Environment

Emergency flood relief, infrastructure maintenance and climate policy all needed, says NFU

<strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span(JULY 3, 2014,</strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span <strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</spanDeleau, MB)</strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span- Intense, widespread flooding in eastern Saskatchewan and western Manitoba over the Canada Day weekend has caused unprecedented damage to farms, crops, farmland and rural infrastructure. The National Farmers Union (NFU) urges the federal and provincial governments to provide a stream-lined process to get emergency relief funds to all affected farmers as quickly as possible. Rural Municipalities must be funded to maintain and upgrade infrastructure to handle more frequent and severe storms. The NFU also calls upon all levels of government to implement effective greenhouse gas reduction policies to prevent the acceleration of climatic instability. “We know about spring flooding, but now we are also getting flooded by huge rainstorms that last for days. It’s like an inland hurricane,” said NFU Region 5 (MB) Coordinator, Ian Robson. Read more

NFU calls for moratorium on neonicotinoid seed treatments

<strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</spanNFU calls on Senate Committee to recommend five-year moratorium on neonicotinoid seed treatments</strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span <strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span(May 1, 2014, Ottawa)</strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span – Today the National Farmers Union (NFU) appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry to provide Senators with the organization’s analysis and recommendations regarding the use of neonicotinoid seed treatments on field crops in Canada. The Senate Committee is currently studying the importance of bees and bee health in the production of honey, food and seed in Canada. “It has been little more than a decade since the product was introduced and already neonicotinoids are being used across Canada at an unprecedented scale, resulting in significant harm to bees and likely to wild pollinators and natural ecosystems as well,” said Ann Slater, NFU Vice-President, Policy. Read more

The Importance of Bees and Bee Health

Download PDF Version National Farmers UnionSubmission toStanding Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestryon The Importance of Bees and Bee HealthMay 1, 2014The National Farmers Union (NFU) is a non-partisan, nation-wide democratic organization made up of thousands of farm families across Canada who produce a wide variety of commodities, including grains and oilseeds, livestock, honey, fruits and vegetables. The NFU was founded in 1969. Our mandate is to work for policies designed to: Read more

Bill 24, The Agricultural Land Commission Amendment Act, 2014

Download PDF version April 30, 2014Hon. Christy Clark, PremierPO Box 9041Stn Prov GovtVictoria, BC V8W 9E1 (Email: premier@gov.bc.ca) Dear Premier Clark: Re: BILL 24, the AGRICULTURAL LAND COMMISSION AMENDMENT ACT, 2014 The National Farmers Union (NFU) is deeply concerned about the changes to the Agricultural Land Commission Act that your government is proposing through BILL 24, the AGRICULTURAL LAND COMMISSION AMENDMENT ACT, 2014. Read more

NFU Asks Premier Clark to Reconsider Bill 24

<strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</spanNFU Asks Premier Clark to Reconsider Bill 24</strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span (<strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</spanApril 30, 2014, </strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</spanVictoria) Today the National Farmers Union (NFU) sent BC Premier Christy Clark a six-page letter detailing the organization’s concerns regarding Bill 24, the <em<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</spanAgricultural Land Commission Amendment Act</em<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span. The Bill, currently before the BC Legislature, would re-structure the Agricultural Land Commission (ALC) decision-making processes and create a 2-tiered system that would result in most of BC’s farmland becoming more vulnerable to development pressure. “BC farmland has been protected by legislation, and as a result, BC has been much more successful that Canada as a whole in keeping both farms and farmers,” said Alberta dairy farmer and NFU President, Jan Slomp. Read more

Submission Concerning the Threat of Lifting the Moratorium on Permits for High Capacity Wells

Presented to the Standing Committee on Agriculture, Environment, Energy and Forestry of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown PEI, March 6, 2014 Read more

Line 9 Reversal Approval Serves Enbridge’s Interests, not the Public’s, says NFU Ontario

<span<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span </span<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span(March 14, 2014 - Gananoque, ON) – When the National Energy Board approved Enbridge’s Line 9 project, which will reverse the flow and increase the pressure in the pipeline, it set conditions that protect the company’s financial interests while off-loading risks and costs onto the public, according to Rick Munroe of the National Farmers Union - Ontario (NFU-O). Read more

NFU Submission – Action to Protect Bees from Exposure to Neonicotinoid Pesticides

The National Farmers Union has submitted the following comments to Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) consultation on Action to Protect Bees from Exposure to Neonicotinoid Pesticides. PDF Version of NFU's submission December 10, 2013<div Read more

Submission to ERCB on Fracking Regulation

The National Farmers Union has submitted feedback to the Alberta Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) Consultation on its Proposed Regulatory Approach for Unconventional Oil and Gas Development. Read more

NFU response to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Environmental Impact Statement on Roundup Ready Alfalfa

() of Canada welcomes the opportunity to file comments in relation to Docket No. APHIS-2007-0044, specifically the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) released December 14, 2009 by the United States Department of Agriculture. The has many serious concerns regarding the EIS, and strongly opposes the APHIS decision to grant non-regulated status to two genetically-modified (GM) or Read more