WHAT IS LEFT?
The Conservative government under Stephen Harper has eroded the agriculture sector of the prairie economy and continues to do so.
The latest promise by his agriculture minister, Gerry Ritz, that under the proposed Bill C-18 and UPOV 91 (plant breeders’ rights regulations) farmers would still be able to use farm-saved seed instead of having to buy new seed every year and pay a royalty. He failed to admit that saving seed doesn’t protect the farmer from paying royalties; these could be collected on the sale of the crop from these seeds.
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On Aug. 1, 2013, the new law, “Freedom to Market Grain, came into effect. This, in effect, gave the grain merchants the opportunity to make bigger profits by widening the basis and taking more money out of the prairie economy.
The government seized the assets of the old CWB and now wants to sell them. Sales are nearly always made to the highest bidder and there is a suggestion that the government wouldn’t take any money for the sale, but the money would go into the new entity. Ha, ha, that would not be a sale but a gift of all farmers’ assets in the former CWB to a private entity.
The federal government in the last two years divested itself of the community pastures, which increased the cost to livestock producers.
The tree farm at Indian Head that has been a boon to saving prairie soil and beautifying farmsteads is another entity the Conservative government has divested itself of.
Since the Conservative government came to power, it has diluted the farm support programs to the point that margins are non-existent before a payment is triggered and then to wait for a payment is so long that often the operation has had to be dissolved. The government has reduced the amount of resources spent on research, instead turning it over to the private sector, which develops for its shareholders instead of for the public good.
The government has changed the time that a farmer has to file a lien with the Canadian Grain Commission for non-payment of grain delivered. It used to be a no time limit but they have now changed it so a lien has to be filed within 30 days, and yet a lot of business is done on a 30-day basis, so by the time the farmer finds he isn’t getting paid the deadline is past. Where is the justice of that? Is that meant to help the farmers?
The Conservative government has not shown support for the prairie agriculture sector, which Gerry Ritz claimed gave it a mandate to terminate the old CWB without a producer vote and supposedly is the stronghold of the Conservative vote.
I will be voting ABC (anything but Conservative) next time.
Bernie von Tettenborn,
Round Hill, Alta.
POLITICS OF FEAR
The two military deaths (recently) demonstrate how vulnerable all of us are. Canadians support all of our men and women in uniform, both to protect as well as to keep the peace. Politics of fear in our past history has created some very unjust events. Politics of fear in 1914-1920 interned over 6,000 Ukrainians and forced over 85,000 to register like common criminals. Politics of fear in 1923 gave Canada the Chinese Exclusion Act, that all Asians were kept out of Canada for the next 24 years. Politics of fear interned the Japanese Canadians during the Second World War. In our short history, we’ve made some big mistakes because of politics of fear.
Harper’s decision to get involved in the Middle East may put this country at further risk. The commissioner of the RCMP says that the Ottawa shooter had no linkage to ISIS….
The (Stephen) Harper government continues to call this a terrorist act. Does that mean from here on in, every criminal act will be deemed a terrorist act?
Harper is using this to further erode our liberty with new legislation. Canadians do not agree that CSIS and RCMP need more power. We have the Security Act already in place to lock up terrorists and throw away the key.
Canadians all support our military and remember the fallen, lives sacrificed for our freedom. With Nov. 11 just around the corner, let us not forget the bloodshed to keep us free. Do not succumb to the politics of fear. Let us learn from our history.
Inky Mark,
Dauphin, Man.
PRIVATE COSTS
Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall is once again contemplating rewarding his friends by privatizing Saskatchewan’s health care and allowing private companies to charge people directly for diagnostic medical scans (MRIs). Since Alberta’s private MRIs range from $895 (single unit scan) to $2,450 (full-bodied scan), those with the bucks will be able to jump to the head of the treatment line. Private clinics will simply drain trained staff from the public clinics thus lengthening wait times there.
If Wall were sincere in reducing the MRI wait line, he would simply allocate more funds to hire and train more staff for our public operated MRIs, allowing them to operate extended hours. I assume they presently operate only eight hours a day.
If one can afford to pay for private MRIs they can well afford a higher tax rate for health. Of course that wouldn’t line the pockets of Wall’s corporate buddies — would it?
Joyce Neufeld,
Waldeck, Sask.
PROMISE A LIE
For quite a number of years certain farm groups pushed our federal government for the eradication of the CWB single desk system. Our federal agriculture minister listened to these groups and acted unilaterally.
When the certain groups were pushing, they were stating we, the farmers, would be able to obtain “world prices” easier.
Your story headlined, “Price disparity sparks anger” (WP Oct. 2), does not state that fact strongly enough.
Quite frankly, I have to wonder why a certain farm group has not been very vocal on the fact that today, without the single desk CWB, we, the farmers, are not getting world prices. These farm groups seem to have gotten a mere five percent of what they wanted and the other 95 percent, which represents farmers income, forever and a day hence is totally ignored.
Just maybe these farm groups and their federal agriculture minister should step front and centre with the difference between current Canadian durum price and the world price.
Some farmers took that message as a promise and now reality shows a lie.
Delwyn Jansen,
Humboldt, Sask.
