Policy Areas

Union Farmer Quarterly: Fall 2019

In this issue: Messages from the Editorial Advisory Committee, President Katie Ward, Youth President Stuart Oke; Regional Coordinators It’s a blast from the past! In celebration of the NFU’s 50th Anniversary, we are profiling some of the folks who have held national elected positions over the years, including Ann Slater, NFU Vice President (Policy), 2013 Read more

Union Farmer Newsletter: October – November 2019

Inside this issue … Seed Synergy update: Seed industry groups are preparing to consolidate power in one big organization —  Five of the six Seed Synergy groups are trying to merge into one big group as part of their push to get control of Canada’s seed regulatory system. GM Herbicide-Tolerant Crop Concerns — Bayer is Read more

La Via Campesina response to USMCA

The original North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA, or TLCAN) devastated rural communities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. From displacing peasants in Mexico and forcing millions of them to migrate north, to the forced removal of trade protections for family farmers in Canada and the United States, the 1990s experiment with free trade Read more

Who’s in Charge of Agricultural Policy?

While harvest will take top billing in farmers’ minds as we put in the long hours that lie ahead of us, other issues have to be considered. Two of the most important are Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s (AAFC) attack on farmers’ right to freely use our own seed, and AAFC’s seemingly unsupervised rewriting of the Read more

Celebrating Evelyn Potter’s life and reflecting on the impact of her work

I first heard the name Evelyn Potter at my first National Farmers Union Convention in Ottawa in 2009. It was the 40th Anniversary of the NFU. Unfortunately Evelyn was unable to attend in person as planned, but her written address was read to the convention as the NFU’s First Women’s president to mark this significant Read more

Letter: CGC, mandate to protect farmers’ interests, are essential

Over the past several months, Agriculture Canada and the grain companies, in concert with the current senior staff of the CGC, have been re-writing the Canada Grain Act, mostly behind closed doors . Grain company foxes are advising on how to guard the producers’ hen house. Read more

Union Farmer Newsletter: July – August 2019

Inside this issue … Realized Net Farm Income nose-dives — Taken altogether, Canadian farmers’ total take-home pay dropped by nearly half in just one year. Save Our Seed Campaign — Petition update New Animal Welfare Legislation planned for Ontario — In June 2019, the NFU-O submitted the following input to the public consultation towards a Read more

National Food Policy must be seen as a base for further action

The Food Policy for Canada is a first step towards bringing food, farmers and the people of Canada who eat the food we produce, into the forefront of Canada’s agriculture policy priorities Read more

NFU congratulates Manitoba on new GROW Program to enhance environmental action

The GROW Program is a good first step that will help farmers invest in environmental solutions. The NFU in Manitoba is looking forward to participating in the consultations that will develop the details of this program and create a base for expanding and deepening the on-farm environmental enhancement efforts we will need to make a substantial impact. Read more

NFU letter supportive of GROW Program

The Growing Outcomes in Watersheds (GROW) Program is a step in the right direction to help Manitoba farmers become a bigger part of the climate solution Read more