Reading Time: 2 minutes Updated, March 18 — Unionized rail car and locomotive repair, maintenance and inspection staff at Canadian National Railway (CN) have approved the 11th-hour deal that kept them from being locked out last month. CN, in a release Tuesday, said members of its shopcraft group of about 2,100 employees, represented by Unifor Local 100R, have voted […] Read more
CN shopcraft staff ratify labour deal
Alberta ag minister books off after surgery
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta Premier Jim Prentice has named an associate agriculture and rural development minister to handle the portfolio while provincial Agriculture Minister Verlyn Olson takes sick leave. Grande Prairie-Smoky MLA Everett McDonald, a farmer and former reeve for the County of Grande Prairie, was appointed Tuesday to the associate minister’s post. Olson, the ag minister since […] Read more
Four Unifor locals ratify deals with CN
Reading Time: 2 minutes Four of five groups of Canadian National Railway (CN) employees have voted to ratify the new collective labour deals that kept them from being locked out last month. CN said Monday its unionized clerical/intermodal/fleet mechanic, CNTL and excavator-operator units, all represented by Unifor locals, have all voted in favour of agreements with 51-month terms. The […] Read more
Legumex Walker puts sale, merger options on table
Reading Time: 2 minutes Pulse, canola and special-crop processing firm Legumex Walker has declared itself open to “strategic alternatives” for its future, including a sale or merger. The publicly-traded Winnipeg company said Monday its board of directors has set up a review committee to “identify and consider strategic and financial alternatives… with the ultimate goal of maximizing shareholder value.” […] Read more
Canada blocking poultry from Kansas, Arkansas
Reading Time: 3 minutes Canada has expanded its restrictions on imports of live poultry, uncooked poultry products and eggs to include those from Kansas and Arkansas, as avian flu has now appeared in birds in both states. The Kansas cases of highly-pathogenic (“high-path”) H5N2 avian flu are in a backyard chicken and duck flock in Leavenworth County, on the state’s […] Read more
Ag Safety Week urges farmers to “be the difference”
Reading Time: 2 minutes Acting to improve a farm’s safety systems before a problem appears is the focus of this year’s Canadian Agricultural Safety Week, beginning Sunday. The week, running March to 21 in a co-promotion between the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA) and the Federation of Agriculture (CFA) with sponsorship from Farm Credit Canada, is themed “Be the Difference.” […] Read more
Ont. ag minister to review GFO proposal on bee health, neonics
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ontario corn and soybean growers have secured a meeting with the provincial ag minister on the farmers’ proposed Plan B to balance crop pest control against bee health. Grain Farmers of Ontario said Thursday its representatives will meet March 26 with Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal to discuss the proposals laid out in GFO’s Ontario Pollinator […] Read more
N.L. ag department moving to fisheries oversight
Reading Time: < 1 minute Newfoundland and Labrador’s Forestry and Agrifoods Agency, which oversees public policy for the province’s livestock, crops and agrifood sectors, is under new management. Premier Paul Davis on Thursday appointed provincial Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Vaughn Granter to added responsibility for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency. The agency, headquartered in Corner Brook, was set up in […] Read more
Loblaw’s ugly-duckling produce to get swan moment
Reading Time: 2 minutes Produce growers supplying Canada’s Loblaw grocery chains with fruit and vegetables are expected to benefit in sales through a new in-store marketing program for “misshapen” wares. Through its Real Canadian Superstore chain, some of its No Frills stores in Ontario and some of its Maxi stores in Quebec, Loblaw on Thursday launched “Naturally Imperfect” fruit […] Read more
Newfoundland names new agriculture minister
Reading Time: < 1 minute Newfoundland and Labrador’s move to cut back on cabinet ministers has led to a new political chief for the province’s agriculture agency. Vaughn Granter, the MHA for Humber West since 2011 and minister for fisheries and aquaculture since last September, was appointed Thursday to an extra role as minister responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
