No impact; Ignatieff corrected; NFU & R-CALF; Not so warm; Not pink
No impact
It disturbed me greatly when I read in the March 19 Western Producer (“Study questions BSE’s impact”) of the study done by American professor Michael Broadway. …
In the article it is mentioned numerous times that BSE had no impact on the local rural economy. Mr. Broadway, however, contradicts himself by going on to say that cow-calf producers adapted by finding other sources of income, dealt with more stress, lost farm cash receipts, took out more bank loans, extended existing loans, sold land, sold machinery, and/or found off-farm jobs.
Read Also
Higher farmland taxes for investors could solve two problems
The highest education and health care land tax would be for landlords, including investment companies, with no family ties to the land.
I am sure none of these things would have happened to the same degree if BSE had not been the force driving producers to make those choices.
These kinds of changes in a community do have an effect on the local economy, because the local economy starts in our individual homes. If our household economy is being impacted in some way, then our local economy is also being impacted.
I’m not sure what impact Mr. Broadway was looking for when he did his study. If he was looking for barren wasteland with nothing but tumbleweeds and dust, where at one time there was a thriving community like Barrhead or St. Paul, Alta., then even I could have saved him the trip and expense, because like a lot of other rural communities we have learned to adapt to what seem like ever changing conditions to survive.
But to say that BSE has had no economic impact on us is totally false. He goes on to say that he did recognize the higher level of stress facing farm families and increase in divorce. Again, these may have been the case without BSE but … the numbers are probably higher than (without) BSE….
Sorry for disagreeing with you Mr. Broadway, but BSE has economically impacted me, my family and the rural community we used to live in. I’m sure if you looked hard enough you would have discovered similar findings in Barrhead or St. Paul or many other rural communities across the West that are in cattle country.
Headlines are still reporting that the livestock industry may never recover, Mr. Broadway. I don’t think never is here yet. The BSE impact is still evident if you know where to look for it and you know what you’re looking at.
– Rheaume Richaud,
Estevan, Sask.
Ignatieff corrected
Michael Ignatieff, in a speech to the Liberal Party of Quebec, displayed his ignorance of Canadian history when he named former prime minister Brian Mulroney as a great unifier in Canada.
We didn’t know Brian Mulroney but we voted for him to get rid of Pierre Trudeau. Under his term of office, the head offices of crown corporations were moved to Quebec where the staff was forced to operate in the French language. He forced the use of the French language in all government departments including the bureaucracy, the army and the RCMP.
It is a known fact that the language laws of Quebec were condemned by the United Nations and declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of Canada. Brian Mulroney did nothing. …
Brian Mulroney was one of (the recent) prime ministers from Quebec to rule Canada; none of them worked for the common good. All of them spent our money to further their own interests.
Contrary to what Michael Ignatieff says, Brian Mulroney did nothing to unite Canada. When he left office, Canada was loaded with corruption. The East was turned against the West, Indians against white, French against English, women against men.
It is apparent that Michael Ignatieff knows little about the nature of Canada, yet he expects to become prime minister.
– John I. Fisher,
North Battleford, Sask.
NFU & R-CALF
The history of agriculture production has pitted province against province and country against country.
At last people of vision have stepped up to do a thorough analysis of our industry and have the creativity to strive for a farmers magna carta.
A conference at Billings, Montana, set an important future event in motion.
Media suggestions and accusations by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association that the National Farmers Union has linked arms with R-CALF were deliberate and irresponsible in an attempt to undermine a movement of farmers to finally organize and give up the pitting of one farmer against the other.
All farmers are in competition with each other as individuals locally, provincially, federally and continentally, yet we form organizations and associations to represent us collectively.
We sit at the table with different ideology and methods of favouring and yet put our arguments, differences of opinion aside to fight for a common cause.
Our foe is large packers with captive supply and not each other.
I have sided with my “adversaries” on occasion for the common good but that never represented a change of opinion on our original differences.
Why would that be any different than the NFU and R-CALF?
Shame on those who would try to divide and conquer an honest effort of organizations to put their differences aside and work for solutions for all farmers.
Those who attended the Billings international conference should be applauded and supported by all farmers and non-farmers for their discussion, with no bias and discrimination in search of a better future.
Now if only the naysayers and politicians would take the same example.
– Sandra White,
Fairview, Alta.
Not so warm
It looks like this long cold winter is finally over, the coldest in 50 years according to Environment Canada.
Kind of ironic, considering that we are constantly bombarded by predictions that global warming is wrecking the planet. I have yet to see any evidence of this.
A neighbour used to hold a bull sale on April fool’s day every year for over 20 years, the no fools bull sale. Sadly he has had to postpone the event.
Why? Well the nice spring weather that we are used to seeing by the first of April has been replaced by snowstorms and blizzards for the last number of years despite claims of global warming.
It reminds me of the old adage: believe nothing you hear and only half of what you see.
I was also skeptical that the actions taken by the B.C. government by taxing hydro and fuel in an attempt to reduce energy use would do anything to combat global warming.
I was sure it would instead put the chill on many struggling businesses in the province. I thought that any modest reduction in energy use that might occur would never reduce our carbon dioxide levels since our expanding world population would quickly gobble that up.
However, I will have to admit that I was wrong. Even though carbon dioxide levels keep climbing, they have managed to reverse global warming. Pure genius! Great job guys.
– Frank Schlichting,
Cecil Lake, B.C.
Not pink
Karl Marx predicted that capitalism would destroy itself. Are we witnessing a dry run of the real thing?
However, Marx must be turning over in his grave to see communism rescuing capitalism.
Since our government can’t use the word communism to describe the process of bailing out capitalism with taxpayer’s money, we call it a stimulation package – not even slightly pink.
– Michael Mowchenko,
Saskatoon, Sask.
