Reading Time: 2 minutes A former Belleville, Ont. mayor will now play a backup role to the federal agriculture minister in the House of Commons. Neil Ellis, the Liberal MP for the Bay of Quinte constituency in central Ontario since 2015, was named Thursday as parliamentary secretary for the minister of agriculture and agri-food, Marie-Claude Bibeau. Ellis was a […] Read more
Central Ontario MP named parliamentary ag secretary
Farmers hit by trade disputes should be helped faster, Trudeau says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s agriculture department should move more quickly to help farmers harmed by protectionist measures imposed by other nations, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Friday. Canadian farmers are caught up in a trade and diplomatic dispute between Ottawa and Beijing. In a formal letter of instruction to Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau, Trudeau […] Read more
Cattle producers get longer phase-in on new transport regs
Reading Time: 2 minutes New federal livestock transport regulations, due to come into force in February, will now roll out on a longer timeline for the beef and dairy cattle sectors. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has announced a “two-year transition period” for bovines, which is meant to provide “time to gather more data on effective solutions concerning the […] Read more
Bibeau remains federal agriculture minister in shuffle
Reading Time: 3 minutes Updated, Nov. 21— Quebec MP Marie-Claude Bibeau retains her role as federal minister of agriculture and agri-food in Wednesday’s cabinet shake-up for the Liberals’ minority government. Bibeau will join her colleagues — including returning Transport Minister Marc Garneau and new Labour Minister Filomena Tassi, a Hamilton MP and former minister for seniors — in having […] Read more
Voters return Canada’s agriculture minister, ag critics
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s incumbent minister of agriculture and agri-food and all three of her opposition critics in the House of Commons held their seats in Monday night’s federal election. As of about 2 a.m. CT on Tuesday, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals held onto power in a minority government with 157 of 338 seats, ahead of Andrew Scheer’s Conservatives […] Read more
New EU import curbs on fruit not Canada-specific
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ottawa | Reuters — New European Union rules that could block shipments of Canadian cherries and other fruits to the 28-nation grouping apply to all countries and “was not unusual,” a senior Canadian official said on Friday. The clarification from federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau came a day after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) […] Read more
Future payouts from dairy fund still up for discussion
Reading Time: 2 minutes What happens to the rest of Canada’s eight-year, $1.75 billion funding envelope to compensate its dairy farmers for other countries’ gains in market access is still up for discussion, according to the federal ag minister. In a statement Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said Ottawa gets that Canadian dairy farmers want more direct payments beyond […] Read more
Grain growers get extension on 2018 APP repayment
Reading Time: 2 minutes Grain, oilseed and pulse crop growers who took out cash advances from the Advance Payments Program for the 2018-19 crop year will get an extra six months to repay, effective Friday. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Thursday announced a six-month stay of default for APP advances on grains, oilseeds and pulses, to March 31, […] Read more
Federal government funding $6 million to Canada Pork International
Reading Time: 2 minutes Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has announced $6 million will be invested in Canada Pork International (CPI) to focus on strengthening, diversifying and growing of Canada’s pork exports. It will help to boost the awareness of the industry in the priority international markets. Why it matters: A halt to exports to China has made finding other […] Read more
Supply-managed sector compensation details due before election
Reading Time: 3 minutes Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has pledged to lay out details on trade pact compensation for supply-managed sectors before the federal election in October. The pledge comes as the federal Liberals face pressure from supply-managed sectors and the federal opposition Conservatives to deliver on compensation for access granted to the Canadian market under Canada’s free […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
