Seaway to seek order exempting grain traffic from strike action

Facing a strike that would shut down traffic on the waterway as early as Sunday, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. has asked for an order confirming that grain would need to continue moving. Unifor, the union representing over 360 seaway workers across five union locals in Ontario and Quebec, on Wednesday served the corporation[...]

Olymel bacon plant deal a 'signal,' union says

Unionized workers at Olymel's bacon processing plant at Drummondville, Que. have voted to accept a four-year deal, ending a three-week strike and serving as a "signal" to employers in the region, their union said. Olymel announced Friday that CSN-represented workers at the Bacon Inter-America facility, who'd been on strike since May 26, voted 93.6 per[...]


Canada Bread fined $50 million over price-fixing

A storied Canadian producer of bread and bakery products has a month to pay a $50 million fine for price-fixing in an ongoing federal probe which still has eyes on several major retailers. Ontario's Superior Court on Wednesday sentenced Toronto-based Canada Bread Co. after the company pled guilty to four counts of fixing bread prices[...]

Seaway workers' strike underway

Unionized workers on the St. Lawrence Seaway walked off the job just after midnight Sunday, shutting the waterway to all cargo vessels including grain traffic for now. Unifor, which represents about 360 Seaway workers across five locals in Ontario and Quebec, had served Seaway management with 72 hours' strike notice on Wednesday. In a release[...]


New Zealand, Canada each claim wins in CPTPP dairy dispute

A dispute settlement panel called by New Zealand under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade pact has ruled Canada's limits on dairy market access cramp its agreed-upon obligations. But despite the panel's findings in New Zealand's favour, Canada is also framing the panel's ruling as a win -- as it also generally upholds Canada's ability to[...]

St. Lawrence traffic to resume as tentative labour deal reached

A week-long strike by about 360 unionized workers on the St. Lawrence Seaway ended Monday morning with a tentative agreement on a new labour deal. The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) and Unifor, the union representing the workers, announced the new agreement separately Sunday evening. Unionized workers had been on strike since just after[...]


Crop, livestock prices offset reduced marketings in 2022

New full-year data on Canada's farm cash receipts in calendar 2022 show how increased commodity prices last year more than offset the drop in quantities sold. Statistics Canada on Tuesday released figures showing Canadian farm cash receipts in 2022 at $94.9 billion, up 14.1 per cent from 2021, including crop receipts of $53.9 billion (also[...]

Seaway workers ratify labour deal

Unionized workers on the St. Lawrence Seaway in Ontario and Quebec have voted their approval of the agreement that brought them in off the picket line. Unifor, which represents about 360 Seaway workers across five locals in the two provinces, announced Thursday its members had voted to ratify a three-year agreement retroactive to April 1.[...]


Transport Canada to review Bunge-Viterra marriage plans

Canada's federal transport department will conduct its own review of U.S. grain giant Bunge's plans to buy and merge with Viterra -- with an eye particularly on both companies' stakes in Canadian port terminals. Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez announced Tuesday that his department will review the deal under the mergers and acquisitions provisions of the[...]

Bayer's crop marketing, crop production platforms in sync

Combyne, the made-in-Canada grain marketing platform Bayer bought earlier this year, is now fully on speaking terms with the company's Climate FieldView precision ag platform. Bayer on Oct. 30 announced integration of the two platforms, which it said will allow grain farmers in Canada and the U.S. to connect their marketing data in Combyne and[...]