Latest news with #AgricultureandAgri-Food
Toronto Sun
29-05-2025
- Business
- Toronto Sun
CHARLEBOIS: Feds still think food industry ends at the farmgate
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Heath MacDonald, left, and Prime Minister Mark Carney. Photo by Postmedia file With the pomp of the opening ceremonies behind us, Canada's 45th Parliament is finally getting to work. A new government is in place, complete with a new minister of Agriculture, a throne speech, and a single, somewhat generic mandate letter. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Yet, for the agri-food sector, it all feels underwhelming. Heath MacDonald, Canada's new Agriculture minister, began his tenure by reaffirming support for farmers. That's a political necessity. But if this government is serious about food affordability, economic growth, and trade resilience, the minister must broaden his focus beyond primary producers. The Liberal platform emphasized support for the food processing sector during the campaign, but so far, little has materialized. Under the previous government, major files like food inflation and the grocery code of conduct were handled outside of the agriculture portfolio. Minister François-Philippe Champagne, then responsible for innovation and competition, was tasked with managing those files. While it made structural sense given the Competition Bureau's place in his department, it also signaled a chronic sidelining of agriculture in national economic strategy. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. If agri-food is to become a top-tier policy priority, the Agriculture minister must assert a leadership role — not just for farmers but for the entire food value chain. That means linking supply and demand economics, from farmgate to grocery shelf. The new mandate letter fails to address food security, food affordability, or food innovation in any specific way. And while the throne speech repeated the government's usual vows to protect supply management — a policy that governs dairy, eggs and poultry and is still widely misunderstood by Canadians — it offered no new thinking on how to evolve a system in a changing global food landscape. The overarching tone from the new government is one of economic renewal. That's welcome. But how will the agri-food sector fit into Canada's broader economic, climate and geopolitical agenda? This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Farmers face steep tariffs in key global markets like India and China — issues that have dragged on for months without meaningful federal response. These are not minor trading partners — they are the two most populous nations on the planet. Yet, the prime minister has remained largely silent. Then there's the carbon tax. The industrial carbon tax — arguably the most economically damaging aspect of Canada's climate pricing framework — continues to erode competitiveness in the agri-food sector. Many Canadians are unaware that processors and growers shoulder heavy costs, particularly in comparison to their U.S. counterparts. Tariffs on American imports might make for good politics, but they don't change the economic reality: The U.S. produces food more efficiently and more cheaply than we do. The cost gap is growing, not shrinking. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Competition policy remains another unresolved file. The grocery code of conduct and the dismantling of interprovincial trade barriers represent two of the most impactful, yet long-delayed, reforms. Properly implemented, these initiatives could inject more fairness into food supply chains, level the playing field for suppliers, and ultimately benefit consumers through greater variety and price stability. But chatter is not enough. Successive governments have promised action — none have delivered. With a volatile and unpredictable regime in Washington, Canada can no longer afford to delay. The opportunity for bold, strategic action is now. This Parliament can do better. But it must move from symbolism to substance — and from promises to policy execution. The agri-food economy depends on it. — Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is the Director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University and co-host of The Food Professor Podcast Toronto & GTA Sunshine Girls Sunshine Girls Tennis NFL
Associated Press
28-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Minister MacAulay announces over $116 million to help farmers adopt clean technologies
SPRING VALLEY, PE, Feb. 28, 2025 /CNW/ - Today, the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced more than $116 million under the Agricultural Clean Technology (ACT) Program. This funding will support 119 projects across Canada that will help keep farmers on the cutting edge with clean technologies. Earlier today, Minister MacAulay, alongside Heath MacDonald, Member of Parliament for Malpeque, visited Atlantic Grown Organics, a family-owned certified organic produce farm in Spring Valley, Prince Edward Island. The farm was previously approved for funding of up to $126,014 under the Adoption Stream of the ACT Program for the design and installation of a dual curtain energy retention system around the heated areas of the greenhouse. This system uses two curtains to create an air gap between them, which acts as insulation and helps to reduce energy loss, making heating and cooling more efficient. As part of the latest round announced today, three projects on Prince Edward Island are approved for ACT Program funding: Indian River Farms, a family-run beef farm in Charlottetown, will receive up to $1,736,979 under the Adoption Stream to purchase precision agriculture technology; Vanco Flowers, a tulip producer in Mount Albion, will receive up to $782,696 under the Adoption Stream to install a biomass heating system; and Bonus Consulting, a company that helps food processors focus on best practices in Clyde River, will receive up to $15,166 under the Research and Innovation Stream to research alternatives to sanitize processing facilities. These are three of 14 projects supported to date on Prince Edward Island, representing a total of more than $6 million. The Government of Canada will continue to support the research, development and adoption of clean technology to help the sector reduce emissions and adapt to the realities of climate change. Quote 'Our farmers care deeply about the land and they're always looking for innovative ways to reduce their emissions and make their operations more sustainable. Our investment in the Agricultural Clean Technology Program will help them stay on the cutting edge, so they can continue to feed Canadians and the world.' - The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Quick Facts The ACT Program provides farmers and agri-businesses funding to help develop and adopt the latest clean technologies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and boost their long-term competitiveness. The program is focused on three priority areas: green energy and energy efficiency; precision agriculture; and bioeconomy solutions. To date, 534 projects have been announced under the ACT Program, totaling up to more than $314 million across Canada. Announced today, through the ACT – Adoption Stream, 99 approved projects will support the adoption of clean technologies, with a priority on those that meaningfully reduce GHG emissions. Through the ACT – Research and Innovation Stream, 20 approved projects will support pre-market innovation including research, development, demonstration and commercialization of agricultural clean technologies. Projects and final funding are subject to negotiation of a contribution agreement. Through the ACT Program, current GHG emissions are expected to be reduced by up to 0.8 megaton as a result of the development and adoption of clean technology in the agriculture sector.
Associated Press
31-01-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Minister MacAulay announces 10 organizations to deliver the School Food Infrastructure Fund to help strengthen food security in communities across Canada
OTTAWA, ON, Jan. 31, 2025 /CNW/ - Kids need access to nutritious food at school so they can learn, grow, and reach their full potential. That is why the Government of Canada is taking action to strengthen wider community and local food systems through investments in infrastructure that expand the reach and impact of school food programming. Today, the Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, announced the 10 initial recipients of the $20.2-million federal School Food Infrastructure Fund (SFIF). As part of the $62.9-million announcement in Budget 2024, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) is delivering the SFIF over the next year to support the purchase and installation of infrastructure and equipment that increases the capacity of community organizations to produce, process, store, and distribute food for school food programs. The initial recipients include Breakfast Club of Canada, Farm to Cafeteria Canada, Food Banks Canada, Food Depot Alimentaire, Food First NL, Mazon Canada, Saskatchewan School Boards Association, Second Harvest, United Way BC and United Way East Ontario. These initial recipients will further distribute funding to eligible not-for-profit organizations (known as ultimate recipients) through individual application intakes. Eligible community-based organizations are encouraged to use the SFIF Initial Recipient Finder to determine which organization best serves their geographic area and needs. Quotes 'No child should go hungry at school. We're working with the provinces and territories to deliver our National School Food Program and partnering with trusted not-for-profit organizations to build up the infrastructure and purchase the equipment needed for school food programs across the country. Together, we can make sure our kids have the healthy meals they need to succeed in the classroom and beyond.' - The Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food 'Our National School Food Program is helping parents with grocery costs and making sure kids get healthy meals at school. But we can't do it alone. That's why we're teaming up with trusted partners to get schools the tools and kitchen upgrades they need to feed more kids.' -The Honourable Jenna Sudds, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development Quick Facts The SFIF is delivered as a complement to both the National School Food Program, and the guidance provided under the National School Food Policy. Launched on September 6, 2024 by Minister MacAulay, the SFIF uses a further distribution of funds model that allows AAFC to leverage the expertise and networks of not-for-profit organizations that are active in the school food programming space. AAFC will rely on the expertise of the initial recipients to select the organizations and activities (ultimate recipients) to be funded. Projects and final funding are subject to negotiation of a contribution agreement. As another component of the $62.9-million announcement in Budget 2024, AAFC is delivering Local Food Infrastructure Fund (LFIF), which mobilizes up to $42.7 million to support production-focused projects that improve community food security and resilience through the purchase and installation of infrastructure that will increase access to local, nutritious and culturally-appropriate food. Announced in Budget 2024, the National School Food Program will feed hundreds of thousands of kids across Canada every year. The Program will also be a safety net for the kids who are most impacted by the lack of access to food, including lower-income families and some Indigenous communities. This funding will provide up to 400,000 additional children per year across Canada access to nutritious food at school.
