In the aftermath of the federal election but also in the lead up under the tariff and sovereignty threats, I have been reflecting on some of the priorities that farmers and ranchers should be keeping in front of governments in Canada.
I put one overarching issue: the ownership of farmland by foreign entities. To be food secure within Canada, we need to ensure we protect food land from predatory investors who would buy and own land for speculative purposes. They buy, hold, and possibly flip it in the future for profit or they may seek to export the products to their own countries because they are short of land or water.
Our farmers and ranchers should be able to access land for our own self sufficiency first and export second should we have surpluses. Rules of land ownership vary between provinces which hold the jurisdiction over land ownership. Consistency of rules across Canada would probably help domestic food production businesses.
Some farm groups have focused on three main interprovincial trade barriers that should be addresses as we seek to strengthen our nation in the face Trumpian threats to annex us as the 51 st state of the US.
First there are the trucking and transportation regulations that mitigate against smooth interprovincial trade: drivers logbooks, licensing , inspection, height and weight restrictions.
Second , the mobility of skilled workers and licensed professionals such as veterinarians and drainage contractors.
Third, the sale of provincially inspected meats. Currently, federal regulations through the Canadian Food Inspection Agency require meats to be processed in federally inspected plants if they are shipped across provincial borders. Much of our local meats are processed in Provincial licensed facilities.
These above issues are not new, just not adequately address by federal and provincial governments.
Surely, they will be addressed in the months to come!
