Regulations

Seeds Canada amalgamation plan sidelines independent seed growers

No one can deny the importance of seed – to farmers and agriculture, and also to food security and society at large. The Seed Synergy groups are positioning themselves to not only influence, but replace the public regulator. If Seed Synergy’s amalgamation plans succeed, the independent seed grower will soon be a thing of the past, and democratically accountable public regulation process will be turned inside out, with self-interested corporations regulating farmers instead. Read more

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

Federal Environmental Assessment of drainage project needed

Letter in support of Blackbird Creek Drainage Project designation under CEAA 2012

The NFU sent the following letter to Environment Canada: The National Farmers Union (NFU) supports the designation under subsection 14(2) of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012) of the Smith Creek Regional Watershed Association Board’s proposed Blackbird Creek Drainage Project located approximately 50 kilometres east of Yorkton, Saskatchewan and approximately 6 km from Read more

Falling Number and DON as potential grading factors

NFU comments to the Canadian Grain Commission consultation

The National Farmers Union (NFU) is pleased to provide comments to the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) in regard to Falling Number and deoxynivalenol (DON) as potential official grain grading factors. Canada’s grading system is necessary to maximize the benefits to Canadian farmers from the international trade in grain and the net foreign exchange earnings they Read more

Canada has lost credibility and grain customer trust thanks to deregulation

With the end of the Canadian Wheat Board, grain companies are now in a position to take huge profits out of the Canadian prairies. Both the Harper and Trudeau administrations have played right into their hands by destroying Canada’s international credibility that made customers specify “source: Canadian.” Read more

Farmers’ right to seed is a matter of principle

by Ann Slater Last December the United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas. This declaration was brought forward by La Via Campesina (LVC) – a global movement which brings together organizations representing small- and medium-scale farmers, peasants, agricultural workers, rural women and indigenous communities. The Read more

Seed Synergy: the back story

Over the last two months farmers have become aware of an ominous drive coordinated by elements of Canada’s seed industry and financially aided by our Federal Government that is attempting to eliminate our right to freely save and reuse our own seed. Read more

As if the USMCA dairy concessions were not bad enough…

It is deeply concerning, though not surprising, that the proposed United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has at least three chapters that formally entrench corporate influence on government decision-making. Read more

NFU asks CGC Commissioners to uphold farmers’ interests and Canada’s grain quality standards

Saskatoon—On July 27, the National Farmers Union (NFU) wrote a letter to the three Commissioners of the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) to express serious concerns about a proposal being developed for a new Eastern wheat class. Read more