Letters to the editor

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Published: July 4, 2002

Treat earth right

A picture is sometimes more informative than 1,000 words. I am

referring to the picture on page 5 of the WP, June 6, “Scenes Like Days

Gone By.”

Sadly enough it is not “days gone by.” What caught my attention

immediately is the absence of trees or shrubs or hedges as far as one

can see. Are we creating these desert landscapes or are we not doing

enough to prevent erosion and climate changes of all sorts? The world

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is full of examples of deserts and ruined landscapes created by men.

There are also many examples of restoration of devastated land brought

back to life, back to productive agriculture.

This picture brought back in my memory a discussion I had with a

Saskatchewan farmer 40 years ago. He was getting rid of all the rows of

trees and hedges on his farm and felt that his land was too valuable

and showed me how many acres of wheat he would gain.

I also recall the time when trees were readily available to farmers at

no cost at the nursery in Indian Head, Sask., and that there was not a

great demand.

Let there be no doubt, the way we treat the earth, that is the way the

earth will treat us in return.

– Henry Dahle,

Wynndel, B.C.

Ducks Unlimited

Keith Yoder’s letter (Open Forum, June 13) fails to acknowledge the

many beneficial working relationships Ducks Unlimited Canada enjoys

with Prairie landowners.

DUC is a 100 percent Canadian owned corporation that secures habitat

through purchases, conservation easements, donations and land leases.

In total, land owned by DUC represents only 0.15 percent of farmland in

the Prairies when farm area, identified in the 1996 Census of

Agriculture, is the base.

Of greater significance in terms of DUC’s influence on the landscape

are the actions of 12,000 prairie landowners who voluntarily partner

with DUC.

Through DUC conservation programs, producers are participating in

forage conversion and grazing programs that increase forage supplies

and increase the industry’s sustainability.

Landowners have also increased production of waterfowl friendly crops,

like winter cereals, that DUC promotes to increase producer’s profit

and, at the same time, improve wildlife habitat.

Grassland nesting cover created by DUC is tendered locally for forage

when management is required. This year, under a one-time only drought

response program, selected DUC grasslands in extreme drought areas were

opened for grazing or forage under tendered permit.

While Mr. Yoder fails to see the value of DUC’s conserved lands, over

400 producers in Saskatchewan and Alberta accessed DUC lands for forage

this year. In addition, thousands of cattle drink water from DUC

wetland projects and recently, two communities in the Prairies accessed

DUC wetlands for household water needs.

Western Canadians provide DUC with its greatest financial contribution

on average per contributor. Every dollar generated in the prairie

provinces is reinvested into conservation within the region.

With a 64-year history of grassroots support for DUC’s conservation and

fundraising efforts, the people on the Prairies have, contrary to Mr.

Yoder’s statement, expressed commendable community spirit.

It’s this spirit that fuels DUC’s partnerships with the agricultural

community.

– Gordon K. Edwards,

Director of Regional Operations, Ducks Unlimited Canada,

Edmonton, Alta.

Farming habit

In the June 13 edition, Barry Wilson explained how farmers are in

serious trouble and the figures show that farmers are depending on

off-farm income to finance their farming habit.

Habit? My brainwaves jumped record heights. Why did he write habit?

Just an unlucky chosen word? Or what else had he in mind? Are farmers

in the same lane like drug addicts, smokers and gamblers?

I realize farming is a much worse addiction, money-wise.

Isn’t it about time for psychologists to take that farming-habit thing

under scientific observation to find out why farmers keep doing what

they are doing?

Maybe they come along a newfound mental disorder. After patenting a

name for it, like Manic Farming Dementia, the government comes up with

money to found support groups and institutions with tennis court and

golf course. Hey, here comes my holiday.

Some brave farmers might try cold turkey. Buy a computer and surf the

internet. Get hooked and you forget easy that seasons even exist and

the beasts want feed. Never lose hope for a cure. Look out for that

win-win option for the farmer and the government.

You don’t have to work anymore to finance your farming habit and the

government doesn’t have to worry about the budget how to finance a

bottomless plunge. They’ll gladly mail you a welfare cheque.

And if you get bored, the casino is right around the corner. City life

has a lot of exciting opportunities. How about an affordable habit?

– Ramona Morgenstern,

Grandview, Man.

Paranoia

It is astounding and disturbing the level of paranoia among a few vocal

farming groups about Bill C-15B, the amendments to the animal cruelty

provisions of the Criminal Code. This paranoia is based on an

unfortunate misunderstanding of the bill and its application in law.

Part of the problem is that one needs to know more than just the words

in the bill to understand its meaning. The recent opinion piece by

Western Producer editors, “Animal cruelty bill: Amend it or scrap it”

demonstrated a gross misunderstanding of the bill.

They claimed that, “As is, the bill leaves livestock producers open to

vexatious lawsuits brought by individuals or groups that don’t approve

of common management practices.”

Firstly, we are talking about criminal charges, not lawsuits. Secondly,

animal rights groups or individuals simply do not have the tools to

bring the frivolous charges that these farm spokespersons so

desperately fear. These groups or individuals can only attempt to bring

charges as private prosecutions and, under Bill C-15B, it will be

significantly more difficult for them to do this than it is today.

The truth is, Bill C-15B offers greater protection for animal users

than the laws we have today. This is because of the additional

screening processes that will apply to private prosecutions. The bill

elevates animal crimes to hybrid offences from the current designation

as summary conviction.

Hybrid offences require a much greater involvement by a crown

prosecutor to ensure charges are valid before they proceed. In

addition, the government recently introduced a new screening process

specifically to prevent frivolous private prosecutions from proceeding.

This process requires a provincial court judge to approve the charges

before the accused is even notified.

Also, it is completely false to state that moving animal crimes out of

the property section of the Criminal Code removes legal protections for

animal users. It is completely reasonable for our 21st century laws to

recognize animals as different from other pieces of property.

This move, however, does not remove the ability of people to own

animals and it does not remove access to common law defences such as

legal justification and lawful excuse.

As clearly stated by parliamentary secretary Paul Macklin in the House,

“all defences that could possibly be relevant in intentional cruelty

and criminal neglect cases are expressly made applicable.”

It’s almost as if the farming groups and others opposing this bill are

asking for some kind of exemption to allow them to inflict deliberate

cruelty on animals. I’m sure that’s not what they want, but they should

get their facts straight and they would see that Bill C-15B is long

overdue and maintains all the protections for animal users that our

current laws provide….

The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies invites those who make

these erroneous and misleading statements to debate these facts with us.

– Shelagh MacDonald,

Program Director,

Canadian Federation of Humane Societies,

Nepean, Ont.

The truth

We are proud of the fact we live in a democracy, where we get the

opportunity to choose our leaders and where a free press is allowed to

herald and interpret events.

Unfortunately, others see things in a way that falls a little short of

political bosses, who vote on behalf of their constituents so that the

will of the people might be represented.

I’m sure the prime minister would agree if he wasn’t so busy demanding

letters of loyalty from his MPs and coercing members of his cabinet to

support his bid for a renewed mandate as leader of his party. Then

again, we do live in a “Liberal” democracy.

We seek freedom of the press, believing that trust lies with having

access to the truth. The truth was important enough to Joseph Howe when

he criticized government officials in Nova Scotia, only to be charged

with criminal libel. His victory in that 1835 case established the

precedent that even the highest official in the land was not immune to

published criticism or reproach.

Balanced reporting, looking at both sides of an issue, is the hallmark

of journalistic integrity. To disallow criticism merely for partisan

reasons, whether such censorship is enforced by the government itself

or by powerful private citizens, would seem a betrayal.

Real news reporting is subservient only to the truth. Anything else is

just propaganda and spin doctoring.

Obviously not everyone can handle the truth, but I think most of us

want to see responsible government made even more responsible by those

entrusted with providing a balanced analysis of events.

– Ron Thornton,

Edmonton, Alta.

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