It’s all in the name
News of a recent court case that caught my eye is prompting me to write since it was in reference to recent discussions in the WP about the TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) and supply management.
The case in question was the victory of an elderly couple over the USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture) after 10 years of struggle.(Actually they were not that elderly since they are younger than I and I am certainly not elderly.)
The way I understand, it there is a program by the USDA for raisin producers that “collects” a certain percentage of raisins when prices are too low, and then markets them in alternative ways.
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This court case was launched by the couple because they wanted USDA to pay market price at the time of collection and not when all the surplus raisins had been marketed.
It appears that the final price was very low at times, which was the reason for the court case. This sounds like supply management to me but that is not the name given to this program by the USDA.
I think we can learn a lot from the activities of the USDA since they have no subsidies but certainly support their farmers. For over a month, $104 million has been set aside for drought relief. I doubt the (prime minister Stephen) Harper government has set anything aside for drought, or any other relief, for Canadian farmers because balancing the budget is priority number one.
I suspect that supply management is so controversial because it sounds so socialistic. Let’s learn from the USDA and give other names to our programs. Instead of calling it dumping on the world market, let’s call it export enhancement. Instead of paying growers not to plant — conservation. It doesn’t sound like a subsidy. And who would be against conservation?
Some members of supply management groups sound like they are prepared to give up on a program which costs the government nothing and exchange it for years of (hopeful) government assistance.
Let us learn from USDA. Fourteen lost cases against the former CWB mean nothing. More lost cases against COOL, carry on. A $5 “inspection fee” for cattle crossing the border, softwood lumber legislation that blocks Canadian products and none of it a subsidy.
How about a new approach by Canada. Let’s call it the GFF — Good for Farmers program. The Harper government is really good at giving bad programs with good sounding names so I’m sure they can come up with something better. Supply management has to go. Not the program, just the name.
Here’s to the GFF program. May it live long and prosper.
Horst Schreiber
Ohaton, Alta.
Responsible Animal care
Alberta Lamb Producers (ALP) has been contacted by several producers in the last week who were concerned about a photograph published (WP, June 25, p, 14).
ALP shares these concerns and we want to voice our dismay over the content published.
The photograph depicts sheep in poor condition that have not been sheared in many years. The Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Sheep requires shearing at least once a year and as frequently as necessary.
Sheep with bulky fleece, as depicted in the photograph, interferes with mobility and can predispose them to casting.
Overheating is also a concern. Regular shearing should also be done to prevent fly-strike or wool blindness. As the national welfare standard, ALP promotes the standards of care and handling outlined in the Code of Practice.
We would hope that The Western Producer would also promote these standards for all livestock species.
In addition, the donkey has not had regular hoof care in many years and was likely severely lame as a result.
ALP strives to educate producers about the proper care of sheep and any guardian animal in their care.
Most producers take excellent care of their animals. When media publishes a photograph of compromised animals, the entire industry is cast in a negative light; consumers question the integrity of producers and the welfare of the animals in their care.
The photograph printed by The Western Producer makes the Alberta sheep industry, and all lamb producers, look negligent.
In this age of social media, there is limited control about what photographs are distributed.
However, as an agricultural publication, The Western Producer has control over what is published and should be publishing photographs that highlights excellence in animal welfare. It should not be publishing photographs that show neglect and captioning it as if it is the norm.
ALP hopes that more care will be taken in selecting appropriate photographs for publication in the future.
If we can be any help in supplying content, please feel free to contact us anytime.
Robyn Moore,
Executive Director,
Airdrie, Alta.
Concentration of wealth
What is happening to the citizens of Greece regarding their monetary dilemma is the final stage of a catastrophe in industrialized countries whereby monetary wealth and control is being concentrated in the greedy hands of global corporations and individualists.
On a worldwide basis, trillions of dollars, through secretive means, are illegally being spirited out of jurisdictions where profits were made and deposited into nominal headquarters in another jurisdiction to avoid the payment of legal taxes.
In the 1960s, the city of London became a haven for tax avoidance interests. There are a number of other off-shore shelters that will now accommodate such transactions, such as the Cayman Islands, where private Canadian banks do have a presence.
Harper’s government has cancelled or terminated a number of federal programs, such as the long census form, which could indicate the number of people in Canada living in poverty.
Also eliminated in 2008 was the access to information data base, used by journalists and researchers.
Since 2010 the government has dismissed more than 2000 federally appointed scientists. All this information is revealed in a 130 page book, The Arrogant Autocrat by well-known Canadian author, Mel Hurtig.
According to a 2014 Broadbent Institute study done from 2005 to 2012, the poorest 10 percent of Canadians saw their net worth fall by 150 percent, while Canada’s wealthiest net worth increased by 42 percent.
The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives has noted that 20 percent of Canada’s richest families, take home almost 50 percent of all income. But regarding Canada’s real wealth, 70 percent is owned by 20 percent of Canada’s wealthiest people.
In the meantime, Canada’s national debt has increased by approximately $160 billion, and now stands at over $600 billion.
Pope Francis has become a spiritual beacon in speaking out about the effects of climate change and on behalf of the world’s poverty stricken human beings.
These certainly are indications that the costs of meeting the basic “needs” of humanity are grossly exceeded by the “greed” of some global corporations and wealthy individuals.
Leo Kurtenbach,
Saskatoon, Sask
