MUCH HIGHER LOSSES
I must apologize to all the people to whom I said the loss of the Canadian Wheat Board would mean a loss of about $20 per tonne on the price of wheat. I was wrong. It seems to be more than three times that bad.
This past year I have noticed the almost complete disappearance of the premium we used to get for the high protein wheat we are famous for.
To be sure of the numbers, I have researched the Saskatchewan price of feed wheat (Statistics Canada) and compared it to the CWB final price for high protein No. 2 CWRS. I went back eight years for the comparison and determined that the average price difference was about $79 per tonne.
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?
This past year the average price difference has been about $3 per tonne or approximately 79 percent of what the long-term average indicated we should be getting. I used estimates from local elevator managers for a current average.
Some economists try to excuse the low prices by saying because there was so much high protein wheat across the Prairies the demand, and therefore the price, had fallen. Those economists sound embarrassed when they say this because we all know lots of high protein wheat is normal for us. In this past crop year, the protein was not even particularly high. Every excuse I have heard for the depressed price has existed before, singly and in combination, and the effect has never been even close to this drastic. The only different circumstance leading to this change is the loss of our Canadian Wheat Board.
If the CWB usually handles about 15 million tonnes of high protein wheat per year and we have missed out on about $75 per tonne, that’s well over a billion dollars out of the pockets of prairie farmers. Demand that your local Conservative MP explain how this is a good thing.
Glenn Tait,
Region 6 NFU director,
Meota, Sask.
SAVE VALLEY VIEW
What an interesting Canada Day celebration. I accidentally got an insight few of us on the outside get to experience.
I happened to sit near the Valley View residents and choir that performed at Crescent Park in Moose Jaw. I saw the wonderful support the members of their community gave to each other. One could see this made it easier for the staff to provide for their care, guidance and required leadership.
I understand Valley View residents are going to be dispersed, put out on the street if you may. One can see this would have a similar effect on them as to what happened to children who were placed into residential schools by the federal government. If I support the dispersal policy, would I be able to sleep at night? I do not take pleasure from pulling wings off butterflies.
Lorne Jackson,
Riverhurst, Sask.
RCMP ACTIONS DISTURBING
The actions of the RCMP in High River, Alta., are very disturbing in a free and democratic society. Using the flooding disaster as an excuse to break into private homes and remove private property is a criminal offence. This kind of behaviour one would expect from a common criminal. What sets Canada apart from Third World dictators is the rule of law.
This kind of behaviour is a breach of public trust. No one can break into your home and steal your property. No one can enter your home without a search warrant. No one can take your property without your permission. Just because the stolen property were firearms doesn’t make it right or legal. Why didn’t they take jewelry and electronics, which are more valuable?
In Manitoba many First Nations community homes were abandoned over the last few years due to flooding. Did the RCMP break into these homes to rescue their firearms?
I think the RCMP needs to rethink its role in a civil society. Wearing a uniform doesn’t give them licence to break the law. I always thought their job was to serve and to protect the public. A judicial inquiry needs to be called to investigate this incident in High River. Your elected official needs to hear from you on this matter.
Inky Mark,
former MP,
Dauphin, Man.
