Nov 22 2019 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — So, it’s over – for now at least. Thursday was the last day of Congressional public hearings on the impeachment trial of Donald Trump. Some things are now clear: Whether rising to impeachment levels or not, Donald Trump is in a lot of trouble The professional intelligence and diplomatic presentations were something of a […]
Nov 21 2019 — Kennedy Stewart — National Newswatch — The rest of Canada needs to know not all Westerners feel alienated from Ottawa. Not by a long shot. Here in Vancouver, we want a strengthened relationship, not a divorce. We need help with housing, drug overdoses, and public transit and are ready right now to move forward together. On housing, we are stretching our […]
Nov 21 2019 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Political parties, farm groups, shippers united in demands to end the strike. Ottawa—Transport Minister Marc Garneau says a solution to end the CN rail strike is at hand and the government will keep pushing the two sides to come to a new labour agreement. “We believe that there is a light at the end […]
Nov 20 2019 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Economic impact could be as great as health threat. Ottawa—Growing resistance to modern medicines is not only a threat to the health of Canadians, it could become an economic disaster if action isn’t taken, warns a report from the Canadian Council of Academics (CCA). “For a country such as Canada, the implications of antimicrobial […]
Nov 20 2019 — Glen Pearson — National Newswatch — Last year at this time everyone was talking about populism, the Alt-Right movement, authoritarianism and what seemed like the slide towards global anarchy. These were, and remain, significant enough to undo more enfeebled democracies around the world. While the outsized dealings of Donald Trump continue to sow confusion and alarm, other developed nations face their […]
Nov 15 2019 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — The Harvest from Hell is stressing farmers across the country. Ottawa- Ontario and Alberta farm groups have fired off urgent appeals for government financial help for producers struggling with a weather-disrupted harvest made worse by the imposition of the federal carbon tax on fuel used to dry grain. Grain Farmers of Ontario and a […]
Nov 15 2019 — John Milloy — National Newswatch — There were many casualties in our recent federal election: truth, civility and reasoned public debate – to name only three. The greatest wounds, however, appear to have been inflicted on the notion that people of faith can contribute — in a positive way — to political discourse. Instead, we witnessed religious faith caricatured, maligned and […]
Nov 14 2019 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Much better data on the environmental performance of agrifood is needed. Ottawa—The agrifood sector comes in for plenty of criticism about its impact on the environment and it’s time to adopt a new response to the critics, says Gord Bacon, CEO of Pulse Canada. Farmers and food processors have taken a lot of steps […]
Nov 13 2019 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Canada should encourage more countries to join the Pacific free trade deal. Ottawa—The Trudeau government should push ahead with obtaining final approval for the new NAFTA trade deal once Parliament starts sitting in December, says the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Coalition (CAFTA). While U.S. approval of the deal remains in doubt, Canada should still proceed […]
Nov 12 2019 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Getting governments onside will be key. Ottawa—The biggest challenge facing the Canada 2020 team working to make the Canada Brand on food products a global hit is ensuring governments get the message and perform their parts. A two-day conference here in early November showed the agrifood sector generally concurs on the need to grow […]
Nov 11 2019 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — It plans to encourage its suppliers to work to the same goal. Ottawa–Maple Leaf Foods has become the first food company to reach carbon neutrality in its processing operations and wants to encourage its meat, grain and other suppliers to work toward the same goal. Michael McCain, President and CEO, told a Nov. 7 news […]
Nov 8 2019 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Ottawa—After a late spring, a soggy fall and months of roller-coaster international markets, farmers could hardly be blamed for wondering how they will get through to 2020. Farm Credit Canada wants them to know its staffers will be there for them, says President and CEO Michael Hoffort. “2019 has not been an easy year for […]
Nov 7 2019 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — Boosting Canadian food exports will require close industry-government cooperation. Ottawa—While the agrifood sector and the federal government have embraced an ambitious export growth target, ensuring all the required steps are taken to achieve it remains a big challenge, speakers to the Canada 2020 Canada Brand conference said. By the end of the two-day gathering […]
Nov 6 2019 — Rick Smith — National Newswatch — At a certain point, progressives really need to come to terms with the core truth of modern conservatism: they just aren’t that conservative anymore. Far from being “cautious of change”, as my on-line dictionary defines them, today’s conservatives revel in their role as disruptors. Wherever you look around the world — from Brexit to border […]
Nov 6 2019 — Alex Binkley — National Newswatch — No progress yet on blocked canola seed. Ottawa– After four months of blocking Canadian pork and beef imports, China is reopening its market to them but there’s no word yet on if and when canola seed will be readmitted by Beijing. News of the reopening came just before a meat industry mission led by […]