A private member’s bill intended to keep supply management off the table in future trade negotiations has generated much debate as it works its way through Parliament. Supply management proponents say Bill C-282 in its original form is necessary to protect their sector and won’t be the disaster that some predict. Sectors of the agricultural […] Read more
Tag Archives WP editorial
Consult with farmers as keepers of land, water
The Canada Water Agency became official earlier this month, and the agricultural community appears to be on board. “With them being located here in our own backyard, KAP will have a unique opportunity to be on the ground and bring forward the perspectives of Manitoba producers to help inform their work,” Brenna Mahoney, general manager […] Read more
Ag, rural issues are scarce in Sask. election campaign
Agriculture has hardly been mentioned in the Saskatchewan general election campaign, even during the Oct. 18 debate between Premier Scott Moe of the Saskatchewan Party and Carla Beck of the NDP. This is disappointing when considering the critical role the industry plays in the province. Of the 61 constituencies in Saskatchewan, 30 are considered urban, […] Read more
Navigating the info storm requires source query
Some months ago, during a personal conversation with a farmer, he held up his smartphone in exasperation, saying, “how do you know what to believe?” The flippant answer would have been to tell him to download our AGCanada app to access the Western Producer and our sister publications. But “trust us” is a pretty inadequate […] Read more
Loaded language in bill requires further attention
A private member’s bill working its way through Parliament doesn’t sound controversial at first blush. Most parliamentarians don’t seem to have thought so, either. Bill C-293, the Pandemic Prevention and Preparedness Act, was approved by the House of Commons in June by a vote of 164-144, albeit with reservations from some MPs, and is now […] Read more
Buckle up on policy; trade is getting bumpy
Canada needs a Team Canada approach to face a decaying multilateral, rules-based trading environment, similar to how it approached the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement negotiations a few years ago. During these negotiations, Canadian officials attempted to mitigate then-President Donald Trump’s unpredictability by meeting with political and business leaders across the United States to explain the benefits of […] Read more
Reconciliation can happen,one relationship at a time
Sept. 30, the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, is a day for sombre reflection on a painful chapter in Canada’s history, that of residential schools and their lasting impact on Indigenous peoples. While these reflections cannot change the past, they can inform how we build our shared future. For rural Canada, some of the […] Read more
4-H fundraising campaign benefits present and future
Two worrying trends haunt modern agriculture. First, farmers’ average age is rising and they are fewer in number. At the same time, the industry is competing with a wide variety of career options available to today’s young people, and it doesn’t always win the race. Many groups try to ensure agriculture remains in good hands, […] Read more
China threat on canola unpalatable, not surprising
The most concerning aspect of Canadian farmers caught in a trade dispute between China and Ottawa is the lack of surprise. The federal government knew China was likely to target Canadian canola exports before it placed 100 per cent tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles and a 25 per cent surtax on imports of steel and […] Read more
Railway labour dispute raises ‘wicked’ questions
Difficult labour negotiations between the two major railways and their unionized employees have just put the country through the wringer, and tough questions must be asked: Why was the situation allowed to deteriorate to the point where almost the entire rail transportation system was shut down, albeit briefly? Is there a way to avoid messes […] Read more
