A macrophage (immune response) cell in early stages of infection with African swine fever virus, magnified about 1,000x. (Keith Weller photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

MPs get assurance on Canada’s biosecurity preparedness

Canada well prepared for foreign animal diseases, officials say

Officials from several federal agencies have reassured the public about Canada’s animal biosecurity preparedness. Witnesses from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) spoke to MPs’ concerns about livestock diseases at a committee meeting last Wednesday afternoon. Biosecurity preparedness has been a relevant issue


File photo of hogs on a farm in the Dominican Republic. (RD-SunPhotography/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. puts up funds to prevent African swine fever

Haiti, Dominican Republic now 'countries of concern' on CFIA list

Chicago | Reuters — The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday pledged up to US$500 million to prevent the spread of the fatal pig virus African swine fever, after Haiti and the Dominican Republic recently confirmed outbreaks. A U.S. outbreak would likely slash U.S. pork exports and pig prices, hurting farmers and meat companies such

The load of meth taken off a produce truck on Christmas Day 2020 weighed in at just over 500 lbs., border officials said. (Photo courtesy CBSA)

Truckload of northbound produce breaks bad at border

Canadian agents find record-level meth haul at Christmas

A produce truck entering Alberta from Montana on Christmas Day turned out to be carrying way more than just essential goods, according to the Canada Border Services Agency. CBSA on Wednesday said charges have now been laid against a 38-year-old Calgary resident after a semi-truckload of produce was referred for further inspection on Dec. 25,

Among its other uses, wheat gluten goes into the making of plant-based meat analogues. (Romualdo Crissi/iStock/Getty Images)

Feds to probe complaints of wheat gluten dumping

New duties on six countries' gluten imports might follow

Federal officials are launching a probe into whether wheat gluten from six countries is being dumped in Canada at prices undercutting the domestic product. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) said Friday it’s launching an investigation to determine whether “certain wheat gluten” from Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany and Lithuania is being sold at “unfair


(Eyfoto/iStock/Getty Images)

‘Essential’ travel rule fuzzy on farmers picking up parts, inputs

U.S. border officers will have final say on Canadian farmers' cross-border business trips

Whether Canadian farmers can continue to pick up machinery parts and other products for their operations in the United States is at the discretion of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers. At 11:59 p.m. ET Friday, Canada and the U.S. temporarily restricted non-essential travel between the two nations to try and slow the spread of

Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, shown here March 14, 2019 at the Montreal-Trudeau airport with Canadian border services officers and detector dogs, announced new funding to expand Canada’s detector dog corps. (CNW Group/CFIA)

Canada to boost airport detector dog corps

With African swine fever top of mind, the federal government plans to more than double the total number of detector dog teams at Canada’s airports within five years. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, speaking in Montreal Thursday, announced new funding of up to $31 million over five years to add 24 Food, Plant, and Animal Detector




(CBSA)

Ottawa loses millions on import duties

A significant volume of dairy, poultry, eggs and beef was imported into Canada without a permit or paying the appropriate customs duties, hurting both the federal treasury and farmers, says Auditor General Michael Ferguson in his spring report to Parliament. Analyzing figures from Global Affairs Canada and the Canadian Border Services Agency found “authorizations, certificates,