Press Release Department: Federal - Agriculture and Agri-Food

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz (Battlefords-Lloydminster, Sask.) and Transport Minister Lisa Raitt (Halton, Ont.) announced the coming into force of a series of important regulations and an Order in Council (OIC) related to the implementation of the Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act (Bill C-30), which received Royal Assent on May 29, 2014. The Fair Rail for Grain Farmers Act amended the Canada Transportation Act and … Read more

On behalf of Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz (Battlefords-Lloydminster, Sask.), Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture Pierre Lemieux (Glengarry-Prescott- Russell, Ont.) announced an investment of over $2 million to the Canadian Animal Health Coalition (CAHC) to develop and update poultry codes and further advance best practices for the care and handling of other farm animals. The announcement took place at … Read more

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz (Battlefords-Lloydminster, Sask.) and Conservative MP Randy Kamp (Pitt Meadows – Maple Ridge – Mission, B.C.) announced an investment of over $117,000 to the British Columbia Blueberry Council to help high-bush blueberry growers showcase their world-class blueberries abroad and increase export sales. This investment from the Government of Canada’s AgriMarketing Program will help … Read more

Canada’s federal, provincial and territorial (FPT) Ministers of Agriculture concluded their annual meeting after focused discussions on creating opportunities for a dynamic agriculture and agri-food sector in Canada. Ministers continue to plan for long-term success, while taking necessary actions to further strengthen the sector, which contributed $106.9 billion to Canada’s GDP in 2013. FPT Ministers committed … Read more

Canada’s mink producers facing financial challenges as they adjust to a dramatic shift in the world mink market have been granted more time to repay cash advances under the Advance Payments Program (APP). Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz (Battlefords-Lloydminster, Sask.) announced a national Stay of Default for mink producers who have a 2013 APP cash advance on mink … Read more

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz (Battlefords-Lloydminster, Sask.) and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn, announced a combined federal-provincial investment of over $1.9 million to the Composites Innovation Centre to support FibreCITY, North America’s first agriculture fibre grading centre of excellence program. The Composites Innovation Centre will receive up to $715,000, provided under Agriculture Canada’s Growing Forward 2 (GF2) … Read more

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz (Battlefords-Lloydminster, Sask.) announced an investment of $1 million to the Beekeepers Commission of Alberta to initiate a four-year-nation-wide surveillance project to document the health profile of honey bee colonies in Canada. The aim of the project is to record the nature, extent and prevalence of diseases, pest organisms and chemical residues in … Read more

Producers who have been unable to sell their crops due to rail transportation challenges now have more time to repay their 2013 cash advances under the Advance Payments Program (APP).  Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz (Battlefords-Lloydminster, Sask.) announced a Stay of Default on the repayment of advances for producers who received an advance on their 2013 crops … Read more

Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Government in the House of Commons Tom Lukiwski (Regina-Lumsden-Lake Centre, Sask.) announced an investment of over $836,000 to the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association to develop a rapid data management system for seed crop certification. The new data management system, developed in collaboration with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, replaces the three-part … Read more

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture Pierre Lemieux (Glengarry-Prescott- Russell, Ont.) announced an investment of over $136,000 to the Canadian Highly Migratory Species Foundation to brand and promote the export of Canadian albacore tuna. With this investment, the Canadian Highly Migratory Species Foundation will engage in market development activities to raise the international profile and increase demand … Read more