HUMPTY DUMPTY
Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall’s privatization plans ‘come off the wall’; things he promised not to privatize. Wall’s actions:
- Signed trade agreements with B.C. and Alberta, remember TILMA, ensuring labour mobility.
- Closed public hospital laundries; trucks laundry to Alberta; 360 good paying Saskatchewan jobs lost.
- Disregarded environmental standards; $360 million environmental fund taken into general revenue.
- Privatized crowns, sold profitable assets and confiscated profits.
- Sold the school broadcasting network to Rogers Corporation.
- Floated private liquor stores then dictated future liquor stores be private; Saskatchewan has most impaired drivers in Canada.
- Shut down Human Rights Commission, replaced members of labour relations’ and health boards, fired Maura Davies for criticizing “Lean” (health-care system waste identification project).
- Considers private company teaching democracy in schools. He needs to be taught its meaning and that teachers are ably doing this.
- Agreed with federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz’s privatizing of the Canadian Wheat Board and closing Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Programs.
- Brags about millions Saskatchewan makes from the sale of our crown lands to corporations; just one owns 180,000 acres. This land grab makes it hard for the new generation of farmers to start their own operations or build communities.
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Hopefully, off the wall, Wall meets the same fate as a famous nursery rhyme character, and his private boards and oil CEOs can’t “put him together again.”
Joan Bell,
CFGA VISION
In direct reference to comments made at our annual general meeting held in Bromont, Que., on Nov. 19, the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA) is not in as grim a financial situation as suggested.
While it is true that the CFGA will be on a tight budget for this fiscal year, prudent management and a team approach over the past few years has allowed the association to build up a small reserve in addition to paying off the start-up loan received from the Manitoba Forage & Grassland Association.
Our vision forward is to continue with our existing partners, and pursue dialogue with all interested stakeholders.
The organization has made great strides since we started five years ago and our board wants to make it clear that we will continue to move forward with our initiatives.
Our board is confident and energized and committed to the growth and development of the CFGA and in the coming weeks will move forward with the hiring of an executive director.
Doug Wray, CFGA Chair,
Irricana, Alta.
NOT HAPPENING
I’m not sure how long agriculture minister Gerry Ritz will keep repeating the lie that most farmers did not want the CWB. Maybe he thinks if he repeats it often enough someone will believe him.
Firstly, how would he know? He never asked them and talking to the same three people and getting the same answer is not the same as asking all farmers.
The CWB did ask all farmers and 62 percent said they wanted the CWB as it was. Just because Ritz did not like that answer and ignored it, does not mean it is not true.
Perhaps he is trying to convince himself of something that doesn’t exist, but he is not convincing others because facts tell the truth.
Interestingly, Ritz seems to have statistics that are different from everyone else with regard to farm income as well. He says, “Net operating incomes are at all-time highs.”
If he turns to page 17 of the same Dec. 4 edition (WP) he would read that farm debt has grown by $5 billion since 2012.
I wonder if he considers a loan the same as income? With that logic the $78 billion of farm debt is probably really $78 billion of equity, so no sweat.
I realize that Ritz accepts no negativity so he would not consider the recent experiences of Broadacre Farms, One Earth Farms, Big Sky or Maxcrop to be some examples of “forward thinking farmers.” Nor would he consider that, perhaps, he is wrong.
Ritz also seems to subscribe to some double standards because in the old days the CWB’s business had to be open and above board but now that it “competes on the open market, it has a right to protect commercially sensitive information.”
You mean the old CWB did not participate on the open market? There were no other grain buyers out there? Shocking news.
It sure would be nice if the grain business could be discussed in a business-like and rational manner, but I can’t see it happen with this minister.
Horst Schreiber,
Ohaton, Alta.
