Reading Time: < 1 minute An Edmonton Realtor turned provincial MLA is Alberta’s new official opposition critic for agriculture and forestry. Rachel Notley, leader of the province’s opposition New Democrats, on Monday announced her shadow cabinet and named Lorne Dach, MLA for Edmonton-McClung, as the party’s ag critic. Dach came to the legislature in the 2015 election with a political […] Read more
West Edmonton MLA named Alberta ag critic
Alberta ag minister Carlier downed in UCP win
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s incumbent agriculture minister was among the casualties as Jason Kenney’s United Conservative Party defeated Rachel Notley’s New Democrats in Tuesday night’s provincial election. Oneil Carlier, the provincial NDP government’s minister of agriculture and forestry since May 2015 and deputy government house leader since February 2016, was unseated in his riding of Lac Ste. Anne-Parkland […] Read more
USMCA costs Canada sovereignty in ag policy, critics warn
Reading Time: 4 minutes Changes to Canadian dairy supply management in the final text of the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement give up oversight of the system to the U.S., Canada’s dairy farmer group warns. The trade deal, signed Friday in Buenos Aires by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Donald Trump and Mexico’s outgoing President Enrique Pena Nieto, now goes […] Read more
Wheat shipment halt seen as temporary
Reading Time: 4 minutes Wheat sales are expected to soon resume to Japan and South Korea. Both nations suspended Canadian wheat imports following the June 15 announcement that Canada had discovered several genetically modified (GM) wheat plants in southern Alberta. But both are expected to come back to the market shortly, while exports to others won’t be affected, according […] Read more
B.C. MP named NDP ag critic in shadow cabinet shuffle
Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal New Democrats have picked a rookie MP and small farm owner from southern Vancouver Island’s Cowichan Valley as their new lead critic for agriculture. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh on Thursday named Alistair MacGregor as critic for agriculture and agri-food, a role in which he’ll also serve as second vice-chair of the Commons standing […] Read more
Manitoba NDP names new ag critic
Reading Time: < 1 minute Manitoba’s former education minister has been pressed into service as the new agriculture critic for the provincial legislature’s official opposition. Wab Kinew, who was elected Saturday as the leader of the opposition New Democrats, on Thursday named James Allum, the MLA for the Winnipeg riding of Fort Garry-Riverview, as the critic for agriculture. Allum will […] Read more
B.C. ag minister, ag critic hang on in election
Reading Time: < 1 minute British Columbia’s incumbent agriculture minister and opposition agriculture critic have both held onto their seats in the legislature so far through the province’s harrowing election Tuesday. Complete results aren’t expected to be available until after the final count starting May 22, but preliminary results put the province’s governing Liberals in minority status with 43 of […] Read more
MP calls for mandatory GMO labels, echoes Vermont regulations
Reading Time: 3 minutes CNS Canada — A Quebec MP has tabled a new bill calling for mandatory labelling of genetically modified (GM) foods, following steps taken by lawmakers south of the border. Pierre-Luc Dusseault, the New Democrat MP for Sherbrooke, introduced Bill C-291 Tuesday morning, calling for the mandatory labelling of genetically engineered (GE) foods in Canada. Dusseault […] Read more
Saskatchewan ag minister, ag critic return in election
Reading Time: 2 minutes Saskatchewan’s agriculture minister and opposition ag critic both easily held their ridings Monday night as the governing Saskatchewan Party completed its electoral hat trick. By about 1 a.m. Tuesday, Premier Brad Wall’s Saskatchewan Party had won 51 of 61 ridings, for a third straight majority mandate coming out of Monday’s general election. The opposition New […] Read more
The national cost of Alberta’s Bill 6
Farm outrage at the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act may have already backfired
Reading Time: 5 minutes As 2015 came to a close, Canadians watched Alberta farmers hold massive rallies against legislation intended to improve farm safety. They listened to farmers raging against the costs Bill 6 would impose on their operations, with farmers saying the legislation will destroy family farms. They heard farmers complain they hadn’t been consulted in the drafting […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
