Orderly marketing

NFU sends Ag Ministers input for next agriculture policy framework

In advance of the annual conference of Federal, Provincial and Territorial (FPT) Agriculture Ministers to be held in Calgary, July 20-22, 2016, the National Farmers Union (NFU) sent a letter to each of the ministers with input regarding the next agriculture policy framework. Read more

Federal Budget – The NFU’s Recommendations

The Federal Budget will be tabled in Parliament on March 22, 2016. () presented its recommendations to the House of Commons Finance Committee during its pre-budget consultation process. The is calling for the budget to: Rebuild agriculture institutions through return to prior funding levels (at least) and by renewing their commitment to the public interest. Read more

Strengthening Supply Management – Defending Canadian control of our market space and advancing food sovereignty

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Letter: Public Audit of Canadian Wheat Board’s Assets and their Disposition to G3

PDF version of the letter The Honourable Ralph Goodale House of Commons Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0A6 Email: ralph.goodale@parl.gc.ca Dear Minister Goodale, Re: Public Audit of Canadian Wheat Board’s Assets and their Disposition to G3 was pleased to hear that you are looking into what happened to the Canadian Wheat Board and its assets under the Read more

NFU warns of Bill C-48’s effect on feed mill licensing, low-protein wheat class proposals

(May 7, 2015) - Bill C-48, <em<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</spanAn Act to amend the Canada Grain Act</em<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span, introduced on December 9, 2014, would make significant changes to how the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) operates, change the CGC’s mandate and eliminate the CGC’s duty to report to Parliament annually. Read more

NFU disappointed Supreme Court not hearing CWB class action case

(<strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</spanApril 10, 2015, Saskatoon</strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span) - The National Farmers Union (NFU) is disappointed that the Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear the farmers’ Class Action lawsuit stemming from the Harper Government’s dismantling of the single-desk Canadian Wheat Board (CWB). Had the case proceeded, the Supreme Court would have been able to determine whether common law property rights apply to collective interests in property, namely the assets farmers paid for and added value to as a result of their management and direction of the CWB. The central question of the case was “Did the federal government unlawfully expropriate a proprietary interest of grain producers in the CWB by enacting the <em<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</spanMarketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act</em<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span in 2011?” The class action also claimed that by dismantling the single desk CWB, the government unjustly broke its trust and interfered with farmers’ economic relations. Read more

Privatization of CWB assets in secret will help government and grain companies — not farmers, says NFU

<strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span(October 23, 2014, Saskatoon)</strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span – The privatization of the physical assets of the CWB is fraught with problems, according to an analysis from the National Farmers Union (NFU). Secrecy surrounds the impending deal: the FNA, which is seeking investors, agreed to non-disclosure terms; Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz withheld all financial information from the public tabling of the CWB annual report; and the CWB is not revealing the criteria it is using to assess competing bids. “Public accountability has been dismantled along with the single desk,” said Jan Slomp, NFU President. “When the so-called Marketing Freedom Act was drawn up, the government added wording that allows the Minister to keep the public in the dark. Read more

Vote with your food dollar, NFU Women’s Vice-President urges

<strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</span(June 10, 2014 - Saskatoon, SK) – </strong<span class="nfu nfu-angle-double-right"</spanEaters (consumers) have the power to help farmers cover production costs and earn a decent income. Each person can “vote” with their food dollar by purchasing from local producers at farmers’ markets, through community-supported agriculture or farmer direct sales. This was the message from Marcella Pedersen of Cut Knife, SK, Women’s Vice-President of the National Farmers Union (NFU) who met recently with Ontario NFU members in London, Orangeville, Kingston, Renfrew and Ottawa. Pedersen stated, “People understand the concepts of food safety and food security, but few understand the principles of food sovereignty. Food sovereignty is based on local decision-making – farmers deciding what they want to grow and consumers deciding what they want to eat and who they want to buy it from. Read more

NFU says farmers bear enormous costs from Ritz’s failure to plan

(March 10, 2014 - Saskatoon, SK) – Although grain movement has been down since the beginning of November, 2013, Minister Ritz and Minister Raitt announced that railways would be required to double the grain volumes currently being shipped just as those companies were ready to gear up anyway. Ian McCreary, former CWB director and National Farmers Union (NFU) member, asked “Why now? Why wait four months to announce concrete actions that could have been taken much earlier?“ The railways will have four weeks to ramp up to ship a combined total of 1,000,000 metric tonnes a week or be penalized up to $100,000 per day for non-compliance. McCreary describes the problems with grain transportation as a big picture issue. Read more

Op Ed – Backlog in Grain is Connected to Backlog in Democracy

by Jan SlompBelieve it or not, there is a relationship between the backlog in prairie grain and the “Fair Elections Act.” Here’s how.As prairie farmers wait anxiously for the backlog in grain transportation to be resolved and for prices that at least cover cost of production, Minister Ritz and friends continue to meet with devotion in the sanctuary of “free-dumb.” Farmers on the prairies can no longer afford these bizarre ideas from Ritz and Co. Read more