Good news. Canada is joining talks for the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which will open lucrative new trade opportunities — if we give up supply management. Or so you’d think by reading national newspapers these days. Ever since Canadian participation in the TPP talks was announced last month, columnists in the Globe and Mail and National Post
Supply management is in trouble
What’s the message here?
According to Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, ending the wheat board monopoly will mean “the sky will be the limit” for wheat, prompting farmers to plant more acres. That presumably means a need for more and better varieties, so you might expect that the government would back up its claim by continuing support for public research,
The virtues of patient capital
The story of the Prairie grain co-operatives is certainly one for the business books. Starting from nothing in 1923, by 1929 the Pools through the Central Selling Agency had the largest sales of any business in Canada. A year later it collapsed, but the Pools rose again as handling companies, and along with UGG, dominated
Giving meat a bad name
Laws are like sausages — it is best not to see them being made.” This quote has been widely but wrongly attributed to Otto Von Bismarck, the “Iron Chancellor” of Germany in the 19th century, which proves that misinformation was spreading long before the Internet. However, the Internet is certainly a much more efficient way
Cosmetic pesticide dilemma
While working from a home office a few years ago, I looked out the window and saw a young guy holding a wand and spraying liquid on the front lawn. He was at the wrong address — a neighbour across the lane had ordered his lawn-care service, and I was able to direct him before
Agriculture Is A “Backwater” Enterprise
Now that food seems to be on the public-policy radar, the think-tanks of the nation are anxious to demonstrate their expertise on the subject. The Macdonald-Laurier Institute is the latest example with Canadian Agriculture and Food A Growing Hunger for Change, by Larry Martin and Kate Stiefelmeyer. The paper does not state it, but they
Remembering All The Casualties Of War
For those of us in Canada, November 11 is an occasion to honour the sacrifices of those who left our country forever, as well as the contributions of those who were fortunate enough to return. But in Canada, our wars have all been fought on foreign soil, and we may forget that casualties and misery
What Parliament Giveth, Parliament Can Taketh Away
There are many things wrong with the way that the Conservative government has handled the wheat board issue. The decision has been made on purely ideological grounds, without even so much as a departmental review, let alone a proper study by an independent commission. That didn t need to be a review of whether to
The Grain Trade Must Step Up
Throughout its history, this newspaper s editorial position has been that Prairie farmers are better off economically by selling wheat and barley through the Canadian Wheat Board. That has not changed, but since the board s end seems inevitable, we have recently focused not on saying don t do it but rather on emphasizing just
There Are Other Issues Than The CWB
Though you d hardly know it, the Canadian grain industry is facing issues other than the Canadian Wheat Board. For example, just what are the long-term prospects for Prairie wheat and barley exports, wheat board or not? That came to mind last week while reading Reuters reports on production and export activity out of the
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
