PONOKA, Alta. -A rally in central Alberta designed to draw the attention of politicians to the plight of cattle producers had trouble drawing even the cattle producers.
Organizers of the Canadian Cattlemen for Fair Trade rallies had hoped 5,000 people would show up at events in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario, but about 200 producers showed up in Ponoka.
Betty and Lyle Brown of Carstairs, Alta., brought their lawn chairs and were prepared to settle in for as long as it took to return attention to the BSE crisis.
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“It feels like nobody is talking about it anymore,” said Betty, whose entire family raises cattle.
“You have to support this rally to keep things going.”
It’s been 13 months since BSE was discovered in Alberta. Each month cattle producers have been teased with the prospect that the U.S. border opening is just around the corner. More than a year later the border is still closed to Canada’s largest and most lucrative cattle market.
On the weekend, federal agriculture minister Bob Speller said it’s only a matter of weeks before the American rule-making process is complete. He predicted the border will open by August.
Rick Paskal, a feedlot operator from Picture Butte, Alta., and one of the rally organizers, said the minister stepped out of line by raising the hopes of cattle producers once again.
“He has no right to make those comments,” said Paskal, who just returned from Washington and is convinced the border won’t open until at least 2005.
“It’s not going to happen this year. Anybody who thinks it is is just dreaming.”
While the rule-making process may be in place soon, Paskal predicted that the American beef group R-CALF will take the rules to court as soon as they are announced.
While in Washington, Paskal said he was urged by American beef producers to hold a meeting in Montana to dispel the myths around BSE and keep pressure on American officials.
“We’ve been teased all along that the border opening is just around the corner,” Paskal said. “No more.”
He said producers need to push politicians to forget about the border opening and concentrate on building a packing industry in Canada.
“We as industry have to get together, devise a strategy of what we’re going to do, get some packing plant construction going on in this country and not say another word about that border opening until it actually happens.”
However, he said there are things Canadians can do to put pressure on the Americans to open the border. He urged Canadians not to holiday in the United States this year and asked Canadian petroleum companies to curtail a portion of their oil and gas shipments to the U.S. People who do business with R-CALF should stop, he added, and packing plant workers should refuse to slaughter cattle from R-CALF members.
Keith Horsburgh of the Southern Alberta Livestock Haulers Association said his group has lost almost half its employees and millions of dollars of infrastructure since the border closed.
“It’s almost impossible to attract new blood to the industry,” Horsburgh told the rally.
Tony Saretsky, with the Livestock Dealers and Order Buyers Association, said the Canadian industry needs to look for markets other than the U.S.
“If the Americans aren’t willing to accept our cattle, maybe we should find someone who is.”
Bill Newton, president of the Western Stock Growers Association, said the optimism that kept cattle producers going for the past year has disappeared.
“Optimism is not common; in fact it’s almost gone.”
