They said the man had regular retail customers for specialty cheeses he stole from places from Hamilton to Barrie.
They laid the charges against a 60-year-old man from Woodbridge.
Friday, May 15, 2026
Multiple charges laid in cheese theft
Simcoe South Police have laid 25 charges related to cheese and chocolate product thefts and say more charges may come as their investigation continues.
Thursday, May 14, 2026
Chicken agency maintains higher production target
The Chicken Farmers of Canada supply management agency held to production goal of 6.5 per cent above base for the next quota production period from Aug; 23 to Oct. 17.
The Chicken Farmers of Ontario marketing board said “demand for chicken continues to be strong. This is supported by competing meat prices, steady per capita consumption and overall positive economic indicators.”
For the second time, Ontario’s increase of 6.3 per cent fell below the national target. For years it was consistently above the national goals.
Sobeys ends Product of Canada ads
Sobeys has stopped advertising foods as products of Canada.
The new policy came after shoppers complained that some imported products were being marketed as products of Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned the company.
Consumers also complained about similar false claims by Loblaws.
Sobeys and Loblaws are the two largest grocery chains in Canada and they were eager to take advantage of Canadian “elbows up” sentiment after United States President Donald Trump launched a tariff war on Canadians.
Another subsidy for innovation announced
Most of the money will go to Bioenterprise Canada which administers these types of subsidies.
Federal Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald said “this support will help successful recipients turn innovative ideas into real-world solutions.”
Ontario Agriculture Minister Trevor Jones said “this investment will help local organizations turn research into market-ready solutions that
strengthen Ontario’s position as a global leader in food production.”
Beef packer losses double
Average beef packer losses increased by $120 per head to total $246.42 head, reported Sterling Marketing Beef Profit T
Trackerr.
The reason is higher costs to buy Choice steers..
Feedlot profits averaged $186.70 per head, down by about $7 per head from the prior week.
Pork packers also took a hit with their losses mounting from $1 to $7.60 per head.
Remember when former United States President Joe Biden agreed with farmers that the beef industry needed more packers to reduce their profit margins?
Mushroom exports face U.S. tax
Mushroom Canada is going to fight a new tax on fresh mushroom exported to the United States.
The United States Department of Commerce’s has imposed a preliminary countervailing duty against fresh mushrooms from Canada.
The preliminary ruling means U.S. importers will have to post countervailing duty cash deposits beginning on the date the determination is published in the Federal Register, which is likely to be Monday May 18.
The preliminary rate is not final, and the case remains subject to further review by both the Commerce Department and the U.S. International Trade Commission.
“Commerce’s preliminary conclusion is deeply flawed,” said Ryan Koeslag, executive vice-[resident and chief executive officer of Mushrooms Canada.
“The overwhelming basis . . . appears to be mainstream agricultural tax treatment, including provincial sales tax exemptions available to farmers generally. Treating broad-based agricultural tax measures as unfair subsidies is contrary to common sense and unfairly penalizes Canadian mushroom growers for participating in programs available across the agricultural sector in any number of countries.”
Mushrooms Canada emphasized that the preliminary determination does not mean that Canadian growers have engaged in unfair trade.
Under U.S. trade law, a subsidy must meet specific legal requirements before it can be countervailed, including that the alleged benefit be limited to a specific enterprise, industry, or group.
Mushrooms Canada believes those requirements have not been met here.
“It is difficult to reconcile Commerce’s preliminary approach with the fact that comparable agricultural tax treatment exists in the United States,” Mr. Koeslag added. “Canadian mushroom growers are not receiving special treatment. They are operating under ordinary rules that apply to farmers.”
The Commerce Department still needs to issue a final anti-dumping and countervailing duty determinations and the U.S.
International Trade Commission must make a final injury determination.
If the Trade Commission finds that imports of fresh mushrooms from Canada are not causing material injury or threat of material injury to the U.S. industry, the interim duties will be terminated.
“Mushrooms Canada will continue to participate fully in the process and demonstrate that the allegations against our sector are unfounded,” Koeslag said.
“Canadian growers provide high-quality, responsibly produced mushrooms that support consumers, retailers, foodservice operators, and the broader North American market.”
Mushrooms Canada said “the mushroom sector in North America has grown through collaboration, cross-border supply relationships, and shared commitment to quality and food security.
“This case should not obscure the fact that Canadian and U.S. producers, workers, customers, and consumers all benefit when our markets remain connected and reliable,” Koeslag said.
Alberta’s farmers stuck with abandoned oil wells
More than 4,000 wells and hundreds of other pieces of infrastructure were recently transferred to the Orphan Well Association following the closure of Long Run Exploration, leaving land owners and municipalities without rent and taxes.
This is the largest transfer to the OWA in Alberta’s history, doubling the association’s inventory overnight. Despite a 100 per cent increase in orphan wells, the levy paid by industry is rising by only seven per cent this year, said the Pembina Institute.
“This is clearly inadequate for the scale of the problem, and it leaves Albertans to bear the harms associated with unremediated wells near their homes and businesses,” said Janetta McKenzie, director of the oil and gas program for the Pembina Institute.
“Industry funding is what drives progress on this long-standing problem, and the Orphan Well Association is persistently underfunded,” she told a meeting in Calgary.
Even before their wells are formally orphaned, some energy companies fail to pay rent to landowners, forcing Alberta taxpayers to pick up the bill. In 2024, Alberta taxpayers paid $30 million to landowners to cover delinquent lease payments.
“Leaving these aging and inactive wells for years and even decades on end with remediation causes real financial harm to all Albertans, and physical harm to landowners,” said Natalie Odd, executive director of the Alberta Environmental Network.
“At best, they’re stuck with obstacles to agriculture, driving up their costs. But in many cases they face toxic contamination of their air, water, and soil from leaking wells.”
Teresa Patry, a livestock producer and farmer in the Vermilion area, said "I am being forced off my land and straight out of my home because if you can't breathe the air what good is the land? It has been very difficult for me to give up my privacy as I have been forced to go public with this problem to hopefully save not only my family but my livelihood as well. When the regulator won't take a landowner's concerns seriously it steals a great deal from them."
Some energy companies also fail to pay their municipal taxes.
According to the Rural Municipalities Association, oil and gas companies owe more than $250 million in property taxes, money the province admits will never be recovered.
"We must not leave the burden of oil and gas well cleanup to our children and future generations," said Claire Kraatz, Clean Air Campaign organizer with For Our Kids.
“Polluters must pay, and our regulator needs to ensure that laws are enforced. We teach our kids to clean up their messes. Why aren't oil and gas polluters cleaning up theirs?”
The provincial government’s newest plan is to transfer ownership of low- and non-producing wells to special-purpose entities created by the government with the hope of using some remaining production to finance the cleanup.
“This mess was created by industry, and industry must pay to clean it up,” said Phillip Meintzer, co-founder of the Coalition for Responsible Energy (C4RE).
“If paying for cleanup with the last few barrels of production actually works, then industry can take on the risk and do it themselves.
“Transferring these wells into public ownership with a totally unproven concept means Alberta taxpayers will be left with the bill – yet again – if it doesn’t work,” he said.
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