General

Employees with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are the largest group on a list of federal civil servants slated for possible layoffs. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), the Ottawa-based union for over 180,000 public-sector workers across the country, said 530 of its members were served notices Thursday that “they may lose their jobs.” Of […] Read more

Members of the federal official opposition have lined up with organizers of over two dozen rallies scheduled across the country Tuesday to call for a halt on any move to commercialize genetically modified (GM) alfalfa in Canada. Roundup Ready alfalfa, which has been grown only on test plots in Canada but was authorized for sale […] Read more

Bilateral talks between the federal government and each of the provinces and territories are “well underway” on the latest incarnation of their jointly-funded ag policy funding framework, officially launched Monday (April 1). The framework, dubbed Growing Forward 2 (GF2), pledges $3 billion from the federal, provincial and territorial governments as the foundation for government agricultural […] Read more

Ontario’s crop producer groups and beekeepers say they plan to “work together” this spring to protect crop pollinators as federal officials review and tighten label warnings on a group of corn insecticides for their potential risks to bees. Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) last month announced a review of Canada’s approved neonicotinoid insecticides, […] Read more

With a new five-year ag policy funding framework for farmers and agribusiness prepped for launch this spring, federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s latest budget largely blew past Canada’s farming sector. Flaherty’s budget, released Thursday, offers farmers some additional breaks at tax time — but also points to retooling ahead for other programs, including the federal […] Read more