Frontier Radio Commentary

Canada's Organic Food System is a Nightmare (~2min) – May 24, 2013
Let the buyer beware when it comes to “organic” products. More on today’s Frontier Centre commentary. Many Canadians buy organic when they shop for groceries, because they believe that organic products are purer, more nutritious and more sustainable. However, a study by the Frontier Centre found that there is no systematic proof that food which is certified as organic is tastier or more nutritious. (~2 min.)

Time to Abandon Supply Management in Agriculture (~2min) – February 15, 2013
Imagine what would happen if the government of Canada took $150 from every family, regardless of their income, and transferred the proceeds to just 13,000 people. Imagine further that the $150 went to business owners with millions of dollars in assets. This already exists in Canada. It’s called supply management. (~2 min.)

How Biofuel Subsidies Hurt Poor People (~2min) – January 25, 2013
Governments around the world, including here in Canada, have spent many millions of dollars subsidizing the production of biofuels, which are derived from crops such as corn. The main reason is to help reduce the consumption of fossil fuels, but these programs have backfired in many cases, producing unintended negative consequences. The subsidies for producing biofuel drives up the price of the crops, especially corn which is used primarily to feed livestock. (~2 min.)

Policy Should Favour Science (~2min) – August 10, 2012
Decisions that affect our health and safety should be based strictly on proven science. What do organic food activists, Quebec separatists, and Bolivia have in common? All three involve promotion of opinions and policies that simply don’t make sense.

Prairie Governments Should Look Forward, Not Backward, On the Wheat Board (~1min) – October 28, 2011
The Manitoba NDP government of Greg Selinger seem to prefer sparring with Ottawa over the Wheat Board rather than helping farmers find new opportunities to market their grain. Hear more on today’s Frontier Centre Commentary.

Rural Renaissance (SK) (~1min) – October 28, 2011
Saskatchewan is Canada's breadbasket, but public policy when it comes to agriculture leaves a lot to be desired. In the new book Birth of a Boom: Saskatchewan’s Dawning Golden Age, David Seymour argues that that the future of farming depends on things like eliminating the Wheat Board monopoly, and allowing foreigners to own farmland in the province.

Reforming Wheat Board Opportunity, Not Risk (~2min) – July 15, 2011
The majority Conservative government in Ottawa is set to end the monopoly that forces western Canadian farmers to sell their wheat and barley to the Canadian Wheat board. It will be replaced by a voluntary board that allows wheat and barley farmers the choice of selling through the board or through their own normal commercial arrangements. Reforming the Canadian Wheat Board is an opportunity, not a risk, for Manitoba. Find out why on this week’s Frontier Centre Commentary.

Marketing Freedom at Last? (~2min) – July 15, 2011
Since the election of a majority conservative government, the end of the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopsony on marketing prairie wheat has taken on an air of inevitability. Last week, the C.D. Howe Institute put another nail in the Wheat Board’s coffin. Hear more on this week’s radio commentary.

GE Rice Better than Blindness (~2min) – April 29, 2011
Greenpeace and other opponents of genetic modification have succeeded at legally blocking Golden Rice from being grown worldwide. They have said that if it is planted they will rip it from the ground. It seems they would rather see a quarter of a million kids who depend on rice for their nutrition go blind than allow genetic engineering. Radio commentary by Senior Policy Analyst David Seymour.

Where are Saskatchewan’s Pasta Factories? (~2min) – October 29, 2010
Ultimately, the question of single desk marketing is not just about prices and percentages; it’s about the economic vibrancy of a whole region. From the Frontier Centre's weekly radio commentary that runs in 3 prairie provinces.

Mobile Phones, Indian Fishermen, and the Canadian Wheat Board (~2min) – October 22, 2010
In today’s world collective marketing no longer makes sense. Technology has changed business...it has given individual traders more power to negotiate, and made collective organisations like the Canadian Wheat Board irrelevant. From the Frontier Centre's weekly radio commentary that runs in 3 prairie provinces.

Protection, Competition, Cheap Milk (~2min) – April 16, 2010
When it comes to trade, the one interest that all Canadians do have in common is the ability to sell the best goods they can and buy the best goods they can’t; trade barriers on the other hand, just limit those opportunities. From the Frontier Centre's weekly radio commentary that runs in 3 prairie provinces.

Expropriation Victory Demonstrates Need For Further Reform (~2min) – October 16, 2009
Traditionally, expropriation is only allowed for public utilities, such as roads and bridges, but allowing expropriation for economic development gives governments broad powers that can be easily abused. From the Frontier Centre's weekly radio commentary that runs in 3 prairie provinces.

Food Miles Fad Misinformed (~2min) – November 14, 2008
From the Frontier Centre's weekly radio commentary that runs in 3 prairie provinces.

Politicians Must Deal With Food Issues First (~2min) – September 12, 2008
From the Frontier Centre's weekly radio commentary that runs in 3 prairie provinces.

Trade Talks Held Hostage By Special Interests (~3min) – August 1, 2008
From the Frontier Centre's weekly radio commentary that runs in 3 prairie provinces.

Hog Ban Stinks (~2min) – June 6, 2008
David Seymour discusses diminished hog production in Manitoba on the Frontier Centre's weekly radio policy broadcast.

Expropriation A Threat To All Landowners (~3min) – May 30, 2008
From the Frontier Centre's weekly radio commentary that runs in 3 prairie provinces.

Stealing Corn (~3min) – April 25, 2008
From the Frontier Centre's weekly radio commentary that runs in 3 prairie provinces.

Choosing What to Put in Our Bodies (~1min) – February 15, 2008
David Seymour observes the troubling trend towards more food nannydom . . . in Calgary and where next?