BRIGHT FUTURE CHALLENGED
Re: Letter to editor (WP Dec. 5) by Gerry Ritz, agriculture minister, entitled “Ag future bright.”
I am a cow-calf producer from southeast Saskatchewan and wish to challenge the minister on his submission.
In 1964, I purchased my first new vehicle, a 1965 Ford Mustang car with black leather interior, 289 motor with four barrel carburetor, four speed stick shift. What an excellent and useful car this was — total cost $2,850.
At this same time I was investing in the Continental cattle breeds that were coming from Europe.
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In those days, a grade range cow with a Continental calf at foot and rebred back were selling for $1,500 to $1,800 at auction sales throughout Canada.
I attended a bred cow sale this November with over 300 animals consigned. Some were cow-calf units. Not one lot sold over the $1,400 mark, and many were below $1,000.
The irony I want to point out is that agriculture’s research and development was cut in 2013, and Ford Canada received one quarter of $1 billion for research and development. Go figure.
By the way, a Mustang car is listed at $28,000-plus today.
A recommended remedy is to regulate the greedy corporations that have a monopoly and create competition with more players.
George C. McNeely,
Wawota, Sask.
LEGISLATED THEFT
In December of 2011, the (prime minister Stephen) Harper government repealed the Canadian Wheat Board Act of 1998. In doing so, the Conservatives ripped up a partnership agreement that the act had created between the farmers of Western Canada and the government.
The rights and responsibilities of each party were set out in the 1998 act, and the farmers took their responsibilities seriously by electing the board of directors that would control the $6 billion organization.
In 2011, the government did not follow the existing laws, which set out the process for farmers to vote on the future of the CWB.
At the same time, the government confiscated hundreds of millions of dollars worth of assets paid for by farmers out of the grain pooling accounts, without any compensation for these assets.
These assets include rail hopper cars, the office building in downtown Winnipeg, grain-carrying lakers and cash that was previously set aside as a self-insurance program to cover marketing risks.
These assets are now being used to bankroll some future private company, which farmers will never again control.
The disorderly marketing that the Harper government has imposed on farmers has driven wheat prices into the $4.50 per bushel range and caused Canadian prices to be much lower than U.S. prices.
Perhaps with all the scandals and cover-ups in Ottawa, the Harper government has lost track of what is right and what is wrong.
But farmers haven’t, and the legislated theft without compensation of hundreds of millions of dollars of farmer-paid wheat board assets is wrong. Period.
Stewart Wells,
Swift Current, Sask.
CHANGES TO BE MADE
Re: Board resignations — Weyburn Inland Terminal (WIT).
I am not surprised with the news that two members have resigned from the WIT board of directors which, I am led to believe, is currently looking into the possible selling of this farmer owned facility.
WIT was created by a group of innovative and progressive farmers and built for farmers. Over the years it has developed into a very successful business — why now do they wish to sell it? This certainly was not the initial intent of the builders and investors.
Over the years, management and some board members were brainwashed into thinking that the Canadian Wheat Board was the only way to market most of their grains.
Now that farmers have marketing choice, the management is lost without direction and leadership in marketing and now using their “strategic review process” as a way of getting themselves out of a mess that they themselves created. Changes, yes; wholesale dispersal, no.
Don Olah, shareholder and founding director of WIT,
Weyburn, Sask.
THEY WILL DECIDE
Re: WP, Dec. 12. Comments in regard to plant breeders’ rights rules.
The federal government is planning to load research costs to the farmers.
Who will pay to develop it and pay to use it? What a great deal.
As it happened with canola seed, so it will be with the cereals. (Agriculture minister) Mr. (Gerry) Ritz and the nationals will decide what’s good for everyone. What else is new?
O. Yanishewski,
Spirit River, Alta.
SHIPPING CONTAINERS
Perhaps the Canadian Wheat Board could look into the loading of high quality grains into empty containers going back to Asia.
We have found it very simple to load containers on the farm. The grain is cleaned to quality standards, loaded into containers with a 60-foot conveyor and sealed.
The container truck takes it to the rail loading site for shipment to Vancouver and loaded onto ships.
I realize not every farm has cleaning and loading facilities, but we do have prairie seed cleaning plants that can offer this service. Loading containers would be a great service to grain farmers and a lot less capital cost over owning grain storage.
Robert Snider,
New Norway, Alta.
A DARK DAY
It’s the end of the incandescent bulb as of Jan. 1, a sad day for the environment as we will be forced to use CFL (compact fluorescent bulbs) instead.
I just cannot understand, in a democracy, how our government can force us to use something so dangerous. Most people have no idea that you cannot dispose of these in household garbage, let alone the danger in your home if you break one.
In my own mind I was confident that only a fool or a madman would authorize such a threat, so dangerous to humans and to the environment.
I was “right” on both counts.
John Fefchak,
Virden, Man
JOB LOSS CONTRADICTION
Re: Regina Leader Post, Dec. 6.
(Saskatchewan) premier (Brad) Wall has his dander up. He is not pleased there will be job losses at PotashCorp.
I agree with the premier on that point: every worker needs a decent paycheque.
But the premier is contradicting himself. Is it true, Mr. Premier, your government has announced the plan for privatizing health care laundry services in Saskatchewan?
Why would we allow a bunch of dedicated public service employees — in this case mostly women — to be booted out the door and Saskatchewan taxpayer dollars to be shipped to Alberta?
Premier Wall and his government seem to want to go to war with some of the workers in our province, while publicly supporting others.
Come clean, Mr. Premier, tell the people exactly what is your plan for the public service in Saskatchewan.
Henry Neufeld,
Waldeck, Sask.
