General

Canada opposes France’s proposal to tighten controls on commodity speculation, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told Reuters Insider TV on Wednesday.  Nicolas Sarkozy, president of France, which currently chairs the G20 group for emerging and developed nations, called on Tuesday for tighter regulation of the speculators he blames for spiraling food and energy prices. Canada’s Conservative […] Read more

Ag ministers from the Cairns Group, a clutch of 19 agricultural exporting countries including Canada, plan to meet in Saskatoon in September to talk trade. Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz on Friday announced the 36th Cairns Group Ministerial Meeting will be held Sept. 7-9 in Saskatoon, co-chaired by Canada and Australia. The meeting is expected […] Read more

Federal Labour Minister Lisa Raitt is booked to introduce back-to-work legislation Monday morning (June 20) in Ottawa to halt the latest labour disruptions at Canada Post. Raitt’s bill, which the government on Wednesday dubbed the Restoring Mail Delivery for Canadians Act, would end a work stoppage that began June 3 with rotating strikes by members […] Read more

Farmers and agribusinesses in Canada may want to consider a review of their financing strategies ahead of a potential rise in interest rates, Farm Credit Canada recommends. The federal ag financing agency made its recommendation in a release Monday “in light of recent Bank of Canada statements.” Canada’s central bank on May 31 said it […] Read more

Regular delivery of Farm Business Communications’ print publications may be affected by a labour disruption this week by members of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW). In the event of a strike by Canada Post’s CUPW employees, full issues of your publications — including Grainews, Country Guide, Canadian Cattlemen, the Manitoba Co-operator, Alberta Farmer […] Read more

One of Jack Layton’s crop of rookie Quebecois members of Parliament will back up southern Ontario MP Malcolm Allen in the New Democrats’ shadow cabinet. Jean Rousseau, the MP for the Sherbrooke-area riding of Compton-Stanstead, was named Thursday as the new official Opposition’s deputy critic for agriculture and agri-food. Rousseau, 50, is an independent concert […] Read more

Its ranks thinned drastically in last month’s election, the federal Liberal Party has gone to the ag-centred city of Guelph for its new agriculture critic. Frank Valeriote, the MP for Guelph since October 2008, was named Wednesday by interim party leader Bob Rae as the Liberals’ new critic for agriculture and agri-food, rural affairs and […] Read more

Linda Jones of Melita, Man. is the winner of a $1,000 credit toward product from Alpine Plant Foods after filling out AGCanada.com’s online digital media survey. AgCanada.com has been very encouraged by farmers’ response to our family of websites for some of Canada’s best-known farm publications. Whether you’re following us through your Daily Email News […] Read more

The federal New Democrats will head into their first-ever round as official Opposition next month with their former deputy agriculture critic in the lead ag critic’s chair. Malcolm Allen, the MP for the Niagara-region riding of Welland since 2008, was named Thursday as the party’s agriculture critic, replacing Castlegar, B.C.-area MP Alex Atamanenko. Atamanenko, now […] Read more