Praise for gov’t
To the Editor:
Over the past few months the media has been reporting on the plight of farmers and their requests for government assistance. There has been a great deal of criticism directed at the policies of the Federal Government and in particular the Minister of Agriculture, Lyle Vanclief.
While we, the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, representing the interests of 100,000 cattle producers in Canada, do not always see eye to eye with the Federal Government, we do take exception with the nature of criticism. We are very grateful for the tremendous assistance that we have received from the Minister and his department on a number of vital matters affecting our industry.
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The Canadian cattle industry has been involved in a trade dispute with the Americans for the past year. A U.S. cattle group located mainly in the northwest states launched two trade actions against the Canadian cattle industry. The first was a countervail action and the second an anti-dumping action.
These cases are ongoing, but the preliminary findings on countervail found no unfair domestic subsidies. On anti-dumping the U.S. Department of Commerce has implemented a preliminary 5.57 percent duty on all cattle entering the U.S., based on a technicality.
In both cases, Agriculture Minister Vanclief and his officials provided tremendous support in time and resources. We continue on with this fight to prove our exports are traded fairly and to end these investigations.
We export over $2.5 billion of beef and beef cattle to the U.S. each year and it is absolutely vital that our border with the U.S. be unrestricted. The Minister and his officials have kept trade interests at the forefront in safety net considerations and in discussions with the U.S. They have fought hard on our behalf on a number of other trade battles in which we are embroiled….
It is easy to be critical of government officials and especially politicians. They become the lightning rod for everything when things aren’t right. While we do not always see eye to eye with the Federal Government on all issues and we are not in the practice of heaping praise towards Ottawa, we believe credit should be given where credit is due.
Mr. Vanclief deserves credit for the leadership role he has played in defending our industry in these turbulent times.
Ben Thorlakson,
Canadian Cattlemen’s
Association,
Calgary, Alta.
High taxes
We must keep in mind that taxes are collected in order to pay for goods and services rendered and that low and middle income groups are presently carrying a greater load than they can well afford. Cannot the wealthy be expected to carry their fair share of the tax burden, thus giving the lower wage earning group reprieve?
We maintain that Saskatchewan is probably the best of Canadian provinces in which to live. Granted that changes are most likely necessary, but should they be made by lowering the personal income tax or by redistribution of tax so as to give the lower income earners a break?
A top priority in Saskatchewan is still quality health care. This is an issue that must not be abandoned. It appears that a war is being waged, not so much on taxes as on the services provided by taxation.
Do we want to see public services in the fields of education, health, libraries, broadcasting and other social services eroded or indeed cancelled altogether?
We think not. We would be interested in tax breaks that would benefit those who most need them, lower income groups.
This would hopefully reduce child poverty, homelessness, inadequate housing and would overall help to raise the standard of living for the poor. …
The Saskatchewan Party says Canada suffers from a brain drain. Statistics Canada says emigrants to the U.S. in the ’90s is one third of the numbers between 1955 and 1969 and they didn’t emigrate because of high taxes.
– Helen and Lloyd Baker,
Saskatoon, Sask.
