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Agriculture Roundup for Tuesday, January 24, 2023

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is looking for a new leader.

According to media outlet Real Agriculture, President Siddika Mithani left the position suddenly after she sent a letter to colleagues and industry partners informing them of her retirement from public service.

Organizations including the National Farmers Union sent a letter to Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau last fall asking that Mithani be replaced over concerns about communications between the CFIA and CropLife Canada in drafting regulations regarding gene-edited crops.

The CFIA president supervises the agency, its staff, and its programs, reporting to both the Minister of Health and Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food on issues related to plant health, animal health, food safety, and international trade.

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Trending Video

$400m loss to save $3.8m? The real cost of closing Canada's research farms | Agri cmte, 10 Feb 2026

Video: $400m loss to save $3.8m? The real cost of closing Canada's research farms | Agri cmte, 10 Feb 2026

Officials are forced to defend cutting a historic $3.8 million research farm while the government simultaneously funded an $8.5 million cricket factory that went bankrupt. Is this evidence of an incoherent spending strategy? Watch the full committee clash to see the government's official rationale.

A heated discussion erupts over the logic behind the government's cuts to AAFC research farms in Lacombe, Indian Head, and Quebec City. MPs question why core, decades-old scientific infrastructure is being deemed 'not core' while other, controversial programs were funded. The Deputy Minister is repeatedly pressed for the actual net savings of the decision versus the expense of relocating research programs.