The billion-dollar tax dodge on tobacco Sunday, March 3, 2013 According to numbers acquired through a Canadian Taxpayer's Federation (CTF) Freedom of Information request to the federal government, Status Indians in Ontario purchased the equivalent of 70 cigarettes daily per person last year, along with 1,000 cigars annually. The fact that they don't smoke that much points towards a tax dodge by non-status buyers of between $742 million and $1.2 billion, just from contraband cigarettes in Ontario.The CTF estimates that up to 79 per cent of all tax-free cigarettes intended for legal sale to Status Indians are illegally sold to those who are not, dodging $5.24 a pack in taxes.Fred Neukamm, chair of the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers Marketing Board, allows that the contraband cigarettes may have been grown outside of the system. This year's legal crop is likely to be up somewhat from slightly more than 50 million pounds in 2012 because of increased demand from China. BF Polo ponies go where food won't Antioxidants may actually cause cancer, says Nobel laureate
Bushel Plus rebrands to BranValt for global harvest-tech growth Tuesday, January 20, 2026 Bushel Plus Ltd., a well‑known name in harvest optimization tools and training, is preparing for a major brand transformation as it shifts to a new global identity: BranValt. The company recently announced that the transition will officially take effect in July 2026, marking a... Read this article online
Canada Negotiates Tariff Reductions on Canola Seed by China Tuesday, January 20, 2026 Mark Carney has concluded his visit to Beijing for high-level meetings with Chinese leaders, including Xi Jinping. The visit marked the first trip to China by a Canadian prime minister since 2017 and resulted in a joint statement outlining a new strategic partnership between the two countries.... Read this article online
Ontario Pig Producer Disease Advisory -- PED and PDCoV Risks Rising This Winter Tuesday, January 20, 2026 Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) and Porcine Deltacoronavirus (PDCoV) continue to pose significant risks to swine operations across the industry. Both viruses are highly infectious, spread easily through manure, contaminated equipment, transport vehicles, and human movement, and can have... Read this article online
Ag Minister Launches National Consultations to Shape the Next Agricultural Policy Framework Tuesday, January 20, 2026 As Canada begins charting its next decade of agricultural policy, the Honourable Heath MacDonald, Minister of Agriculture and Agri Food, officially launched national consultations on the development of the Next Policy Framework (NPF)—the federal, provincial, and territorial agreement that... Read this article online
Syngenta introduces new soybean seed treatment Tuesday, January 20, 2026 Soybean farmers have a new crop protection product available to them for the 2026 growing season. Syngenta recently introduced Victrato Complete, its new fungicide and nematicide seed treatment. “It’s the only fungicide and nematicide seed treatment with five active ingredients that’ll... Read this article online