Funding for training unveiled

Federal and provincial ministers of agriculture announced they are providing $180,000 to train workers for jobs related to agriculture.

The training will be delivered by Conestoga College which has its main campus in the Waterloo Region, but satellites in places such as Stratford.

“Through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, the federal and provincial governments will assist Conestoga College in the creation, launch and delivery of a pilot program to expand the training opportunities for current farm sector employees and better prepare those interested in careers in agriculture to work on farms in key areas,” they said in a joint news release.

“Students will learn skilled trades in high demand areas such as spraying and fertilizing operations, custom tillage and harvesting operations. 

Catherine Knipe appointed to Veterinary Council

Catherine Knipe of Clarksburg has been appointed to a one-year term on the Council of the College of Veterinarians.

She is a consultant in global technology implementation and has served on the board of directors at the University of Guelph.

She is on the Milton Hydro Distribution board and has previously served on the Greater Toronto Airports Authority.

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Agriculture gets $1.5 billion in federal bank

The federal government is putting another $1.5 billion for agriculture into its Canada Infrastructure bank.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the money for agriculture is for investments in rural broadband internet service and for irrigation projects, mainly on the Prairies.

That probably includes money to expand irrigation from Diefenbaker Lake on the Saskatchewan River where a multi-billion long-term project has been announced by the province.

The money for agriculture is part of an increase of $10 billion for the bank.

The bank is proposing to help cover some of the large upfront costs of projects such as commercial building renovations or municipal purchases of electric bus fleets in exchange for being repaid over time through the expected energy and other savings over the longer term.

The $10-billion is part of the bank’s existing budget of $35-billion.

The infrastructure bank is a Crown corporation created by the government through legislation in 2017. Its mandate is to provide direct investment or loans for major infrastructure projects to encourage large institutional investors, such as pension funds, to become partners.

                           

 

Province wants to cut food waste

The province is seeking public comment on a set of proposals a task force has presented aimed at reducing food and organic materials going into landfill sites.

One approach is to increase the types of materials that can go into green bins. Another is to work with businesses and the public to increase composting.

Jeff Yurek, the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, said “there is a lot of inconsistency and confusion about how to do this” because programs and services vary a lot among municipalities.

“Our proposal provides greater clarity and encourages innovative compostable products and packaging, so we can help businesses and the public make better decisions about packaging and food waste in order to keep it out of our landfills,” he said.

Municipalities' revenues increasing faster than expenses

A national study by Livio Di Matteo of the Fraser Institute has determined that municipal revenues have been increasing more than expenses.

But the COVID-19 pandemic may have changed that long-term 30-year trend and his statistics do not include this year.

“Despite claims from municipal policymakers about their dire financial positions, local government revenues and spending have increased substantially,” said Livio Di Matteo who is also an economics professor at Lakehead University.

As an example, between 2008 and 2018, revenues increased by 53 per cent and expenses by 31 per cent, he found. It means that many municipalities have built up nest eggs- a national total of more than $360 billion.

“It’s important for Canadians to understand the true state of municipal government finances so they can decide whether their government representatives are making good decisions and whether they’re getting good value for their money,” Di Matteo said.

Property taxes accounted for 48 per cent of municipal revenues, other taxes (eg. business taxes) foir eight per cent, grants for 19 per cent and other revenues (eg. fees and parking fines) 25 per cent.

One of the surprises is that new development brings in more revenues than it adds to expenses.

Ginseng exports plummet

Ontario’s exports of ginseng to China, its biggest customer, are being hurt by travel restrictions, Van De Slyke, chairman of Ontario Ginseng Growers Association, has told Reuters news agency.

“Canada’s diplomatic strains with Beijing haven’t helped,” he said.

But the main issue is that in China “everyone is locked down and that’s causing us a big problem,” he said. “We’re hit in all directions here.”

Across Canada, as much as 1.8 million pounds, or 20 per cent of last year’s crop, remains unsold, said Rebecca Coates, executive director of the Ontario growers association.

Canada shipped 354,305 kg worth $11 million to Hong Kong from May through July this year as coronavirus infections peaked in Canada, one-third of the value from the same period a year earlier.

Lately, some buyers have been “circling like sharks” to see if they can purchase for less than the production cost, Coates said.

                           

 

Bid-rigging added to price-fixing chicken case

Judge Thomas Durkin of the Northern District of Illinois’ Eastern Division has joined complaints of bid-rigging to other lawsuits claiming price-fixing by the biggest chicken-processing companies in the United States.

It all began four years ago when lawsuits were filed about the companies reducing broiler supply and manipulating the Georgia Dock price index.

“There is a substantial relationship between the alleged bid-rigging claim and the alleged supply reduction and Georgia Dock price index manipulation claims,” Durkin wrote. 

“All three claims have the same goal of maintaining a high price for Broilers, involving the same industry and defendants.”

So far 252 lawyers have put in court appearances and eight million pages of testimony and documents have been filed.

The United States Department of Justice has laid charges against Pilgrim’s Pride and its former chief executive officer, Jayson Penn, and Tyson Foods, plus other big poultry-processing companies.