(PortMetroVancouver.com)

Australia, New Zealand pledge to salvage TPP

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Australia hopes to salvage the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) by encouraging China and other Asian nations into the agreement in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to pull his country out of the pact, its trade minister said on Tuesday. New Zealand’s trade minister said ministers from the remaining TPP countries would […] Read more

Sonny Perdue with wife Mary during a rain prayer service in 2007. (SonnyPerdue.Georgia.gov)

Trump to name ex-Georgia governor as ag secretary

Reading Time: 2 minutes Washington | Reuters — U.S. President-elect Donald Trump will name former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue as his nominee for secretary of agriculture on Thursday, a senior transition official saidn Wednesday. Perdue, 70, served on Trump’s agricultural advisory committee during his presidential campaign. His nomination, which must be confirmed by the Republican-led Senate, will complete Trump’s […] Read more


A YourLink tower outside Weyburn, Sask. (YourLink.ca)

Xplornet buying YourLink

Reading Time: 2 minutes One of Canada’s biggest providers of rural broadband is set to expand its space in the Saskatchewan market by buying rural high-speed wireless provider YourLink. New Brunswick-based Xplornet Communications on Monday announced an all-cash $28.75 million deal with Victoria-based Vecima Networks for the “remaining assets” of Vecima’s YourLink business. YourLink, based in Saskatoon, is a […] Read more

(EC.europa.eu)

EU-Canada trade deal clears further hurdles in Europe

Reading Time: 2 minutes Brussels | Reuters — A planned EU-Canada free trade deal received backing from a committee of the European Parliament and Germany’s top court on Thursday, increasing its chances of entering force later this year. The European Union and Canada signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in October, but only after opposition from a […] Read more


Cattle amble through fresh snow in northwestern Saskatchewan on Oct. 22, 2016. (Lisa Guenther photo)

Saskatchewan taking livestock premises ID mandatory

Reading Time: < 1 minute Saskatchewan livestock producers wanting to take part in provincial programs will soon have to have a valid premises identification (ID) number. The provincial and federal governments on Thursday announced the new requirement for Saskatchewan producers will take effect “over the coming months.” The province has had a voluntary premises ID (PID) program in place since […] Read more

(DonaldJTrump.com)

Protectionism game comes with raised economic stakes: Frum

Reading Time: 3 minutes As U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration day approaches, the business world is pondering how the new administration might affect the world economy. Trump’s pride in his unpredictability is troubling, given he’s the president-elect, said David Frum, political commentator, former speechwriter for President George W. Bush, and a senior editor for Washington-based magazine The Atlantic. However, […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Cargill profit jumps on meat demand, big U.S. crops

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Global commodities trader Cargill on Tuesday reported a sharply higher adjusted quarterly profit led by strong results from its beef and turkey businesses and robust demand for North American grain and oilseed crops. The privately held company said adjusted operating earnings jumped nearly 80 per cent in the second quarter ended Nov. 30 […] Read more

Francois-Philippe Champagne, shown here last month in a holiday video message to constituents, has been named federal minister for international trade. (FPChampagne.liberal.ca)

Trade lawyer named federal trade minister

Reading Time: 2 minutes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s latest mini-cabinet shuffle puts a Quebec lawyer specializing in international trade into the trade minister’s chair. Trudeau on Tuesday appointed Francois-Philippe Champagne, the rookie MP for the Shawinigan-area riding of Saint-Maurice-Champlain, as minister of international trade, replacing Chrystia Freeland. Freeland, as widely expected leading up to Tuesday’s announcement, becomes minister of […] Read more


Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland, shown here at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference in March. Global Affairs Canada via YouTube)

Trudeau to shuffle Dion out of foreign affairs

Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters –– Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will shuffle his cabinet this week and is set to move Foreign Minister Stephane Dion, who ran into political trouble last year, a person with knowledge of the matter said on Monday. “Dion is out,” said the person, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of […] Read more

(USDA.gov via Flickr)

Trump leaning toward Georgia ex-governor to lead USDA

Reading Time: < 1 minute Washington | Reuters — Former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue is U.S. Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s leading candidate to run the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a senior Trump transition team official said on Monday. Perdue, a Democrat-turned-Republican who founded a grain and fertilizer business, served on Trump’s agricultural advisory committee during his presidential campaign. The official […] Read more