Union Farmer Newsletter: September 2023
In this issue: “Let them eat concrete” Ontario’s farmers are fed up with the Greenbelt giveaways Farmers unite to defeat Canadian Grain Commission’s (CGC) unfair change to grading standards NFU Read more
Agricultural GHG Emissions, A Comprehensive Analysis: New NFU report
SASKATOON, SK—The National Farmers Union (NFU) today released the Third Edition of its report: Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Canada: A Comprehensive Assessment. The most detailed report of its kind, Read more
Bunge-Viterra merger has drastic implications for Canadian farmers
Just five companies known as the “ABCD group” control 90% of the world grain trade – and the B in this group is about to get much bigger. B is Read more
Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill Consultation
Our fundamental concern is that Incorporation by Reference (IBR) separates law-making from democratic oversight by Parliament. The authority to use IBR transfers power to create and amend regulations from elected representatives to unelected bureaucrats who are not directly accountable to voters. Combined with a regulatory policy that gives privileged access to corporations, the proposed use of IBR for internally-generated documents enables, encourages, and may even institutionalize the influence of lobbyist working on behalf of regulated parties over public regulators who should be working for the broader public interest. This unacceptably widens the gap between those responsible to the public and those making the laws that govern the public. Read more
Take Action: Reverse CFIA decision on gene edited seed regulation!
On May 3, 2023 Agriculture Minister Bibeau approved the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regulatory guidance on gene-edited genetically engineered (genetically modified or GM) plants and seed, making many of Read more
Federal government allows biotechnology companies free reign in the food system, removes safety checks on corporate science and denies transparency to farmers and food companies
Today, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food has approved changes to Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regulatory guidance that, along with similar changes permitted by the Minister of Health in Read more
Aggregate Data on Farmgate and Retail Food Prices
National Farmers Union’s Submission to House of Commons Standing Committee Canadians have been struggling to afford groceries. Many farmers have been struggling to make a living. Food retailers and processors, however, Read more
The Competition Act as a Tool for Democracy – Fairness for Farmers
The Competition Act can be a powerful tool for balancing the Canadian economy by tempering the positive feedback loops that lead to ever larger, more powerful corporations concentrating wealth and shaping ever larger parts of the economy through their ability to set the terms of commerce as a result of their dominance within the market. The Competition Act needs to be designed as a tool for democracy, to ensure Canadians have a diversity of meaningful and accessible ways to participate in society as producers, workers, and small business owners. Read more
Letter to Prime Minister Trudeau re President of the CFIA
Upon learning that the President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency retired effective January 20, 2022, the NFU sent the following letter to Prime Minister Trudeau. Dear Prime Minister Trudeau, Read more
Statement on ISDS and climate
Civil society organisations are calling on governments to remove the threat that ISDS (investor state dispute settlement) poses to the climate. The following statement outlines our primary concerns and demands. Read more