Policy Areas

The NFU and La Via Campesina demand peasant rights NOW

On April 17th each year La Via Campesina (LVC), the international movement of 200 million peasants, small and medium-size farmers, landless people, rural women and youth, Indigenous people, migrants and agricultural workers from around the world, commemorates the massacre of landless peasants in Eldorado dos Carajás, Brazil in 1996. The peasants were slaughtered while struggling Read more

NFU-O pleased with new Wildlife Damage Compensation and Commodity Loan Guarantee Programs

The NFU-O is pleased to see that OMAFRA has listened to farmers regarding compensation for livestock predation and adjusting the Commodity Loan Guarantee Program (CLGP) for farmers affected by high levels of Deoxynivalenol (DON) in their corn; both of which issues the NFU-O has raised directly with the Minister. “It is rewarding to see that Read more

Union Farmer Quarterly: Winter 2019

In this issue: Messages from the Editorial Advisory Committee, President Katie Ward, Women’s President Toby Malloy, Youth President Stuart Oke; reports from First-Time Convention Attendees Introducing Jessie Macinnis, Youth Vice President; Riley Côté-Demerchant, Region 1 Board Member Resolutions passed at the NFU’s 49th Annual Convention, November 22nd to 24th, 2018 – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Remembering Brendan Read more

Union Farmer Newsletter: January – February 2019

Farm Saved Seed Royalties: What you need to know – The corporate seed industry is lobbying the federal government to bring in new regulations under Canada’s Plant Breeders Rights Act to set up a system that would force farmers who plant newer varieties to pay a royalty every year even when planting farm saved seed. This Read more

Why the NFU is in court supporting federal jurisdiction over greenhouse gas pollution pricing

Click here to read the NFU's affidavit - The NFU’s intervention in support of federal jurisdiction over greenhouse gas pollution pricing is not an endorsement of the current federal government’s measures. Rather, the NFU recognizes that a national framework needs to be created through the principles of co-operative federalism, and this requires federal leadership and enforcement powers. Read more

UN Declaration on the rights of peasants formally adopted by General Assembly

La Via Campesina makes history

La Via Campesina makes history as UN Declaration on the rights of peasants is formally adopted by General Assembly, Dec 17, 2018 Read more

Op-Ed: Oil, dairy supply management paradox points to need for a new policy direction

On December 2, the Alberta government announced it will impose production discipline on the province’s oil companies to bring the price of bitumen-based oil above its cost of production. This came in response to it being discounted by over $50 per barrel compared to higher-grade West Texas Intermediate oil. Falling prices would soon cause oil Read more

National Farmers Union and Union Paysanne stand in solidarity with Unist’ot’en

Saskatoon, SK — The National Farmers Union (NFU) and Union Paysanne (UP) stand in solidarity with the Unist’ot’en camp against recent actions by Coastal GasLink Pipeline company that threatens Indigenous rights and sovereignty. The Unist’ot’en camp is a permanent, non-violent Indigenous re-occupation of Wet’suwet’en land which has been a means for members of the Wet’suwet’en Read more

NFU urges Ontario government to reverse cuts to Francophone services

Saskatoon – Following rallies in over 40 communities across Ontario this weekend, the National Farmers Union (NFU) is reaching out to the Ontario government urging respect for the improvements and culture Franco-Ontarians have contributed to our society. “Our farming members in Ontario, and particularly our Francophone farmers, have reached out to our membership across the country because Read more

NFU applies for Intervenor Status in Climate Change Constitutional Case

In April 2018 the government of Saskatchewan decided to challenge the federal government’s jurisdiction in regard to climate action measures, arguing its Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act reaches beyond federal powers. To date, the governments of Ontario and New Brunswick are intervening in support of Saskatchewan while the government of BC is supporting the federal Read more