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Union Farmer Newsletter: February 2023

In this issue: Advocating for farmland protection in Ontario Towards a National Agricultural Labour Strategy that works for Farmers and Farm Workers Public transit should not stop at the city Read more

Why farmers are not celebrating CETA’s five-year anniversary

September 21 marked the five-year anniversary of the provisional application of the Canada–EU Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). It is no surprise to the National Farmers Union (NFU) that farmers are not happy with the results. Negotiations on the agricultural chapter were strained to the point that it was one of the last areas to be agreed upon. In the media, the issues were presented as a trade-off between allowing the EU more access to our supply-managed dairy market in return for gaining more access to the EU’s market for Canadian beef. Some political commentators looked for cheap points by framing this purported stalemate as a conflict between western ranchers and dairy producers in Ontario and Quebec. The NFU had a more sophisticated analysis, which time has proven to be accurate. Read more

Taking Stock of Abattoir Regulations

How provincial rules help or hinder regional meat production

The NFU's Taking Stock of Abattoir Regulations report reviews provincial regulations on slaughter, meat processing (cut/wrap), and marketing across Canada. It highlights common points and differences among the regulations, and identifies where specific aspects of these regulations (or how they are applied) create barriers to local and regional meat production, as well as those pieces that support thriving local and regional food systems and local producers. Read more

Urgent need for support to increase local and regional abattoir capacity

The increase in demand for locally produced food, particularly meat, in response to COVID has been widely reported all across Canada. This has the makings of an economic success story – a silver lining in the pandemic’s very dark cloud – but serious, targeted investment in to create and expand its infrastructure is needed to allow this emerging source of local prosperity to become well established. Read more

Letter – Time to rebuild our meat processing system

Smaller, safer slaughter plants in each province would disperse threats to food security. If one plant was forced to close it would not disrupt the food chain across the entire country. Providing safe secure food from local farms to local consumers is entirely possible without putting meat packing workers at risk. Bigger is not always better.  Read more

COVID emergency funds can help build a more robust food system

The pandemic shines a spotlight on vulnerabilities in our food system, providing the opportunity to use emergency supports to create the foundation for a more robust and resilient food system. Read more

Food and Agriculture – Lessons from the Pandemic

With the current corona virus crisis taking place on our planet, as farmers and as consumers, we should be ready to support health authorities everywhere in the world. This is Read more

UNF Présentation au Comité sénatorial sur les priorités d’accès au marché international

<strong<span class="fa-solid fa-angles-right"</spanPrésentation de l’Union nationale des fermiers au Comité sénatorial de l’agriculture et des forêts </strong<span class="fa-solid fa-angles-right"</span<strong<span class="fa-solid fa-angles-right"</spanÉtude sur les priorités d’accès au marché international concernant le secteur agricole et agroalimentaire canadien</strong<span class="fa-solid fa-angles-right"</span <strong<span class="fa-solid fa-angles-right"</spanPrésentation du 2 juin 2015</strong<span class="fa-solid fa-angles-right"</spanversion PDF Lire la transcription officielle de la réunion du Comité du Sénat avec témoin de Terry Boehm L’Union nationale des fermiers (UNF) est une organisation nationale bénévole, non partisane et avec adhésion directe, Read more

NFU brief to Senate study on international market access priorities

The NFU believes that international relations must be based on mutual respect for the whole of each society, that trade can be conducted fairly without destroying the cultural and economic institutions people have built, and that democracy means that people have a real say in the economic choices that affect their lives. We urge that the federal government develop a national food and agriculture policy that reflects these values instead of pursuing the ever-tightening noose of corporate control embodied in the FTAs. Read more

Agricultural Impacts of CETA

Submission to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food regardingAgricultural Impacts of the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade AgreementPDF VersionDecember 5, 2014 The National Farmers Union (NFU) welcomes the opportunity to present our views on the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). The 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, dairy, fruits and vegetables. The NFU was founded in 1969. Our mandate is to work for policies designed to: Read more