The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Calgary - Cattle producers were hopeful Saturday that consumer confidence in the safety of Canada's beef would remain high after U.S. officials said the mad cow discovered in Washington state has been tentatively traced to an Alberta farm. "It's going to be a horror story one way or another - there's no question," said Mac MacLean, who runs a 16,000-head feedlot operation near Lethbridge, Alta. Neil Jahnke of the Canadian Cattlemen's Association says the new case will obviously hurt the industry, which had been hoping the U.S. border would reopen to young Canadian cattle early in 2004. Canada's beef industry has lost more than $1.9 billion in exports alone since May, when more than 30 countries immediately slammed their borders to Canadian beef. Those restrictions have only recently begun to be lifted, mostly to cuts of boneless beef from animals under 30 months believed at low-risk of contracting the disease. Toronto - The ongoing debate over the sweet leaf's place in Canadian society - whether for medicine or for pleasure - promises to grow more heated in the coming year. With the federal government courting decriminalization of marijuana, Canadians voice their opinions on the contentious topic. An Ipsos-Reid poll conducted in May suggested that 55 per cent of respondents did not believe smoking marijuana should be a criminal offence.12/29/2003
