Environmental issues remain a hot topic for provincial agriculture ministers. That and sustainable agriculture dominated discussions during the recent federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) agriculture ministers meeting in Fredericton, N.B. The annual conference was held from July 19-21. The focus on sustainable agriculture tracks, as this is the first time the ministers have met since […] Read more
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Federal and provincial ag ministers meet in Fredericton
Peggy Brekveld named CAHRC chair
Ontario dairy farmer looks forward to addressing labour shortages
The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) acclaimed Peggy Brekveld for a two-year term as chair on June 20. The northern Ontario dairy farmer and Ontario Federation of Agriculture president will join vice-chair Stefan Larrass representing Flowers Canada Growers; Canadian Aquaculture Industry Association’s Cyr Couturier as treasurer; Brenna Mahoney of Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers; and […] Read more
Federal government extends Agri-Food Immigration Pilot program
Pathway to permanent residency program for TFWs given two more years
Temporary foreign workers and their families can apply to the Agri-Food Immigration Pilot until May 2025 to get permanent Canadian residency. Sean Fraser, federal minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, recently announced a two-year extension to the program. “Our farmers and food processors depend on the steady arrival of foreign workers so that planting, harvesting […] Read more
JBS opens cleaning unit after outside firm fined for hiring kids
Company says has cut ties to cleaning contractor
Chicago | Reuters — JBS USA, one of the biggest U.S. meatpackers, is creating an internal company to clean some of its processing plants after a private sanitation firm it employed was accused of hiring children for dangerous work. The launch shows the complexities involved in replacing Packers Sanitation Services Inc. (PSSI), a firm that […] Read more
TFW program in good shape despite PSAC strike
Concern is rippling through Canada’s agriculture sector as the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) labour disruption drags on. PSAC represents 155,000 workers, most of whom walked off the job on April 19 after failing to reach a new contract deal with their employers. PSAC members have been working without a contract since June 2021. […] Read more
CGC, other fed workers to strike Tuesday night if no wage deal reached
Tax season, passport renewals may also be affected
Ottawa | Reuters — Some 155,000 public workers in Canada will go on strike at midnight on Wednesday if they are unable to reach a wage deal with the federal government, the leader of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) union said on Monday. PSAC president Chris Aylward said he was “setting a clock […] Read more
International farmers may ease Canadian human capital crunch
A global retirement crunch is coming and Canada is ill prepared, report says
As other nations reduce their agricultural footprints in an effort to boost sustainability, their loss could be Canada’s human capital gain, a new report suggests. “The immigration of scientists, data engineers, and entrepreneurs has been recognized as critical to Canada’s growth. A similar approach needs to be adopted to attract farmers,” the authors wrote. The […] Read more
Railways push back on feds’ proposed interswitching revival
Railways also oppose ban on replacement workers
With Easter less than two weeks away, an Easter egg in the federal government’s 2023 budget calls for a new pilot program to again provide Prairie grain shippers with extended interswitching. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland’s budget, released Tuesday, laid out a list of investments to “further strengthen Canada’s transportation systems and supply chain infrastructure.” A […] Read more
Is processing at a tipping point?
Labour, capacity and access to capital make Ontario processing a challenge
The inability to achieve production-line capacity was cited for the recent closure of two Canadian-owned food processing facilities serving the country’s densest population centres. The closures, combined with soon-to-take-effect closures of two further-processing pork factories in Quebec, leave primary producers of both vegetables and livestock hoping this isn’t a sign of things to come. Pickle […] Read more
U.S. to crack down on child labour amid massive uptick
Food processing plants among alleged offenders
Washington | Reuters — The Biden administration in the U.S. announced measures to crack down on child labour on Monday amid a steep rise in violations and investigative reports by Reuters and other news outlets on illegal employment of migrant minors in dangerous industries. U.S. officials said the Labor Department had seen a nearly 70 […] Read more
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