(Dave Bedard photo)

Clinton says she doesn’t support new TPP deal

Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters — U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said Wednesday she does not support the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), rejecting a central tenet of President Barack Obama’s strategic pivot to Asia. Clinton said during a campaign swing in Iowa that she is worried about currency manipulation not being part of the agreement and that “pharmaceutical […] Read more

Woolwich Dairy began marketing goat cheese-based salad dressings in 2011. (WoolwichDairy.com)

Saputo buys goat cheesemaker Woolwich Dairy

Reading Time: < 1 minute Canada’s biggest cheesemaker is expanding its reach in the goat dairy market with a friendly all-cash takeover of Ontario goat cheese firm Woolwich Dairy. Montreal-based Saputo announced Monday it has paid $80 million for the family-owned cheesemaking company, including its three plants and distribution centre. Based at Orangeville, north of Guelph, Woolwich has operated since […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Architect of the Capitol, VisitTheCapitol.gov)

Historic TPP deal faces skeptics in U.S. Congress

Reading Time: 3 minutes Atlanta | Reuters –– Twelve Pacific Rim countries on Monday reached the most ambitious trade pact in a generation, aiming to liberalize commerce in 40 per cent of the world’s economy in a deal that faces skepticism from U.S. lawmakers. The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) pact struck in Atlanta after marathon talks could reshape industries, change […] Read more

(Eggs.ca)

VanRaes: TPP deal seen shrinking supply-managed markets

Reading Time: 4 minutes CORRECTION, Oct. 7: Canada’s supply managed sectors can expect to lose $4.3 billion to foreign interests in the 15 years following the implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. After years of negotiations, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the U.S. and Vietnam reached an agreement Monday morning, which includes granting access […] Read more


(PortMetroVancouver.com)

Market access, income supports come with Trans-Pacific pact

Reading Time: 5 minutes Canada’s federal government has pledged a suite of compensation programs for supply-managed dairy, poultry and egg sectors, against what it promises will be a mousehole in Canada’s tariff wall. Federal officials on Monday confirmed negotiations have concluded on the multilateral Trans-Pacific Partnership, now billed as “the largest, most ambitious free trade initiative in history.” The […] Read more

(Photo courtesy Elections Canada)

Election shifts attention to trade deal as race narrows

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters –– Trailing in second place with two weeks left before Canada’s election, Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced a new trade deal Monday that largely protects the key agricultural voting bloc, putting pressure on opponents who had hoped to have more to attack. Harper touted the Trans-Pacific Partnership as a good deal […] Read more


Skim milk powder. (PelchGroup.com)

Canada says TPP offers limited access to dairy market

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada said on Monday that a major trade deal agreed by 12 Pacific nations would only allow limited access to protected Canadian domestic dairy and poultry markets, a politically sensitive issue ahead of the Oct. 19 election. Officials said the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would offer up just 3.25 per cent of […] Read more

(PortMetroVancouver.com)

After five years of negotiations, TPP talks near deal

Reading Time: 3 minutes Atlanta | Reuters — A dozen Pacific nations closed in on a sweeping free trade pact on Sunday in Atlanta after a breakthrough over how long a monopoly pharmaceutical companies should be given on new biotech drugs. The issue has pitted the U.S., which has argued for longer protections, against Australia and five other delegations […] Read more


Speakers at the Farm, Food and Beyond press conference (r to l): Alan Kruszel, OSCIA; Dr. Gord Surgeoner, Sustainable Farm Coalition; John Maaskant, Farm and Food Care Ontario; Robert Cash, the Provision Coalition; Don McCabe, OFA; Scott Graham, Presidents’ Council; and Lorne Small, CFFO. (Ralph Pearce photo)

Pearce: Ontario’s EFP program takes next step

Reading Time: 2 minutes Next year it will have been 25 years since Ontario introduced the Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) for farms, and leading up to that anniversary, it’s worth noting more than 38,000 farm families have participated. In spite of some growing pains in the late 1990s, the EFP has grown to provide the Ontario agri-food industry with […] Read more

TPP deal near resolution, Japan says

Reading Time: < 1 minute Atlanta | Reuters — Japan’s Economy Minister Akira Amari said on Friday negotiators were close to reaching a sweeping Pacific Rim trade deal, citing progress on the remaining issues involving autos, dairy products and intellectual property protections for expensive biologic drugs. Amari, who spoke to reporters before a meeting of the 12 trade ministers represented in […] Read more