Food policy
In the last year, there have been more than enough 60 plus farmers either die from or have heart attacks. Further, there has been a record amount having cancer problems, which may have the same result. Is this not ironic, when the rest of society is taking freedom 55?
Many of these farmers are either trying to make it to retirement or they are trying to keep their sons on the farm. This is some reward for many years of service, to this country. No, they did not fight in any war but they have fought simply to stay alive.
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Is it not time that this country simply have a national food policy that puts some sort of priority on the very product that keeps us alive? Did the farmers who gave up their lives do this in vain? We are the only industrialized country in the world to not have this.
What would a national food policy do? It would define the true need of food and protect this industry. It would stop questionable food from countries such as China coming in and destroying our health. It would guarantee the price on agricultural products, which would define sustainable agriculture.
As we have just seen, there was a cabinet move in Ottawa. We now have a Saskatchewan federal agriculture minister and he represents the largest agricultural province in this country. Is it not time to place pressure on this man to change the atmosphere in this industry?
As your neighbours slowly die off and you grow scared of the fact that you may be next, stop and say, “enough is enough.”
This man has the power and the cabinet to create change and if you do not take the time to just send just one letter to him, then when the doctor comes in and tells you that you have only a short time to live, it is already too late to act.
Get off your lazy butt and do something and help out the present and the future. Save your son and mine from the “H” that we have all endured. Make this industry one to grow on and for many generations love and honour. The decision is yours.
– Bob Thomas,
Regina Beach, Sask.
Wrecking crew
Prime minister Stephen Harper and his wrecking crew are not going to give up on their plan to destroy the Canadian Wheat Board. …
After the barley plebiscite, the feds tried to tell us that 62.2 percent of farmers voted to end single desk selling. Not true.
The second option, “I would like the option to market my barley to the CWB or any other domestic or foreign buyer” was put there by the federal government to create a grey area, enabling them to arrive at the manipulated result they wanted.
If they had followed what was decided in Parliament, option two would not have been there.
Some farmers, who knows how many, voted for option two because they thought they were voting to keep the present system of barley marketing.
Instead of adding options two and three, Harper could have added options one and two and arrived at 86.2 percent of farmers voting to retain single desk selling.
However, before the vote, the federal government never said they were going to add options two and three together. But then honesty is not one of their greatest attributes.
They have shown this at various times, not only by the way they have handled wheat board issues, but other issues as well.
Given the facts, Judge Dolores Hansen could not reach any decision other than the one she did.
Any farmers having a problem with the wheat board issue should put the blame where it belongs, on the Ottawa dictators.
In the 2006 CWB Board of Director election in the odd numbered districts, 60.3 percent of voters voted for single desk candidates compared to 56 percent four years earlier.
In the 2006 election, 39.7 percent of voters supported the open market, a spread of 20.6 percent. Again, in the 2006 election four of five directors elected supported the single desk.
Maybe it could have been five out of five had the federal government not so blatantly removed 48.7 percent of the voters from the voters’ list in District One after the election had started.
If the Conservatives are so sure they are right, why have they resorted to such under-handed tactics?
And why has David Anderson, MP for Cypress Hills-Grasslands, refused to debate CWB marketing issues with National Farmers Union president Stewart Wells? Is Mr. Anderson afraid?
– George A. Calvin,
New Norway, Alta.
Global frenzy
Concern has been expressed by politicians, educators, preachers, fishermen, farmers, seniors and other groups regarding our overheated planet. Wild expressive emotion has flowed like lava from a volcano….
Environment is proven to be the most lucrative implemented movement for reporters in modern times.
The young are frightened but the old are hard to convince with their many decades of experience living on this climate changing planet.
Canada can be classified as a rogue nation in regard to fossil fuel production and consumption. The coal mining industry in British Columbia’s East Kootenays and Tumbler Ridge have delivered some interesting data that every taxpayer should closely examine and compare with alarmism that is currently being circulated.
British Columbia and Ontario premiers are strong proponents of greenhouse emission controls.
As a signatory to the Kyoto Accord and an exporter of thousands of tons of coal annually, it is difficult to generate respect for our political establishment or our scientific community for their two-tier approach.
Greenhouse gasses are serious? Or are they not?
The coal terminal facility at Robert’s Bank, Vancouver is equipped to unload 100 gondola cars, each carrying 100 tons, in a matter of two hours.
The terminal is loading two and three foreign ships at all times destined for far eastern manufacturing furnaces.
Tumbler Ridge and Prince Rupert facilities handle equal tonnage of carbon creating materials that are sold to off-shore manufacturers. In addition to the above, mines at Wabamun, Sheerness and Estevan have increased their coal export volume.
Explained in simple terms, 10 trainloads of coal delivered each week to the terminals for the past 35 years total 18,200 coal laden trains, each a mile in length that Canada has exported.
By those stats, the volume would be in excess of 18 million tons, or a string of gondola cars that would require 18,200 miles in length of rail.
Coal production and exporting continues in North America, Australia and many countries.
It contributes substantially toward the international and domestic economy by improving job opportunity and living standards in third world countries.
Should Canada become a leader and close all its coal mines?
If you are deeply concerned, contact the prime minister of Canada, your provincial premier, MP, MLA, talk show hosts and everyone concerned about global warming.
– John Seierstad,
Cedar, B.C.
Bad legislation
Since 1977, I’ve written letters to the editor of The Western Producer. My first letter was in praise of the new metric system. Like many Canadians, I was mesmerized by Trudeaumania. I thought the introduction of the “Systeme Internationale,” or “SI” was the greatest innovation since power steering and colour TV.
However, I soon found out that we’d been had, and that the introduction of the SI was just another failed attempt in a Liberal popularity contest.
I also received a half dozen or so letters from Alberta farmers who despised Pierre Elliot, one in particular that could be classified as borderline hate mail.
My dad was a filling station and bulk plant operator. Soon after the metric system was introduced, oil companies were forced to retool their packaging plants and replace all of their equipment that was used for the calibration of gasoline, diesel and lube oils.
Overnight, fuel and chemical prices skyrocketed upwards. The same trend followed in any retail industry that was forced to replace expensive equipment.
Western Canadians resisted the change with a passion. To this day, farmers still use bushels when discussing yields.
A tractor still cranks out 400 horses and the section of land at the four mile corner has 320 acres of barley seeded on it, while the 20 rods north of the creek are seeded to grass.
Next to the metric fiasco, I would give second place to the termination of the Crow Rate agreement, courtesy of prime minister Jean Chrétien and MP Ralph Goodale, as the worst single piece of legislation that would desiccate western Canada’s rural community.
The introduction of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is a close third.
As for those who plan on voting Liberal in the next federal election, hoping to resist changes to the wheat board, three words of caution: lest we forget.
– John Hamon,
Gravelbourg, Sask.
