Under siege
This is in response to the article in the May 10 edition by Lowell Haynes, a registered land agent.
Regarding the drubbing that land agents have been getting in the press, I feel that perhaps Mr. Haynes doth protest too much, or to give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe Mr. Haynes is exceptional in his field in that he holds himself to a high ethical standard in the conducting of his profession.
At the risk of painting an entire profession with a wide brush, I reluctantly have to admit that most of my experience with land agents has been poor at best, enraging at worst.
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I have caught land agents deliberately trying to mislead me and I have known land agents to threaten my neighbours by stating that projects would be “shoved down their throats” if they didn’t sign off. A written complaint to the land agents’ professional association went unanswered.
Even at their best, most land agents cannot answer the technical questions about a proposed development. It is to the point where I won’t let one in my door or on my property. I tell them to have oil and gas company senior staff contact me so my questions can be answered.
Land agents have one job and that is to get you to sign on the dotted line. That’s their bread and butter and many, likely not all, will try varying degrees of persuasion or pressure, including pitting neighbour against neighbour, to get the job done.
So maybe Mr. Haynes would excuse rural landowners for their so-called siege mentality. When we are approached by the industry time after time, for zone after zone, when you lose the discretionary use of your land, except the privilege to pay taxes on it, due to pipelines and well sites, when you put up with the noise and the dust and the poisons, it is not hard to feel under attack. It’s part of living with the Alberta Advantage.
So, if the land man shows up at your door, take the package from his hand, send him off and lawyer up.
– Tim Belec,
Westerose, Alta.
Energy change
It is time for the citizens of our planet Earth, particularly for us who live in this exosomatic energy bubble in this present era, that we take the necessary steps for change – perhaps not for ourselves but for generations to come.
There are two kinds of energy, endosomatic and exosomatic. The former is energy transformed in the body for muscle power. Exosomatic energy is developed outside the body, like using fossil fuels for an engine or other kinds of fuel to produce power.
For thousands of years the human race survived by the energy of the sun. Plants were the main source of our food but then we also ate the animals that lived on plants.
The exo/endo energy ratio in the pre-industrial era was about four to one. Since fossil fuels came into use early in the last century, that ratio in developed countries has changed to 40 to one. In the United States and probably also in Canada, that ratio has risen to about 90 to one.
The future of those living after us may depend on how much net energy gain can be extracted by utilizing new technologies through hydro, solar, wind, tidal or other forms of power.
There are thousands of ways to conserve energy. …
Prime minister (Stephen) Harper’s plans for our future, not publicly mentioned, apparently favour nuclear reactors. Even if part of that process was squeaky clean, which it is not, by the time enough nuclear reactors were built, while carbon emissions continue unabated, it may be too late to save many parts of our planet from irreparable damage.
– Leo Kurtenbach,
Cudworth, Sask.
Seeking truth
Re: Amanda Hagel’s letter (Open Forum, April 26).
I was born on a homestead at Parkbeg, Sask., in 1923. My travels took me through 21 countries where climates have varied substantially.
Amanda Hagel deserves top recognition for her valid thoughts and comments. Searching for the truth can be a frustrating experience because the truth comes forward in many disguised forms.
The environment is a complex issue that can be manipulated by people and organizations to suit their individual purposes. In most cases, monetary gain is at the root of it all. The success of fear-mongering must be closely monitored. It has truly become a part of political life in the western world.
Amanda Hagel’s concern for the truth, from a young person’s perspective, is surely an inspiration that should arouse clear thinking by the younger generation that will take control in the very near future….
In my 84 years of life on planet Earth I have witnessed substantial climate change, some for better and others for worse. Included are low and high temperatures, drought and floods, seasonal time changes and weather cycles.
The many people that call themselves environment experts have left so many unanswered questions that confusion reigns supreme.
I am also searching for the truth regarding global warming and ecological wisdom, but failed in my efforts. Life on Earth since the beginning of time has experienced complications caused by weather where local adjustments were necessary. Life has carried on.
We must carefully weigh the language that is directed our way and operate according to our gut feeling.
– John Seierstad,
Cedar, B.C.
Rail waste
When I went to school, one of the first lessons I learned in geometry was that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. Maybe CN Rail officials should take this lesson into consideration in regards to the CN branch line which meanders out of Regina, through to Lumsden in the Qu’Appelle Valley and heads due northwest all the way to Saskatoon.
The only stretch of track currently being used on this line is when they send hopper cars out of Saskatoon as far as Davidson, then load them at the grain terminals there, and then send them back to Saskatoon, the same way they come. The stretch of track from Davidson southeast all the way to Regina probably hasn’t had a train on it for about five or six years.
True; there are very few, if any, grain elevators left standing along this route, but that doesn’t mean this track couldn’t be used to transport other products.
There may be justification for closing a line that is sitting in some remote part of the province that leads to nowhere. But when they shut down a branch line, which by the way has the heavy guard rail and is the closest rail-link in miles between the two biggest cities in the province, you can’t help but wonder what CN officials are putting in their pipes and smoking, when they tell you they can’t find a viable use for this line any more.
Meanwhile, in the period of time this branch line has been dormant, the heavy truck traffic on Highway 11 between Regina and Saskatoon has gone through the roof. … It will only be a matter of time before the provincial government will be forced to spend a huge pile of money to resurface this 160 mile stretch of highway, which by the way is twin laned.
To add insult to injury, there, sitting idle and rusting away beside the highway, is heavy gauge rail atop a railbed designed to carry weight that the asphalt was not. What a waste.
Do we have to be rocket scientists to figure out how many freight trucks and semi trailers it takes to match the equivalent of a half-mile long freight train? …
There is a world of viability for this branch line, if CN would wake up and start using their imagination and this track to its full potential.
By using this route, they would save miles and fuel, transporting oil tanker, potash, hopper and flatbed cars with piggyback freight containers. Send two or three trains a day instead of one every two weeks, as was the case just before they closed it down.
I would like to encourage our MLAs to lobby the government to put pressure on CN to re-instate this branch line before Highway 11 begins to deteriorate and CN officials get a brainwave to scrap the line. In this day and age of tight economics, what a waste that would be.
– Barry Weisbrod,
Disley, Sask.
CWB & organics
The recent barley vote speaks for itself. The Canadian Wheat Board is simply not serving the needs of barley producers.
Had the election been taken further onto organic producers, the outcome would have most likely shown the same amount of for a free market system.
Organic producers across the Prairies have shown repeated resentment toward the way the board assists organic exports to the United States and abroad.
American and foreign processors and millers import soft white wheat and other varieties from Eastern Canada.
They also import red spring wheat, durum and barley from the Canadian prairies. Numerous mills produce specialty blends of cereals and flours that are sold in organic food stores and outlets all over the world.
Organic growers east of Manitoba require an export licence, much the same document as their western counterparts must fill out prior to exporting wheat and barley to the U.S., or to other foreign destinations.
Western Canadian producers, however, must undergo an expensive and demeaning course of action, as one of the organic growers who contributed to this letter described his situation.
Under the present legislation, western Canadian organic growers are forced to perform a buy-back on their product before an export licence is issued.
The initial price is set by the board, as is the export price, a figure that the board determines using a series of factors that are unavailable to the producer, and that vary from day to day.
The difference between the initial price and export value is what is used by the CWB to determine what the farmer must pay to the board in order to purchase his own grain prior to export.
I don’t dispute the fact that this method has worked well in the past for conventional or non organic farmers. They don’t see the transaction in the same light, simply because they don’t have to fill out the paperwork, and they don’t have to seek the buyer out.
Most of all, they don’t have to write a cheque or sign a loan agreement every time they sell grain….
The CWB, in its attempt to insert itself into this market, is putting a wall between the consumer and the farmer.
In establishing itself as a marketer of organic grains, the CWB has undermined the relationship between the farmers and their customers. Some organic growers have told me that the CWB has gone as far as stealing their historical customers.
Only time and another CWB election will level the playing field.
– John Hamon,
Gravelbourg, Sask.
