It’s the dog days of summer in Ottawa these days. Most of the city is on vacation, with bureaucrats and political junkies alike taking advantage of the slower pace to escape the city – and the heat – for time spent at the family cottage, lake or campsite. Don’t expect the calm to last forever. A […] Read more
Tag Archives politics — page 29
Opinion: Brief lull before next political storm
Capital Letters: Parties are going into election mode
Hardeman looks for ways to reduce barriers to agriculture growth
The new Ontario agriculture minister supports a continued review of business risk management programs
It’s the second time around for Ontario new agriculture minister Ernie Hardeman and he sees a lot of the same challenges in Ontario agriculture as he did before. “Obviously the principles of what we want to do are the same — build on the good agriculture system we have in Ontario. But there is always […] Read more
Editorial: The problem with pricing carbon
I’ve long been a fan of market-based solutions to solve large societal problems. Creating the economic incentives to push societies to make different purchasing decisions is much more efficient than subsidy programs or boutique tax cuts or tax increases, as it limits paperwork and bureaucracy. Being able to make that economic incentive zero-sum for the […] Read more
OPINION: The sleeping giant keeps thrashing about trade
In the 2001 Hollywood classic Pearl Harbour, Japanese Admiral Yamamoto utters what is likely one of the film’s most iconic quotes. “I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant,” he says shortly after Japanese Imperial Forces bomb Pearl Harbour in 1941. The sleeping giant is the United States, which was dragged […] Read more
Five questions for Ontario political parties
Political parties vying for the Ontario government had fairly similar answers to agriculture policy questions
Farmtario editor John Greig posed five farm-policy-related questions to representatives of the Progressive Conservative, Liberal, New Democrat and Green parties. (Editor’s note: Responses have been edited for length) The respondents were: Progressive Conservative: Monte McNaughton, MPP Lambton-Kent-Middlesex Liberal: Jeff Leal, MPP Peterborough New Democrat: John Vanthof, MPP Temiskaming Cochrane Green: Mike Schreiner, Ontario Green Party […] Read more
Editorial: Where will the urban voter go?
Rural Ontario residents could again be bystanders as the cities determine the next government
By June 7, the Progressive Conservatives could be the new government of Ontario, and there would be much glee in rural Ontario, where the long-governing Liberals have managed to decrease their already-low popularity during their last mandate. However, as rural Ontarians painfully know, it’s urban voters who determine governments in this province and they have […] Read more
Opinion: Could NAFTA be a 2019 election issue?
The fate of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) could very well become a central issue in the 2019 federal election. Trade officials from Canada, Mexico and the United States failed to resolve an ongoing impasse at the negotiating table in time to present Congress with an agreement by May 17 — a deadline […] Read more
OPINION: Giving young people a chance to understand policy
Capital Letters with Kelsey Johnson
Most days, Parliament Hill is buzzing with political activities where party politics and issues of the day dominate the corridor conversation. On a recent Saturday, the focus shifted to a more behind-the-scenes group of individuals who help keep Parliament running smoothly. More than 400 former and current House of Commons pages reunited in Ottawa to […] Read more
A conversation with Lawrence MacAulay
Farmtario editor John Greig recently talked to Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Lawrence MacAulay about trade, reaching ambitious export goals and Canadian’s agriculture rising prominence as an engine of economic growth. JG – Agriculture is having a ‘moment’ in the sun, especially with government. Why is that happening now? LM – Of course as […] Read more
OPINION: How the MacAulay farm was kept running
More than 3,000 Liberal party members gathered in Halifax April 20-22 for their national policy convention. It was a chance for the party members to gather their thoughts and begin organizing for the 2019 election campaign. There were resolutions to debate, parties to attend, speeches to listen to and campaigns to plan. But in the […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
