Farm credit comment
I borrowed money from Farm Credit Canada and sacrificed to make my payments for over 30 years. I did not find them pleasant to deal with. I got the feeling if I was a smooth talker and owed a lot of money, they treated you well.
I know some farmers they overlent to and it was impossible to make the payments. I questioned them about this and was told the loans were written down to about half of what was owing.
Now these farmers are selling out. Is Farm Credit there to collect the money that is still owing?
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How many more crown corporations is our auditor general overlooking? She says Farm Credit is well run. I think the government should hire Sun Media. They looked at the books. My hat is off to them.
I don’t think any employee from Farm Credit should get a bonus at our expense.
Warren Iverson,
Glaslyn, Sask.
Climate change
In response to John Seierstad on global warming, (Open Forum, March 18), in his letter Mr. Seierstad implies that scientists are conspiring to hide the truth about climate change by bringing forth their findings in disguised form.
Yet the scientific community has been extraordinarily clear on climate change. A significant warming of the atmosphere is occurring, most likely motivated by the greenhouse effect as driven by human-caused emissions of greenhouse gases.
He goes on about weather events he has seen but really, what is his point?
No one in the scientific community is denying that our climate changes over time.
The point is that our atmosphere seems to be quickly warming and the science-based models point to our emissions of CO2, methane and other gases that trap the sun’s heat within the atmosphere as the most likely cause of the rise.
That our prime minister went to the Copenhagen meetings and sided with the small minority of nations denying the reality of climate warming only shows the extent to which he is in thrall to the oil industry and the reality denying faction of the business community.
His actions at that meeting do not represent a voice of sanity and reason, as Mr. Seierstad contends, but rather place our great nation in the dubious company of those yearning for a pretend world where climate warming is just a fabrication of some great cabal of plotting scientists and bureaucrats.
That position is insupportable and unworthy of the intelligent and discriminating readership of the WP.
In contrast to Mr. Harper and his supporters, there are many business leaders that want to get on with tackling this very real problem.
Those individuals and groups are working to articulate the policies and methods needed to come to grips with this daunting challenge. …
The recent (Pew) report, “Getting Ahead of the Curve: Corporate Strategies That Address Climate Change,” contains much food for thought on how companies can develop and implement corporate strategies that take into account climate-related risks and opportunities.
Part of our future belongs to businesses willing to embrace the facts of climate warming and find ways to become part of the solutions, and the profit streams, that will develop as we create the answers to the climate change problem. …
I agree with Mr. Seierstad that we ought not to “squander money on a climatic alteration attempt.”
Rather, we should face the facts and get on with the job of living on the earth in a sustainable manner. Our children, and all the rest of creation, deserve no less.
Robert A. Wright, PhD.
Regina, Sask.
Natural supplements
Re: Shannon Moneo’s article (WP, March 4, Benefits and hazards of alternative medicine).
As far as I could see, it was just another smoke screen to confuse the general public about drugs versus natural alternatives. Most of the article was slanted and misleading.
When it comes to trusting the results of research, I want to know first who did the research and who paid for it?
Dr. Gotay is concerned that uninformed Canadians could be taking herbs that may have side effects. Which prescription drugs don’t have side effects? Has she done research in the benefits of colloidal silver? And how many people each year die from liver failure caused by taking Tylenol, as opposed to those who died from using colloidal silver?
I know from experience that colloidal silver is a great germ fighter, so I plan to stock up before Health Can. decides to take it all off the shelves for my protection.
Anyone who would like to do their own research, Google “Codex” and see how Health Canada is in compliance with its goals, which are to take away natural vitamins and mineral supplements and replace them with dead foods and big pharma’s endless supply of drugs.
What we really need is more honest, unbiased information about the long term effects of products like Tylenol, Statin drugs, etc.
In the meantime I’ll keep using my natural supplements, reading labels when I shop, doing my own research and staying away from prescription drugs.
E. Duncan,
Vilna, Alta.
Mineral rights
The Rural Municipality of Rocanville, Sask., has concerned landowners in the area where there is the PCS potash mine because landowners are experiencing loss of income and can no longer supplement their revenue by leasing mineral rights on their property.
Oil companies cannot drill for oil in the area where there is potash mining by Potash Corp. There are restricted drilling zones in a very large area.
The Saskatchewan government has made it mandatory – no oil or gas exploration is allowed in the area where the new mine shaft is being built. Also extending west in the RM of Willowdale because landowners with mineral rights have been told that absolutely no oil or gas drilling is allowed, therefore they will not lease their minerals thus causing the same situation people are facing in the Rocanville area.
(Due to the) resulting loss of income, it is time now for the government to compensate landowners that have mineral rights that are affected by this situation. There may be throughout Saskatchewan other people are in this situation and let it be known also to have money be paid to mineral right owners right away.
Greg Hemming,
Esterhazy, Sask.
CWB too expensive
I would like to respond to the story, “Low CWB operating costs ‘high priority’,” in the March 18 Western Producer.
I’m glad to see that Larry Hill finally recognizes that the money the Canadian Wheat Board spends is farmers’ money. While he states that “it certainly is a high priority item for the board to keep costs as low as possible,” the reality is otherwise.
It is misleading to assert that the cost of running the CWB to market western Canadian farmers’ grain is the same today as it was five or 10 years ago. While the CWB works their annual report to make it appear that costs are acceptable, administration costs are up 4.5 percent from last year. In fact, administration costs are up 13 percent since 2005.
Organic farmers continue to pay for nothing, almost 25 cents a bushel for the privilege of marketing their own grain. Durum farmers are left with inventory they can’t move thanks to the CWB’s marketing disaster last year. Farmers’ earnings are pilfered once again to refill the contingency fund.
The reality is the CWB is just too expensive for western producers. Farmers are not getting a good deal. We need to get back to putting producers first and the best way to do that is to allow them to make their own marketing decisions.
David Anderson,
MP, Cypress Hills-Grasslands,
Parliamentary Secretary for the Canadian Wheat Board,
Ottawa, Ont.
Food safety
As a concerned citizen and active livestock farmer, I think it is my obligation to bring to the public’s attention the negative consequences of the lax execution of the necessary inspection of meats that cross from the United States into our country daily.
This structural lack of proper supervision over the safety of the food that we Canadians consume will lead to further contaminations of our food supply much like the recent listeriosis outbreak that claimed the lives (of) 20 innocent Canadians.
Responsibility for the safety of our food supply is no trifling matter and its proper care is a non-negotiable requirement for the general welfare of our nation. Food safety should not take a back seat to special interests.
The recent spate of the government’s cutbacks has resulted in a correspondent scaling back of our food safety precautions .
According to Windsor MP Brian Masse, in the last month alone, an estimated 70 trucks crossing over into Windsor were selected for inspection simply vanished. Why did this happen? In short, it looks as if the semi-privatization of the inspection and policing of our food imports has to shoulder some of the blame for this ongoing fiasco.
When trucks cross the border they are either waved through or ordered to report to sites where an inspector from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency is then called to examine the shipment.
While one might think that at least half, or even all, of our food imports should be flagged for inspection, it turns out that only roughly 10 percent have been picked to be looked at by an inspector. …
While the U.S. has implemented severe penalties for delinquent trucks (fine is assessed at three times the value of the load being transported), Canada has no effective penalty system, according to former CFIA meat inspector Phil Marczuk.
With no penalties being assessed to trucks that skip inspections, our country’s foodstocks have essentially been left exposed to contamination from outside. …
Mr. Ritz, would you not concur that these cutbacks to a most vital service represent a reckless disregard for the safety of the Canadian food supply that you and ultimately your leader, Mr. Harper, are responsible for?
Why should Canadian citizens have to shop at supermarkets as if they were playing a much higher stakes version of the casino slots?
Perhaps this situation does not affect those few wealthy Canadians that may not shop at the large-scale grocery stores where much of these potentially poisonous products arrive. In addition to the vulnerability of the consuming public, another contaminated food outbreak will hurt our primary producers as that same group of consumers will understandably avoid purchasing meat products and thus further depress the low prices our farmers receive….
The questions that must be answered are:
1. What is the actual percentage of trucks that are flagged for inspection?
2. Of those flagged, how many have vanished without being inspected?
3. What is the reasoning behind your government’s seemingly cavalier handling of such an important problem?
Lorne Cholin,
Kerrobert, Sask.
Safe food
An April 1 item in The Western Producer (Fun recipe for April Fool’s day) included a reference to pesticides and produce that inaccurately implied Canadians should be concerned about pesticide residues on some fruits and vegetables.
While your readers will know that such a concern is completely unwarranted, the misinformation is too glaring to be ignored.
The fact is that the trace amounts of pesticide residues that may be found on foods are usually in the range of parts per million or less, much, much too low to have any impact whatsoever on consumers.
Our industry takes its responsibility to develop pest control products that are safe and effective very seriously, and we are proud of the contribution our products make to ensuring that Canadians farmers can provide a safe, abundant and affordable supply of foods.
Lorne Hepworth,
President, CropLife Canada
Ottawa, Ont.
