N.B. farmers worry about seeding season as fertilizer costs soar
CBC
Farmers across the Atlantic region say their operating costs have increased significantly with fertilizer imports from Russia under sanction, and some are looking for alternatives.
"We're pretty frustrated with the whole thing this year, it's really stressful," said Brian Adams, owner of Hilldale Potato Inc., in New Denmark, near Grand Falls.
Adams said he paid about $700 per tonne of fertilizer last year and is being quoted about $1,300 per tonne this year.
"All costs are up this year, machine repairs, fertilizer or sprays," he said. "It's going to bring our cost of production up dramatically."
Adams estimates that his operating costs overall will increase by over 60 per cent this year.
The Atlantic provinces rely heavily on fertilizer imports from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
Fertilizer Canada CEO Karen Proud said about 85 to 90 per cent of all nitrogen fertilizers used in the eastern provinces come from Russia.
Sanctions currently imposed on Russia have hindered the availability of these materials, including potash, nitrogen and phosphorus across Canada, she said.
"We were already facing a pretty tight season with fertilizer supply, this has just exacerbated that," said Proud.
Farmers across the country are desperately trying to source fertilizer supply elsewhere, she said.
"We're concerned given that we're only four to six weeks away from seeding season".
Proud said about 30 to 40 shipments of fertilizer were already en route to Canada when the sanctions were imposed on Russia.
But only those that had already reached Canadian waters were allowed to dock and the rest had a more dire fate.
"Those would now be subject to the sanctions and either wouldn't be able to arrive at all or, if they did, would have the 35 per cent tariff on them," said Proud.
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.
A building that sits at the corner of Sussex Street and Brunswick Avenue has had many lives over the last century — being a church, a school and offices. Now it's set to become housing, at a time when the city sorely needs it.
A Waterloo, Ont., elementary school principal will be sentenced in the new year after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges following a joint investigation that involved the London, Toronto and Waterloo police services.
Students at UPEI have let their student union know what they want from the province this fiscal year, and those priorities are reflected in a 2024-2025 advocacy document brought to the legislature on Wednesday.
Larger communities in the N.W.T. will soon see a boost in their territorial funding to maintain infrastructure and deliver services — like water and waste management — but the increase still falls short of what communities need.
The toxic drug crisis has taken more than 47,000 lives in Canada since 2016 and the synthetic opioid fentanyl has become a household name. But now, what's believed to be an even more potent class of synthetic drugs is showing up in drug busts across the country: nitazenes.
The Liberal government and the NDP have agreed to introduce a two-month GST vacation on certain items before the holiday season, Radio-Canada has learned.
Veterinarians are warning Londoners to make sure their dogs are vaccinated and keeping clean after a deadly virus outbreak was declared in London this week.
Registered nurses rallied in St. John's Wednesday as part of a week-long convention, again calling on the Newfoundland and Labrador government to create permanent solutions to staff shortages and workplace violence.