Insights and Stories on General

Federal budget to offer direct payments to farmers for carbon pricing

Apr. 19, 2021 at 4:50 pm CDT

The federal government’s 2021 budget offers up new spending to support farmers combatting climate change through targeted investments — and, in some cases, direct payments. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland released the budget Monday, showing the majority of new spending will take place over three years and be largely focused on […]

Conservatives’ new climate plan puts price on carbon

Apr. 17, 2021 at 6:06 am CDT

By D.C. Fraser

Agriculture, agrifood wish lists pile up ahead of long-delayed budget

Apr. 16, 2021 at 8:20 pm CDT

By D.C. Fraser

On-farm cybersecurity campaign gets backing

Apr. 12, 2021 at 5:09 pm CDT

By Dave Bedard

Manitoba’s education tax phase-out begins

Apr. 8, 2021 at 12:41 am CDT

By Dave Bedard

Saskatchewan to pare school tax mill rate for farmland

Apr. 6, 2021 at 11:33 pm CDT

Saskatchewan’s latest budget taps down the education property tax (EPT) mill rate it sets on farmland, while raising those mill rates on other property classes. The provincial government, in Tuesday’s budget, set the provincewide EPT mill rate on agricultural land for 2021 at 1.36, down slightly from the previous rate […]

By Dave Bedard

Alberta ag lender drops rural business loans

Apr. 5, 2021 at 6:04 pm CDT

A program offering term loans to small- and medium-sized businesses in rural Alberta is off the provincial ag lending agency’s menu. Alberta’s Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) announced Thursday it had discontinued its Rural Business Loan Program effective immediately, so as to “concentrate its efforts on agricultural producers and agribusinesses.” […]

By Dave Bedard

Quebec to reduce onus for farm workers seeking workers’ comp for Parkinson’s

Mar. 31, 2021 at 3:59 am CDT

Some Quebec farmers and farm workers with Parkinson’s disease may soon have an easier path to seek workers’ compensation — if they can show at least a certain amount of exposure to pesticides. Provincial Labour Minister Jean Boulet on Tuesday tabled an amendment to bill 59, draft legislation that includes […]

By Dave Bedard

Top court upholds federal carbon pricing policy

Mar. 25, 2021 at 8:28 pm CDT

Calgary/Ottawa | Reuters — Canada’s Supreme Court ruled in favour of the federal government’s carbon pricing policy on Thursday, upholding a central pillar of Prime Minister Justin’s Trudeau’s climate plan and infuriating some provinces that opposed it. The country’s top court said climate change is a threat to Canada as […]

By Nia Williams Steve Scherer

Ag ministers withdraw AgriStability reference margin limit

Mar. 25, 2021 at 5:25 pm CDT

In a move expected to provide $95 million in additional farm support per year, Canada’s ag ministers have agreed to remove the reference margin limit from the AgriStability farm income stabilization program. “That’s it! The ‘reference margin limit’ of the #AgriStability program is over! And it will be retroactive to […]

By Dave Bedard