Sometimes reader reaction to stories published is not exactly what the writer expects.
Take, for example, recent stories about Farm Credit Canada expense and perks policies.
Some opposition critics insist that farmers they talk to are outraged, insisting that FCC should use the money spent on employee rewards and first class travel to lower interest rates.
To put it mildly, that is not the message heard last week from readers.
“You have bought into the bank agenda. You missed the real story.”
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“Congratulations. You have given the right wing its space and ignored what is really going on.”
These were some of the more polite telephone reactions to the recent stories.
Farmers who called were angry that I had written stories about what federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz called “excessive” FCC spending on perks and expenses. The FCC board quickly cancelled some staff rewards and promised to review and rein in its expense-paying policies.
But for some of FCC’s defenders in the farm community, the real story was not the actions of the crown corporation but rather a relentless campaign by private sector competitors, perhaps aided by the Conservative government, to make the farm lender less competitive.
One Alberta farmer, a self-identified Conservative activist, called to say the banks and credit unions are behind the stories.
“They don’t like the competition and FCC is the best lender out there,” he said.
“Do you think bankers don’t reward themselves with big bonuses?”
Along with other callers, he said Ottawa has instructed FCC to set interest rates on loans that are as high as competitor rates or slightly higher.
“You will never get anyone in Ottawa to admit it but I know people inside FCC and I know it is true,” one caller said.
Indeed, no one in Ottawa will say that, but private lender hostility to FCC is no secret. Has the crown corporation been ordered not to show up its competitors with better deals for farm borrowers?
Some farmers certainly believe it – an unexpected reaction indeed.
