It’s time for Maxime Bernier to move on…

Regarding the opinion piece on dairy supply management by Maxime Bernier carried in the July 5 Manitoba Co-operator: Polls indicate that the vast majority of Canadians have little to no idea what supply management is really about. The same polls also reveal when consumers are told how supply management works, they support the price stabilizing

Comment: Tim Hortons goes east

Comment: Tim Hortons goes east

An aggressive plan to expand into China has been unveiled

Tim Hortons is going where the growth is: east to China. The Canadian institution announced it will expand its portfolio of 4,700 restaurants by signing a joint venture partnership with a Chinese-based equity firm. Tim Hortons currently has locations in the United States, the Arab Emirates, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom, and it intends


Opinion: Helping the less fortunate

No doubt by now everyone has formed for themselves some opinion about the NAFTA trade talks. Complex as the issues are, supply management for dairy and poultry is important in those negotiations. Dairy at times seems to get a lot of press, but the thinking in the articles, both pro and con, does not vary

Editorial: We had it in the ’70s

Editorial: We had it in the ’70s

Some readers may remember the Western Grain Stabilization Administration (WGSA), a Prairie grain support program that ran from 1976 to 1989. Farmers could contribute up two per cent of net grain sales, matched two to one by the federal government. It was a pretty good deal, so most farmers participated. The payout mechanism was simple


Comment: The trouble with edibles

Comment: The trouble with edibles

Is Canada’s food industry ready for the massive opportunity of cannabis legalization?

On Oct. 17, smoking cannabis will become legal in Canada. As for cannabis edibles, they will take a bit longer: cannabis-infused food products will be legal in a little less than a year’s time. Once edibles are available, things will get complicated in Canada’s food industry. But, with the right regulations, this is a profit

Comment: Selling out early

Trade uncertainty is souring investors’ views of grain markets

Speculators spent the month of June selling Chicago-traded futures and options, specifically corn and soybeans, as if record U.S. crops were already in the bag. But the trade dispute between the United States and China, the world’s largest soybean buyer, has driven market uncertainty. It was confirmed in mid-June that both parties would enforce tariffs


Editorial: Follow the dollars

Most financial professionals will tell you to keep one hand on your wallet when someone doesn’t want you to look at the books. From non-profit community groups to major corporations, the numbers don’t lie. If funds have been misallocated or things aren’t quite on the level, it can’t truly be hidden. No matter how hard

Opinion: On the road – Ireland’s farms, food and future

Dublin, even in summer sunshine, can’t entirely shake its smoky, troubled past. Bullet holes the size of grapes still pockmark the pillars and walls of the General Post Office. Still, Dublin’s streets are packed. The lovely Catherine and I are there, too, walking along its central artery, the River Liffey. We’re in Ireland to visit


Comment: How the supply management lobby influences politics

Comment: How the supply management lobby influences politics

My unsuccessful federal leadership campaign is proof the sector has outsized political influence — for now

The following is a lightly edited excerpt of a chapter on supply management from a political memoir penned by Maxime Bernier that he chose to publish online. Polls indicate that the vast majority of Canadians have little to no idea what supply management is really about. According to a survey done in the summer of

Close-Up of a Sealed Campbell's Soup Can on Red Background

Comment: Souped up

A Kraft-Heinz takeover rumour 
doesn’t disguise deep-seated issues 
for companies like Campbell Soup

Campbell Soup stocks soared after news came out suggesting the company could be bought by Kraft-Heinz, one of 3G Capital and Warren Buffett’s pet projects in the food sector. Even though the deal is highly unlikely to happen, these rumours point to a much larger story in food processing. Since 2013, the “acquire and cut”


Upcoming events