Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Taxpayer group lampoons tobacco buyout 'waste'

Monday, April 2, 2012

It is an annual Parliament Hill spectacle – a pig mascot, a man in a tuxedo, a woman in a slinky black dress and the "presentation" of awards for government waste.

The show, meant to emulate the Oscars, is put on by the anti-government Canadian Taxpayers' Federation, a non-membership group claiming to speak for downtrodden taxpayers.

The "Teddy Waste Awards" are named after former federal bureaucrat Ted Weatherill, fired in 1999 for running up lavish expense account tabs.

This year, the big "winner" was the federal government's 2008 buyout program for Ontario tobacco producers, a $284 million program criticized by the federal auditor general for its loopholes and poor design.

"This year's big-budget spectacular is an epic multi-generational saga of family secrets, greed and skullduggery in tobacco country," reads the fake over-heated movie trailer promo.

The auditor general complained that many buyout payments went to quota holders who often sold their farm to relatives and then went to work on the same farm as employees.

The point of the program was to remove the quota debt from farmers and convert the tobacco industry into a sector that grew tobacco only on contract to processors.

Those who took the payout were supposed to exit the industry.

There were ways around that including interfamily deals that saw the Ontario tobacco crop actually increase after the buyout. BF

Current Issue

September 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Canadian Farmers Face Weaker Soybean Yields Ahead

Tuesday, September 2, 2025

Statistics Canada forecasts that Canadian soybean production will decline in 2025, reflecting weaker yields across major producing provinces. Nationally, output is projected to fall by 7.3% year over year to 7.0 million tonnes. The decline is linked to a drop in yields, which are expected... Read this article online

Canadian Corn Outlook Shows Mixed Regional Trends

Tuesday, September 2, 2025

Statistics Canada projects Canadian corn-for-grain production to grow slightly in 2025, despite drier-than-normal weather and high temperatures that have pressured yields. National production is forecast to rise 1.4% year over year to 15.6 million tonnes. This gain comes from higher... Read this article online

Wheat Output Decline Projected for 2025

Tuesday, September 2, 2025

Statistics Canada’s latest modelled estimates suggest that wheat production in Canada will decline slightly in 2025, driven primarily by weaker yields across several regions. National output is expected to edge down 1.1% to 35.5 million tonnes, with yields forecast to fall 1.2% to 49.6... Read this article online

Scouting and Managing Resistant Weeds in Ontario

Monday, September 1, 2025

As the growing season winds down, now is an ideal time for Ontario farmers to assess the effectiveness of their weed control strategies and prepare for the next growing year. Dr. Holly Byker, Agronomy Manager at the Ontario Crop Research Centre in Winchester, emphasizes the importance... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top