Extra money
Re: Pin money (May 30, WP) Yes, but not 100 years ago. That was me 35
years ago in Sunnybrook, Alta., selling eggs and chickens for extra
money.
Pin money? Not on your life. The money was needed for the whole family
to survive, to buy food and clothing and pay bills. No running water,
no extra money, two small children and a husband who worked away from
the farm to get extra money to establish the farm – leaving me to do
Read Also
Agriculture needs to prepare for government spending cuts
As government makes necessary cuts to spending, what can be reduced or restructured in the budgets for agriculture?
the chores in minus degree weather for months on end.
The summer found me in the fields helping during haying and harvest, as
well as growing and caring for a large garden, then canning and
freezing the garden crops so that we had food for the coming winter
till next year’s garden harvest.
Was it hard? You bet. Would I do it again? Never.
– Betty-Anne Juba,
Courtenay, B.C.
Sympathy
I have a lot of sympathy for the Saskatchewan and Manitoba peoples and
their leaders, whose battles are not only with the feds, but also with
Alberta.
It is as if we (Albertans) thrive on carbon dioxide, and it has gotten
to our mind. Maybe it is our vision and not being able to see past our
snout. In any case, it is often tough to make a point.
Alberta’s assistant deputy agriculture minister Ken Moholitny is
reported to have said: “Alberta’s view … is that our preference is to
avoid ad hoc responses. Should we respond to the U.S. farm bill? We
need details, we need analysis before we decide what, how much and why.”
This is one mighty strange statement coming from a member of the same
government that caused a crisis in the electrical generating and
transmission system of this province, and subsidizing the shareholders
of these corporations to the tune of billions of resource heritage
dollars, which were the property of all Albertans, not just Ralph Klein.
The Alberta government sells to private practice doctors, the Holy
Cross Hospital for a fraction of its worth and declares that we have an
unsustainable medical care system which will require private practice
as a cure.
We can blow up a hospital and before the dust has settled, we have a
hospital bed crisis. We have created a Medicare problem.
If this is not ad hoc, would someone please define the term for me?
Not being a farmer, one of the main problems I see with subsidies is
that they are open ended. That is, they pay a fixed amount on the
entire production or the entire acreage or the entire whatever. I would
rather see a graduated system, which would pay an amount on the first
limited number, a lesser amount on the next quantity, with no subsidy
on the remainder. At that point you are on your own.
– Doug McGowan,
Nanton, Alta.
Farm ownership
Re: Statistics Canada 2001 census of Agriculture.
While there are fewer farmers and bigger farms, ownership of the farms
must be considered. The family farm, privately owned or incorporated
under provincial laws with share capital held by family members, is
disappearing. The amount of farmland being purchased by congregations
of churches has increased significantly.
Under this system there is no share capital, no individual property
rights or paid workers. The members of the congregation and their
families reside on the property of the congregation (and) work as
volunteer labourers in the many commercial businesses, including
agriculture, owned by the congregation.
Revenue Canada has a special section of the Income Tax Act to cover
their profit-making businesses. The congregation of the church holds
title to the land into perpetuity with no capital gains tax applied.
In each province of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba there is a
Religious Societies’ Land Act, which limits the amount of land held by
religious societies or congregations to 320 acres. There must be a
reason for this Act. Why is it not applied?
Land cannot be held communally as there is no enacted legislation in
Canada to cover this type of ownership with aboriginal title being the
exception. The Canada constitution puts property rights under
provincial jurisdiction with the above exception.
– Helen J. Dixon,
Brant, Alta.
Serious allegation
In a Letter to the Editor published in the May 30 edition of The
Western Producer, Mr. Albert Wagner is critical of the quality of
information provided by management to the Canadian Wheat Board
directors, and offers his observations about the recent auditor
general’s review of the CWB.
For the record, the CWB Board of Directors has been provided with full
and accurate information about CWB finances and borrowings. This
information has been verified in the audited financial statements and
reviewed by the auditor general’s special audit, which found no
evidence of improper financial reporting.
For Mr. Wagner to suggest that the directors have not been provided
with full and accurate information is a serious allegation. …
Directors do have the right to ask questions and receive proper and
accurate answers. Directors also have a duty to make an effort to
understand the information provided to them. Mr. Wagner’s suggestion
that only one director, Jim Chatenay, is concerned or interested in
proper information is totally incorrect and does a gross disservice to
the balance of dedicated elected and appointed directors who go to
great efforts to understand a large and complex organization.
In addition to his attendance at audit and finance committee meetings,
Mr. Chatenay has a standing offer from management to spend whatever
time is required to meet with him and respond to his questions. The
offer to Mr. Chatenay remains open and it’s his decision whether to
accept the invitation or not. To this point he has not.
I will comment only briefly on Mr. Wagner’s selective interpretation of
the auditor general’s report. That report in its entirety is a matter
of public record and the CWB has committed to respond to the
deficiencies raised by the auditor general.
Notwithstanding those deficiencies, the auditor general found that the
CWB has, “cost effective borrowing programs” and has a “solid
reputation as a strong and capable marketer of high quality grains.”…
It is also important to note that the accuracy of CWB financial
statements was not questioned in that report, but, on the contrary, the
CWB was acknowledged as accounting for producers’ money in accordance
with the provisions of the Canadian Wheat Board Act and proper
accounting rules.
– Greg. S. Arason,
President and CEO, CWB,
Winnipeg, Man.
