Bad tory record
To the Editor:
With the upcoming election one has to consider the legacy the Harper Conservative government has left us with.
Indian Head tree farm given the boot. Community pastures given the boot.
Penitentiary farms, a place where incarcerated citizens could have acquired some responsibility, given the boot.
Elected CWB farmer directors given the boot. Assets were eventually sold off to Saudi grain traders. The saddest part of it, the Saudi rulers are at the bottom of the list when it comes to human rights.
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And who else is getting the boot? Our postal letter carriers. With the above record, our Harper Conservatives surely deserve the boot.
Nature must prevail
To the Editor:
During the last few years Sask-Water has been trying to solve the Quill Lakes flooding problems. The Quill Lakes are an enclosed system, meaning that there is no natural outlet.
It is devastating to farmers around that system who watch water creep up to, and eventually swallow, their land and in some cases their yard.
Recently SaskWater has been holding meetings in certain centers to obtain public input to alleviate the Quill Lakes flooding.
Not far from the Quill Lakes is another lake that has had a natural run (creek) since the last ice age. That natural outlet has been restricted by the local government. This restriction is causing flooding and destruction of residence on a smaller scale than the Quill Lakes fiasco.
SaskWater did back that restriction and that local government and SaskWater will not allow the natural flow to be reinstalled.
SaskWater allows a natural system to be restricted and yet are considering establishing a man-made water system to alleviate flooding. That is truly hypocrisy at its finest.
Natural water runs should flow naturally. I cannot support the establishment of a man-made run to alleviate flooding when a natural run is restricted and causes the very same results.
Shame on SaskWater.
Tories damaged farming
To the Editor
Once again we have propaganda about how the federal Tories help Western Canada. Let the record show just how helpful they are to agriculture.
First of all, the Tories are for big business — people who thrive on tax concessions but do not pay taxes. They live off the system and at the same time believe in the free enterprise system where it’s every person for themselves.
The Tories destroyed the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration) system. They closed all the offices in the West, which were beneficial to Canadian farmers. They closed the tree nursery at Indian Head.
Today, the tree farm is invaded with one-meter high weeds. Yet every prairie farmyard has trees grown from seedlings purchased from the tree nursery. So much for the Tories’ help in Western Canada.
The PFRA community pastures helped farmers pasture their cattle so farmers had more cash for their operation. The Tories have closed all the pastures. So much for help from the federal Tories.
The Canadian Wheat Board was also destroyed by the Tories. Who do you think benefitted by destroying the CWB?
The grain companies. In 2012, I sold wheat through the CWB. I received $8.50 bushel. Today, the same wheat will bring you $4.72 a bushel.
At the West Coast at export position wheat is selling at $7.72 a bushel. Under the CWB, I would be getting an additional $3 a bushel in 2015. To sell grain on the open market — it’s freedom to go broke. So much for the Tories’ help.
The Canadian Grain Commission is being destroyed. It’s the only organization to protect the farmers from the grain companies and keep the grain companies honest. So much for help from the federal Tories.
What about producer cars under federal legislation?
The producer cars help the farmer bypass the grain companies to achieve better prices for their grain. The Tories destroyed this program too.
The Tory government has turned back the clock 115 years. My forefathers have fought for programs that benefitted the farmers, and the Tories destroyed them all.
MRE explained
To the Editor:
As an important follow-up to the Farmers’ Forum on Transportation held in Saskatoon on July 20th, 2015, and as a result of misstatements made in a recent article titled Grain Sector Needs to Discuss Hopper Car Replacement (WP Aug. 20), it is important to clarify certain features of the Maximum Revenue Entitlement (MRE) formula, used to determine the revenue earned by CP and CN Rail for the shipment of producers’ grain to port.
First, in the article, CP Rail suggests the MRE limits the amount of revenue that the railways can collect from moving grain, when this is actually not the case.
The MRE limits the revenue per tonne, per mile that can be collected but it does not limit the total amount of revenue collected by the railways — the more grain they move, the more revenue they collect.
Second, CP suggests in the article that the MRE restricts investment in network capacity, including the replacement of federally owned hopper cars.
However, the current formula for the MRE contains a variable referred to as the “Volume Related Composite Price Index (VRCPI),” which includes a direct provision for the replacement of federal government hopper cars taken out of service.
This is in addition to a provision for hopper car leasing, hopper car maintenance, cost of capital, and amortization of investments. These inclusions are contained in subsection 151(1) of the Canada Transportation Act and were described in detail by Dale McKeague of the CTA, at the Farmers’ Forum on Transportation.
Having an efficient and fair rail transportation system is of critical importance for western Canadian farmers, who, without the MRE, are at the mercy of railway monopoly pricing.
While it is important to plan for fleet renewal and strive to improve efficiency, the MRE currently provides the railways with the capacity to do just that.
In light of these facts, the SWDC, the SBDC, and APAS would like to reiterate their recommendations to the CTA that the MRE remain in place and that a formal costing review be completed and appropriate adjustments be made to the formula, such that fair compensation to the railways for hauling grain can be ensured.
