File photo of picketing federal workers represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) at Gatineau, Que. on April 20, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Federal workers reach tentative deal

Over 120,000 PSAC members back on job Monday

Over 120,000 striking federal government employees are expected to return to work starting Monday morning (May 1) after reaching tentative agreements overnight. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) announced after midnight Monday it had reached tentative agreements for workers in four bargaining units who negotiate with the federal Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Among […] Read more

Figure 1. Nitrous oxide emissions from nitrogen fertilizer in 2018 from the agricultural areas of Canada.

Nitrogen fertilizer management to reduce nitrous oxide emissions, Part 1

4R nutrient stewardship practices could be the only answer needed to reduce emissions

In December 2020, the government of Canada announced a national target to reduce absolute levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fertilizer application by 30 per cent below 2020 levels by 2030. What does this mean for western Canadian farmers? It does not mean a 30 per cent reduction in nitrogen fertilizer use! But it […] Read more


(File photo by Lorraine Stevenson)

Elevators hope mandatory vaccination doesn’t disrupt operations

New regulations will require all federally regulated employees to comply early in 2022

Canada’s major companies hope their operations won’t be disrupted when Ottawa requires federally regulated employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 starting early in 2022. “It depends on whether employees that aren’t vaccinated will get vaccinated, or would they leave their jobs,” Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA) said in an interview […] Read more

Federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland appears at a news conference in Ottawa on Sept. 24, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Canada to wind down broad-based COVID aid programs

Feds opt for targeted measures as economy recovers

Ottawa | Reuters — Canada will not extend existing broad-based COVID-19 support programs for companies and individuals when they expire on Saturday because the economy is recovering well, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said on Thursday. Instead, Ottawa will introduce more targeted and less costly measures for hard-hit sectors such as the tourism industry. The new […] Read more


Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, with Infrastructure Minister Catherine McKenna (l) and Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault (r), speaks at the Dominion Arboretum in Ottawa on Dec. 11, 2020. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

New greening programs planned for ag alongside carbon tax hike

Carbon price to hit $170 per tonne by 2030

A new federal climate plan which further cranks up taxes on carbon emissions also includes pledges of new programs to help sink more carbon into farmland. The government on Friday released the sequel to its 2016 Pan-Canadian Framework on Clean Growth and Climate Change — a “strengthened” climate plan, titled A Healthy Environment and a […] Read more

Not only are the rules complex and professional fees potentially high, but the programs change often.

Farm Financial Planner: COVID-19 farm relief programs

Programs are blessings in bureaucratic disguise, valuable and complex

Federal relief programs for economic losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic including job losses, business interruption, nonpayment of wages, unemployment and illness are being addressed by a web of federal and provincial programs. Farmers can benefit from several plans, provided they can document losses and, in some cases, pay back some part of subsidies. What […] Read more


Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel. (GGC video screengrab)

Grain Growers of Canada lobby Parliament Hill

Agriculture can help restart Canada's economy and the federal government help by addressing some issues, group says

Agriculture can help revitalize Canada’s post-COVID economy, but the federal government should clear the track for it. That means updating regulations to encourage technological innovation, improving market access for agricultural exports and recognizing farm practices that help the environment, Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) says. The organization, which represents 15 regional, provincial and national grain […] Read more

An artists’ rendition of the Merit Functional Foods plant under construction in Winnipeg. (Meritfoods.com)

Plant-protein processor’s new processing plant gets grant

Feds, province put up cash for new equipment

The federal and Manitoba governments have added a seven-figure contribution to their support for a new facility to process plant proteins from canola and peas. Merit Functional Foods will put the additional money toward “new equipment purchases that will support the transformation of raw inputs into value-added goods.” The unspecified new technology is expected to […] Read more


(Nadezhda_Nesterova/iStock/Getty Images)

Details on federal food surplus program expected in ‘days’

Ottawa already at work with businesses, minister says

Ottawa — Detailed plans of the federal government’s food buyback program are expected soon, according to Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau. Ottawa tabbed $50 million of its COVID-19 response funds for agriculture to buy surplus food from farmers and redistribute it to communities in need. The challenge Bibeau and her federal colleagues are faced with is […] Read more

(Kelli Jo/iStock/Getty Images)

Pig farmers seek aid of $20 per hog against market crash

Losses of $675 million expected from COVID-19-related causes

Canada’s hog producers seek an immediate federal cash injection equivalent to $20 per hog against a market crash that’s expected to cost their sector about $675 million overall. Officials with the Canadian Pork Council on Thursday called for Ottawa to provide further aid to hog farmers who are now expecting to lose $30 to more […] Read more