Ensuring Canada’s Food Security: FVGC Welcomes Parliament’s Return with a Focus on Critical Agricultural Issues

Sep 25, 2024

OTTAWA, ON – As Parliament resumes its important work after the summer recess, the Fruit and Vegetable Growers of Canada (FVGC) is urging policymakers to prioritize food security and the sustainability of Canada’s agricultural sector.

The return of Parliament marks a crucial time to advance policies that ensure a stable and secure food supply for Canadians. FVGC, representing fruit and vegetable growers nationwide, is eager to collaborate with Members of Parliament and Senators on issues that are essential to the well-being of our country.

“The challenges facing our industry are directly linked to the food security of all Canadians,” said Marcus Janzen, President of FVGC. “As we welcome Parliamentarians back to their duties, we emphasize the need for robust policies that support the continued growth and resilience of Canada’s fruit and vegetable sector. We also urge the government to consider policies through a food security lens, recognizing that every policy decision can have an impact on our nation’s ability to feed itself.”

The House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food (AGRI) recently released a report titled Improving the Resilience of Canada’s Horticulture Sector, which outlines several key recommendations that align with these goals. Some of the recommendations include:

Crop Protection: Securing sufficient funding for the Pest Management Regulatory Agency and the Pest Management Centre to provide innovative and effective crop protection products for fruit and vegetable growers, safeguarding a reliable food supply.
Business Risk Management Programs: Enhancing Business Risk Management (BRM) systems to better respond to the impacts of climate change, safeguarding the livelihoods of growers.
Labour Supply and Workforce Stability: Addressing long work permit approval times, especially for applications from within Canada, and reducing backlogs to ensure timely access to essential labor for growers. It’s vital to preserve the distinction between the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) and other streams within the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program, like AgStream and the Low-Wage stream, to sustain the agricultural workforce.

“These priorities are not just about the success of our growers—they are about the food on Canadians’ tables,” Janzen added. “We are committed to working with Parliament to implement the recommendations in the AGRI report and secure a future where every Canadian has access to fresh, Canadian grown produce.”

Source : FVCG

Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.