File photo of a CN locomotive. (Dave Bedard photo)

CN’s mechanics, intermodal staff ratify labour deal

Agreement averted strike in March

Mechanics, intermodal and clerical workers at Canadian National Railway (CN) who were on the brink of striking in March have voted to ratify the agreements that kept them off the picket line. Unifor, which represents about 3,000 CN employees, said Friday its members voted to ratify four new two-year collective bargaining agreements taking them through […] Read more

File photo of picketing federal workers represented by the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) at Gatineau, Que. on April 20, 2023. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Federal workers reach tentative deal

Over 120,000 PSAC members back on job Monday

Over 120,000 striking federal government employees are expected to return to work starting Monday morning (May 1) after reaching tentative agreements overnight. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) announced after midnight Monday it had reached tentative agreements for workers in four bargaining units who negotiate with the federal Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Among […] Read more


(Orchidpoet/iStock/Getty Images)

Go bigger on interswitching pilot, grain groups urge Ottawa

Railways say the measure creates inefficiencies; farm groups say the opposite is true

Farm groups from across the country are asking producers to lobby federal ministers and MPs and urge them to super-size a government proposal for what’s called ‘extended interswitching.’ The measure, part of this spring’s federal budget, essentially gives grain shippers a choice in which railway they deal with (as long as the competitor’s line is […] Read more

(File photo by Dave Bedard)

‘Unexpectedly high’ fuel costs lift railways’ revenue index

VRCPIs for CN, CP increased for 2023-24

The index that determines how much Prairie grain handling revenue Canada’s big two railways get to keep will be raised in the coming crop year, mainly on way-higher-than-expected fuel costs. The Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) on Thursday announced the volume-related composite price index (VRCPI) for Canadian National Railway (CN) for 2023-24 will be 1.8295, up […] Read more


File photo of wheat seedlings. (Volodymyr Shtun/iStock/Getty Images)

StatCan expects more wheat, canola acres in 2023

Corn, soy, barley acres also expected up

MarketsFarm — Canadian farmers intend to plant more wheat and canola in 2023, with soybeans, corn and barley area also forecast to expand, according to Statistics Canada’s projections for field crop area. The increases in those crops will come at the expense of oats, lentils and peas, with intended summerfallow area down to its smallest […] Read more

(File photo)

Pulse weekly outlook: Larger pea, chickpea exports expected

China, Bangladesh among major destinations

MarketsFarm — Canadian pea, chickpea and edible bean exports will likely beat earlier expectations during the current 2022-23 marketing year, according to updated supply/demand projections from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The stocks-to-use rations for the three crops should also tighten as a result. In its report Friday, the government agency upped its call for Canadian […] Read more


Photo: Greg Berg

Analysts expect additional acres for canola, wheat

StatCan estimates due out Wednesday

MarketsFarm — If traders and analysts are correct with their estimates, there will be slightly more wheat and canola acres seeded in Canada this year compared to 2022. Statistics Canada (StatCan) will release its first survey-based acreage estimates for the 2023-24 marketing year on April 26. Other than drier and cooler conditions in southern Manitoba, […] Read more

A vessel is seen arriving at Odesa in southern Ukraine under the Black Sea Grain Initiative on April 12, 2023. (Photo: Yulii Zozulia/Nurphoto via Reuters Connect)

Moscow would scrap grain deal if G7 bans exports, Medvedev warns

G7 said to be considering blanket ban on exports to Russia

Reuters — Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday that if the G7 moved to ban exports to Russia, Moscow would respond by terminating the Black Sea Grain deal that enables vital exports of grain from Ukraine. The Group of Seven (G7) countries are considering a near-total ban on exports to Russia, Japan’s Kyodo […] Read more


File photo of a federal office building in downtown Winnipeg. (Dave Bedard photo)

AAFC raises canola stocks projections

StatCan's early acreage estimates due out this week

MarketsFarm — Canola ending stocks for both the current marketing year and 2023-24 were raised slightly by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) in its latest supply/demand projections, released Friday. The government agency lowered its canola export forecast for 2022-23 by 200,000 tonnes from March, now pegging movement at 8.4 million tonnes. With domestic usage left […] Read more

File photo of grain silos and other buildings at harbourside at Saint Nazaire on France’s west coast. (Sissoupitch/iStock/Getty Images)

French agency drops fumigant ban on non-EU grain exports

Limit on phosphine won't apply if use required for export

Paris | Reuters — French health safety agency ANSES on Thursday cleared the use of phosphine pesticide in contact with grains exported outside the European Union when importing countries require the process, averting a halt to shipments from the EU’s top grain exporter. In late October ANSES cleared the use of phosphine tablets used for […] Read more