most proud of something else. “In my mind, it was the rapport developed with industry […] Read more
Ritz announces resignation from federal politics
Former Conservative agriculture minister Gerry Ritz has announced his resignation. In a Facebook post Aug. 31 the MP for Battlefords-Lloydminster said he would not return to his seat in the House of Commons this fall. Ritz was first elected in 1997 and thanked the voters in his constituency for re-electing him. “I also want to […] Read more
VIDEO: CWB obtains permission to buy Saskatchewan farmland: are new grain terminals coming?
The Saskatchewan Farm Land Security Board has granted CWB permission to acquire more than 700 acres of farmland in three Saskatchewan municipalities. The move has fueled speculation that the company may be planning to build additional grain terminals in the province. In a farmland ownership exemption order dated May 5, the board granted CWB or […] Read more
Changing the face of Canadian agriculture
As Gerry Ritz nears next year’s milestone of becoming the longest-serving federal agriculture minister in three decades, he is also a leading player in a generational transformation of farm policy fundamentals.
As Gerry Ritz nears next year’s milestone of becoming the longest-serving federal agriculture minister in three decades, he is also a leading player in a generational transformation of farm policy fundamentals. Gone, says Ritz, will be the assumption of government support as a built-in component of farm business plans. Safety net programs will remain in […] Read more
