So, Stephen Harper got his majorit y. He now is going to take the monopoly away from the Canadian Wheat Board next year.
In the cartoon on the editorial page ofThe Western ProducerMay 26, Harper says to the beaten CWB dog not to be surprised – “you voted me in.”
Therein lies the biggest fallacy being foisted on the producers of the prairie provinces. The agricultural producers on the Prairies are a mere two percent of the population (we will even give them credit for three percent).
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Even if every producer didn’t vote for the Conservatives, the other 97 percent would have been enough to give them the seats they received on the Prairies….
(Federal agriculture minister) Gerry Ritz stated that the producers would have an opportunity to vote on the CWB monopoly question during the election campaign, but once the Conservatives were returned with a majority he stated the election result is his mandate to go ahead without a producer vote.
Farmers who promote the demise of the CWB say they will have many buyers instead of one. They don’t realize the CWB sells to over 70 countries, whereas without the CWB there will only be three or four multinational companies that source their grain from all over the world and they won’t offer any more than they have to….
The multinationals have been after the government to kill the CWB because it is stiff competition. They are after the handling fees our grain would give them. What are a few million to the multinationals to support the Conservatives if they give them what they want?
The malt companies have stated that they would be able to source cheaper barley without the CWB, which tells me they will be offering less than the CWB has been asking for…
Harper talks about true democracy but he isn’t allowing the prairie producers to participate in a democratic vote on their economic destiny. All the MPs are elected to represent us and we pay their wages, but when they have power they forget this fact and become dictatorial.
The least Harper and his government need to do is hold a prairie producer vote on a simple yes or no question so the people who are directly affected will have a say in their economic destiny.
Bernie von Tettenborn,Round Hill, Alta.
