Archive for January 2017

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is proposing to streamline and update its cost recovery program. Currently, hundreds of sector-specific CFIA fees are in place, which creates complexity and inconsistencies in how fees are calculated. In addition, most of the CFIA’s fees have not changed since the organization was created almost 20 years ago, but the…

The Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) has begun to host research strategy workshops for its commodity sectors. These workshops are essential in developing strategies that will form the backbone of CHC’s proposal under Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Agri-Science Cluster 3 funding stream. As part of this initiative, CHC recently hosted a workshop for greenhouse representatives. Participants…

The Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) recently met with key policy advisors to the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change Canada to discuss important issues relating to Canada’s new carbon pricing policy. CHC informed Environment Canada that the new national carbon pricing policy places Canada’s greenhouse sector at serious risk. The greenhouse vegetable sector depends…

Rebecca Lee of the Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) provided an update on CHC activities at the 2017 Annual General Meeting of the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers’ Association (OFVGA). Rebecca’s presentation included an update on new staff, recent government relations activities, progress on key files, an overview of CHC’s governance structure, and relationships with key…

Organizations need to occasionally check what direction they are moving in to make sure they’re still going where they want to go. With this in mind, the Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC)’s Board of Directors, Committee Chairs and staff recently participated in a planning session to discuss the organization’s high-level strategy. The group discussed CHC’s mission…

The Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) is currently preparing a response to PMRA’s proposed re-evaluation decision on imidacloprid and other neonicotinoid use (example products: Admire, Intercept, Genesis, Gaucho). To ensure an effective response, CHC requests feedback from growers on their use of these pesticides. Each commodity sector (tree fruit, berries/grapes, greenhouse vegetables, field vegetables, potatoes) has…

Keith Kuhl, President of the Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC), and Rebecca Lee, CHC Executive Director, participated in a recent round table meeting hosted by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The purpose of the meeting was to enable an in-depth discussion on common issues in the horticulture value chain between government agencies and the horticultural industry. Attendees…

On December 21, 2016, the Canadian Horticultural Council (CHC) presented at a multi-stakeholder forum on neonicotinoids hosted by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). Participants discussed concerns regarding the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA)’s recent risk assessment of imidacloprid and explored potential risk mitigation options. CHC presented an overview of neonicotinoid use in horticulture, highlighting the…