P.E.I.'s Heath MacDonald says he wants to 'raise the bar' as Canada's agriculture minister
CBC
Newly appointed Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Heath MacDonald says he's humbled and privileged to be named to the federal portfolio.
The Liberal MP for P.E.I.'s central riding of Malpeque is the lone voice for the province in Prime Minister Mark Carney's new cabinet, sworn in Tuesday.
"A lot of emotions run through your mind," MacDonald told CBC News on Wednesday about learning he would be appointed to the post.
"You want to do the best job possible for Islanders, of course, and Canadians as a whole."
The agriculture portfolio was previously held by former P.E.I. MP Lawrence MacAulay, first from 2015 to 2019, and then again from 2023 until March this year.
The Agriculture and Agri-Food mandate is a broad one that interacts with various sectors and regions, MacDonald said.
"You have to work closely with the other departments and those ministers and ensure that they fully understand that the decisions that they're making could have an impact on agriculture right across the country," he said, adding that Carney's downsized cabinet will allow for closer collaboration between members.
While the ministerial mandate has not yet been released, MacDonald said his primary focus will be on trade.
"We need to diversify our trade as quickly as possible, we need to remove our regulatory burdens on the industries and sectors that we're dealing with and we need to continue to invest in innovation and technology," he said.
"We need to work on those as promptly and quickly as possible to ensure that we are competitive in a global market."
Having previously served as P.E.I.'s finance minister, MacDonald said he understands the need for government to be fiscally responsible.
"We have to advance the economy as quickly as possible and I think Mr. Carney, with his background, is certainly the one to do that."
This week, the P.E.I. Federation of Agriculture raised concerns about how the Canadian Food Inspection Agency operates, saying CFIA's risk-management policies can often make it more difficult for Island producers to export thier food.
Wednesday, MacDonald said the agency plays an important role.
All school buses in Windsor and Essex County are cancelled on Thursday morning according to Windsor-Essex Student Transportation Services.
Newly released court documents in the case of Jack and Lilly Sullivan offer more details on the relationship between their mother and stepfather leading up to the children's disappearance more than eight months ago.
Another sawmill in northwestern Ontario is being shut down indefinitely.
Heavy snow throughout the Greater Toronto Area is forcing residents to rethink their Thursday morning schedules due to transit delays and a number of school closures.
Pack your patience and bundle up because Thursday is going to be a snowy and cold day in Waterloo region, Guelph and Wellington County.
An N.W.T. judge has ruled that a complicated dispute involving Lutsel K'e Dene First Nation (LKDFN) and the accounting firm KPMG should mostly be heard in open court, and not through a separate arbitration process.
In military deterrence lingo, what we're witnessing in Greenland is sometimes referred to as the "glass plate" or the "tripwire."
Canada's top court is hearing final arguments on Thursday in a case resurfacing former prime minister Justin Trudeau's role in the WE Charity scandal, which could bring sweeping changes to how Canadians hold their elected officials accountable.
National home sales in Canada declined by 1.9 per cent in December compared to the same period a year earlier, according to a report published by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) on Wednesday, capping a year that saw lower interest rates but heightened economic anxiety.
Ontario sent a blunt message to U.S. booze suppliers when it yanked their alcohol off its shelves last year, pledging to redirect customers to local producers, and those businesses say they’re trying to make the most of what could be a limited-time opportunity to change buying habits.
While airing video on Wednesday of large funeral processions for some of the people killed during the protests that have recently gripped the country, Iran's state broadcaster blamed the U.S. for whipping up and leading the “terrorist actions.”
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Tony Wakeham says “nothing has changed” with the province’s memorandum of understanding with Quebec as François Legault announces his resignation.
For the second time in 18 months, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has made a pit stop in Yarmouth, N.S.