Trade

Take Action: Save Supply Management – Support Bill C-216

Bill C-216 is a Private Member’s Bill that will be voted on in Canada’s Parliament. If it is passed into law, this short, simple bill will make it illegal for future trade agreements to give away any more access to our supply managed markets. Read more

NFU urges MPs to safeguard supply management by passing Bill C-216

The National Farmers Union (NFU) is urging Members of Parliament to support Bill C-216, which would make it illegal for any future trade agreement to provide more foreign access to Canada’s supply-managed markets. The supply management system stands upon three pillars: production discipline, which ensures farmers produce no more or less than the market needs; Read more

NFU Submission on Bill C-216 Supply Management

The NFU supports Bill C-216, which would ensure that in all future trade agreement negotiations, the government of Canada would not commit to any further foreign access to Canadian supply-managed markets and would not lower or eliminate tariffs on supply-managed goods that are imported over and above existing Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) levels. Read more

Op Ed: Seed is key to the kingdom

By Cathy Holtslander This Op Ed was originally published by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives on The Monitor Online. On March 31, newly confirmed United States Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai published the 2021 National Trade Estimate (NTE) Report detailing perceived significant trade barriers for U.S. exports. Eleven pages are devoted to Canada, including a section Read more

Strengthening the Canada Grain Act and the CGC is critical to farmers’ future

"Changes in the grain handling system since the last major review of the Act have resulted in gaps where CGC lacks the authority to fully safeguard farmers’ interests. The need for a strong regulator has not gone away,” said NFU 2nd VP Stewart Wells. The Act is the solid foundation of our grain economy, our farmers’ livelihoods and our domestic and international customers’ confidence. The NFU is pleased to offer recommendations for making the CGA and the CGC even stronger Read more

Op-Ed: Regenerate Canada’s beef sector by addressing corporate concentration

By Iain Aitken In a recent report from Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA), its president Bob Lowe stated that there is a critical need for better Business Risk Management tools for the beef sector. In addition to improving coverage for cow/calf producers by seeking the removal of the reference margin limit, he calls for raising the Read more

NFU Letter to CITT re Injury to Canadian Soybean Producers

Trade data suggests that the US MFP program allowed traders to purchase imported subsidized US soy at lower prices, causing prices to Canadian producers to go down and denying our farmers the opportunity to benefit from high Chinese demand. We believe the injury to Canadian farmers is clear, and that a proper investigation into the extent of harm is needed. Read more

Union Farmers Newsletter: July 2020

Inside this issue … Envisioning a Post-Pandemic Agriculture and Food System: A sustainable and just food system for Canada as proposed by the National Farmers Union to mitigate and prevent multiple cascading crises and provide the foundation of a good life. 2019 Farm Revenue and Expense Data: Farm income not as “high” as first appears, Read more

Union Farmer Newsletter: April 2020

Inside this issue … Public consultation on Canada Grain Act planned – A public review of the Canada Grain Act  is planned from April 1 to June 1, 2020. The consultation will deal with broad areas of policy and vision, with details to be developed in 2020-21 based on stakeholder feedback. Seed lobby sets up pilot Read more

Will Canada’s grain farmers be collateral damage in the rush to pass Bill C-4?

Bill C-4 included a series of omnibus style amendments to the Canada Grain Act that affect the Canadian Grain Commission which were not negotiated in CUSMA and have nothing to do with implementing the trade deal. Read more