Editorial: Sweating the details

As the Canada-Europe Trade Agreement was negotiated over the last few years, it’s been touted as a game-changing deal that opens up a potentially massive market. That may well be, but it would appear for most agricultural commodities, that’s going to be an ‘easier-said-than-done’ scenario, at least for the foreseeable future. Ottawa has made much

Demonstrators pull a wooden model of the Trojan Horse during a protest against the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) in front of the Parliament in Vienna, Austria on the eve of the deal coming into provisional effect.

CETA takes effect as ag frets details

Significant barriers remain to any real progress in accessing 
the European market for food products

With a flurry of press releases and a ceremony at the Port of Montreal, a new chapter in Canada’s economic history has begun to unfold as Canada’s trade deal with Europe came into effect. The Canada-Europe Trade Agreement (CETA) took provisional effect Sept. 21, even as the third round of the NAFTA renegotiations kicked off


Ottawa announced details of CETA assistance

Transition programs will assist farmers adapt to an expected influx of European cheese

With the European free trade deal CETA set to launch next month, Ottawa is smoothing out a few wrinkles. The federal government has backed down a bit in a dispute with the European Union over the allocation of new tariff-free cheese imports. It also said it would start accepting applications Aug. 22 from dairy farmers

Photo: Thinkstock

Greig: Dairy sector gets funds for technology, less import control than hoped

Over 17,000 tonnes of European cheese to be allowed tariff free under CETA

The Canadian dairy sector got good and bad news yesterday. The federal government announced the long-awaited details of its promised investment program for the dairy sector after it gave up a portion of domestic cheese market in free trade negotiations with Europe. Dairy farms in Canada will be eligible for up to $250,000 per farm



(Staff photo)

National dairy group loses executive director

Caroline Emond has resigned as executive director of Dairy Farmers of Canada (DFC) after two and half years in the position. Emond will be stepping down effective July 4, DFC announced Wednesday. Emond has dealt with some significant files and changes to dairy marketing since she replaced long-time retiring executive director Richard Doyle. She has


(OatMillers.com)

Confidence seen in oat sector with Richardson deal

CNS Canada –– Richardson International’s decision to buy British-based European Oat Millers is seen as a strong sign of confidence in the oats sector, even if it has little effect on Prairie farmers. “I think it’s very positive. We’re seeing lots of activity in the oats industry,” Art Enns, president of the Prairie Oat Growers



Trade minister knows rural trade concerns

His constituency in Quebec is also home to many dairy farmers

Trade Minister François Philippe Champagne likes to talk about how the proposed trade deal with Europe will eventually see most Canadian exports to the continent enter duty free. At the same time, his political circumstances make him well aware of rural concerns about the deal’s impacts, he told the Senate foreign affairs committee. In addition

An anti-CETA protest in Vienna, Austria in 2016.

CETA: A false solution to economic and political woes

Since Donald Trump took office as president of the United States, a shocking list of executive orders is making people around the world uneasy about unpredictable days ahead. Democracy and civil liberties are in peril. It is reasonable for Canadian and European officials to respond with concern to Trump’s aberrations. But it appears that, fearing