Aerial view of Centerm, a Burrard Inlet terminal for containerized cargo at the Port of Vancouver. (Bloodua/iStock/Getty Images)

Pulse weekly outlook: B.C. port strike drags on exports

Cargoes either stuck at port or held at home

MarketsFarm — As the 11-day-old port workers strike in British Columbia continued to impede exports from Canada’s West Coast, Marcos Mosnaim of Export Packers said the work stoppage was taking a toll on the country’s pulse exports — specifically those exported by container. “So you have cargo held in Vancouver or on its way to […] Read more

Nutrien’s head office building in Saskatoon. (Liam O’Connor photo)

Nutrien cuts output as West Coast port strike hits day 11

Longshore union, management met Monday night, source says

Ottawa | Reuters — The world’s biggest fertilizer producer Nutrien cut production on Tuesday, citing the impact of a 11-day-old strike in Canada’s Pacific ports whose cost has now ballooned to an estimated $6 billion. Some 7,500 dock workers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU Canada) walked off on July 1 after […] Read more

(Dragos Cojocari/iStock/Getty Images)

Pork sector calls for essential service status amid B.C. port strike

Council says pork should receive same consideration as grains

Leaders in Canada’s pork sector are calling on the federal government to give perishable agriculture products the same consideration and protection as grain. The call comes as a longshore workers’ strike at British Columbia’s West Coast ports nears its second week, blocking the shipment of Canadian meat and most other exports. Canadian Pork Council (CPC) […] Read more

Prince Rupert Grain Terminal. (Rupertport.com)

Strike continues at West Coast ports as employers exit talks

Results unlikely through bargaining now, BCMEA says

A strike by longshore workers at British Columbia’s West Coast ports is expected to continue after the employers’ group announced plans to step away from further bargaining. The B.C. Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), in a statement Monday, said it’s “of the view that a continuation of bargaining at this time is not going to produce […] Read more

Members of the Third Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (3PPCLI) take part in wildfire prevention operations near Grande Prairie, Alta. on May 12, 2023. (Photo: MCpl, Cass Moon/Canadian Forces/Handout via Reuters)

Air quality deteriorates as wildfires rage in Western Canada

Evacuations continue in Alberta, B.C., Saskatchewan

Reuters — Calgary received a special weather alert on Tuesday, warning residents of poor air quality and reduced visibility as tinder-dry weather and shifting winds elevated the risk of spreading wildfires in Alberta’s north and west. As of Tuesday evening 89 wildfires are active in Alberta, with 25 out of control, according to the provincial […] Read more


A smoke column rises from a wildfire on May 4, 2023 near Lodgepole, Alta., about 30 km southwest of Drayton Valley. (Photo: Alberta Wildfire handout via Reuters)

Fire and floods across Western Canada force evacuations

Western Alberta towns of Edson, Drayton Valley ordered to evacuate

Reuters — A week of record-hot weather in Western Canada has forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes, as wildfires rage in parts of Alberta and rapid snow melt triggers flooding across interior British Columbia. By Friday, more than 13,000 people were under evacuation orders in Alberta. As of late Friday afternoon, 91 fires […] Read more

File photo of young birds on a Canadian broiler operation. (Elena Bionysheva-Abramova/iStock/Getty Images)

B.C. farmers granted late entry for AgriStability

Avian flu, 'extreme weather' events considered

With bird flu outbreaks and last spring’s weather woes in mind, farmers and ranchers in British Columbia are now spotted until the end of June to enrol in AgriStability. The province and the federal ag department on Tuesday announced they’ve agreed on a late participation option for the 2022 program year. In this case, the […] Read more

File photo of wild birds on Pokeshaw Rock in northeastern New Brunswick. (Bouillante/iStock/Getty Images)

Avian flu pops back up in New Brunswick

B.C. only other province with cases so far this month

Highly pathogenic avian influenza in domestic birds in Canada appears to be in check so far this month in most regions of the country outside southwestern B.C. — but for one recent case in Atlantic Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has confirmed an outbreak of high-path avian flu in what it describes as […] Read more


Abbotsford-Mission MLA Pam Alexis speaks on B.C. Agriculture Day in the provincial legislature on Oct. 25, 2022. (Legislative Assembly Of B.C. video screengrab via Facebook)

Former Mission, B.C. mayor named province’s ag minister

Pam Alexis handling agriculture; Lana Popham moves to tourism file

A rookie MLA and former city mayor from British Columbia’s farming-rich Fraser Valley has been named as the province’s new minister of agriculture and food. Premier David Eby, who assumed the post last month following John Horgan’s resignation, on Wednesday shuffled the provincial cabinet and named Abbotsford-Mission MLA Pam Alexis to handle the ag and […] Read more

(Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Bird flu pressure bears down on B.C. farms

High-path flu hits 13 commercial farms in Fraser Valley within past week

Commercial poultry farmers in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley have come out the worst so far this month in Canada’s year-long fight with highly pathogenic avian influenza. Since Wednesday last week, that region alone has seen outbreaks on 13 commercial poultry farms: nine at Abbotsford, three at Chillwack and one in the District of Kent. That’s […] Read more