Keith Currie was acclaimed to a second term as OFA president at the organization’s annual meeting Nov. 20-21 in Toronto. (John Greig photo)

OFA pre-election policy targets broader economic development

Reading Time: 3 minutes Stable rural areas and thriving farms can help urbanites with some of their biggest challenges. That’s the message from the Ontario Federation of Agriculture going into next year’s provincial election. The OFA talked about how it is framing its election strategy at its annual meeting, which ran Monday and Tuesday in Toronto. “With the election […] Read more

Alan McIsaac, shown here last month visiting Charlottetown’s St. Jean Elementary School in his role as minister of education and early childhood development, now leads a reorganized ministry of agriculture and fisheries. (Brian Simpson photo courtesy Government of P.E.I.)

P.E.I. farms and fisheries ministries merge

Reading Time: 2 minutes A reorganization of Prince Edward Island’s government departments will see agriculture split from forestry and instead paired with fisheries. Having returned to office in the May 4 election, Premier Wade MacLauchlan on Wednesday announced his new cabinet, appointing former education and transportation minister Alan McIsaac as minister of agriculture and fisheries. As the agriculture and […] Read more


N.S. consolidates inspections in cost-cutting budget

Reading Time: 2 minutes Nova Scotia is set to gather its agricultural, environmental and public health inspection work into one department, along with other consolidation and cuts in its latest budget. Finance Minister Diana Whalen’s 2015-16 budget, released Thursday, calls for consolidation of inspection, compliance and enforcement functions in its Natural Resources, Agriculture, Fisheries and Environment departments, plus its […] Read more