BY ERIN GOWRILUK On Aug. 18, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Parliament would be prorogued until Sept. 23. His rationale? To hit the reset button and write a new throne speech to lay out a pathway for Canada’s post-pandemic recovery. When the speech was delivered, however, the one glaring omission was any mention of the sectors that would be needed to help […]

Established in February of this year, the Simpson Centre for Agricultural and Food Innovation and Public Education has already caught the attention of ag industry policy makers. Housed at The School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary, the new entity was established in partnership with the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. The centre has been tasked with the mandate to build intellectual infrastructure for applied policy research in agri-food and agri-business.

A mentor of mine once told me policy is made by those who show up.

The 43rd Parliament convened Dec. 5, 2019. By the time you read this, it’s likely the Liberal’s minority government will have survived its first confidence test following its throne speech. Although the Liberals command a solid minority, allowing them to govern with the support of any one of the three largest opposition parties, the situation adds complexity.

Alberta crop and livestock commodity organizations are hoping the provincial government sticks to its plan to tighten agricultural spending while leaving key programs and services in place, if not enhanced.

The annual Prairie Cereals Summit centres around the Alberta Barley AGM while presenting speakers and panel discussions of interest to farmers and ag industry professionals working within the wheat and barley value chains.

Elected April 16, 2019, the United Conservative Party’s Devin Dreeshen was sworn in on April 30 as MLA for Innisfail–Sylvan Lake.

In early January, ahead of the March 19 writ drop for the upcoming April 16 Alberta election, we talked with Duane Bratt, political commentator and chair of the Mount Royal University department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies.

BY ALLISON FINNAMORE  •  PHOTO COURTESY OF THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE The United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) was signed in late November by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, American President Donald Trump and then Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. The three nations must ratify the agreement in upcoming months, but in the meantime, the […]

Importantly, the public and political debate on the issue has driven the provincial government, police, volunteer organizations and rural residents to take action.