Howard Mains

A farmer at heart who has a keen interest in Canadian politics and public affairs. Check out:

[Howard Mains @hmains]

@DavidColetto @abacusdataca Very interesting findings @DavidColetto thank you for sharing.

[Dan Kelly @CFIB]

To the Liberal MP who slammed those suggesting the GST/HST holiday was complicated, here is the guidance from CRA on gift baskets that contain both taxable and non-taxable items:

When 90% or more of the value of the gift basket is for components that would be zero-rated if supplied by themselves (for example, fruits), the tax status of the supply is zero-rated. Conversely, when the value of the component parts, each of which is taxable, exceeds 10% of the total value of the supply, the supply of the gift basket is taxable. During the eligible period, the rule will continue to apply. If 90% or more of the value of the gift basket is zero-rated, the tax status of the supply is zero-rated during the eligible period. The zero-rated category for the purposes of the calculation during the eligible period will include qualifying goods such as food, non-alcoholic beverages and/or eligible beverages. Therefore, it may be that more gift baskets would qualify for zero-rated treatment as more of the components would be zero-rated during the eligible period.

An MP said in the House that the holiday was no big administrative challenge - as simple as pressing a button on a smart phone.

[Simon Maechling @simonmaechling]

We are alive today because modern agriculture has harnessed innovation to grow more food, diversify diets, and meet the nutritional needs of a growing global population.

[Lior Bibas @LiorBibasMD]

I am a first generation Canadian and Quebecker Jew and as I watch my hometown of Montreal descend into chaos, with law and order seemingly abandoned to appease masked and hateful cowards, I feel compelled to share my perspective.

To those trying to make sense of the situation in Montreal and Quebec, here are my thoughts.

A thread 🧵

[David Law @davidkeithlaw]

Mom on welfare with $100 to spend on Xmas gifts, saves $5.
Rich dude with $1000 to spend, is $50 richer.
That’s how the “GST holiday” works. As un-progressive as it gets.
Let’s call it the Rich Dude Stocking Stuffer.

[Simon Maechling @simonmaechling]

I would love to tell you about all the times crop protection saved a crop,
kept food prices stable,
or prevented hunger.

But every time it happens,
you don’t notice.

→ You just go to the supermarket.

Agriculture,
when it’s working,
is invisible.

[Andrea C. Love, PhD @dr_andrealove]

Organic food is not grown without pesticides.
Organic food is not healthier.
Organic food is not better for the environment.
Organic food can be worse ecologically - lower yield, more off-target pesticide impacts, more land use, more tillage = worse for the planet.

1/

[Howard Mains @hmains]

Bravo Zulu @MichaelChongMP

[Sheila Gunn Reid @SheilaGunnReid]

Conservative MP @MichaelChongMP absolutely destroys Trudeau in the House for the leaks coming out of the PMO from his national security advisors to American newspapers while refusing to brief opposition leader Poilievre about foreign interference.

[Stephen Kelly @sjkelly1]

@irbrodie @Sean_Speer The list includes John McCallum, Ahmed Hussen and Marco Mendicino. So top four worse for sure. Top five when Miller leaves. It’s been a team effort over there. You don’t bugger things up this much overnight. It takes a village of idiots.

[National Post @nationalpost]

'The Khalistani movement is a shell of its former self within India, and like so many other diasporas in Canada, extremism is far more prevalent abroad than it is in the motherland.'

https://t.co/xSErvynz6b

[Simon Maechling @simonmaechling]

Correlation is not causation.

[Simon Maechling @simonmaechling]

Growing more food on less land.
It’s a good thing.

A 250kg yield of corn required:

1347m² in 1940.
400m² in 1980.
167m² in 2020.

Do you believe it is more environmentally friendly?

[Senator Rob Black, P. Ag. (Hon) @SenatorRobBlack]

My colleague Senator Mary Robinson and I co-signed a letter to federal ministers regarding the ongoing labour disruption in Canada’s Class I railways.

The ability for farmers and the energy industry to transport their products via rail efficiently is essential. Labour disruptions can have severe consequences including food and financial losses, propane shortages, and animal welfare issues. @SenateCA @Agproudmary @CFAFCA #CdnAg #AgMatters #CdnPoli

[Kelly Daynard @kellydaynard]

Hats off to the Brant Federation of Agriculture, supported by @OntarioFarms, on these great road signs displayed on roadsides along my route today. They contain such terrific info.

[Andy Pasztor 🧼🧽 @apasztor82]

Can’t say I’ve ever seen the northern lights during planting before …. That’s pretty dang cool!!!

[Terry Daynard @TerryDaynard]

Cdn farmers not subscribing to @westernproducer should read these special articles by @ArnasonRobert and @EdWhiteMarkets : Major shift in research funding priorities by @AAFC_Canada . https://t.co/DI4G8bAoVe
Much more about govt climate agenda. Less on producer-identified needs.

[Steven Chase @stevenchase]

Important: David Vigneault defends CSIS's intelligence at end of testimony after early criticism by PM:
"What is important to remember is that this is done by professional, trained intelligence analysts and professionals that are bringing this together.
And I just would like to leave you Madam Commissioner, and through you, to Canadians, with the message that intelligence is a very sophisticated approach.
We are a learning organization, so we are all trying to get better.
But I would also would like to say that I'm extremely proud of the work that the intelligence professionals of CSIS do every day in Canada, and around the world, in very dangerous situations, to protect Canadians and make sure that we are safe and secure in a prosperous country."

[Brian Jean @BrianJeanAB]

Without #oil and #gas, society as we know it would cease to function. I'm incredibly proud of Albertans, particularly oil and gas professionals who work long hours under tough conditions. Oil and gas in our lives 👇 Please like and share this video! #cdnpoli #abpoli #energy

[Bryan Passifiume @BryanPassifiume]

Good God… when Marc Hervieux and Mulroney’s granddaughter Elizabeth Lapham stopped to let a recording of Brian Mulroney finish singing When Irish Eyes are Smiling — man, how moving.

[Jean Charest @JeanCharest_]

https://t.co/5ehO2qXHrD