Buckdog

. . .ignoring the will of farmers . . .
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That's what the Mulroney Conservatives did in the 1980s. The Crow rate was the big issue and the mishandling of that brought about such a disaffection from Conservatives that the Reform Party was born.

Now, Harper seems to want to do the same thing all over again--or so it appears.

When will Harper realise that he also has to listen with an open mind?

it isn't the Harper Gov't who is ignoring the will of the western grain farmers, it is the CWB, by their own polling they know that the vast majority of farmers want freedom of choice when it comes to grain marketing...it works in eastern canada, and other plces in the world..but it wont work in western canada????

the Left are the only ones who want the CWB to stay the way it was when it was started to keep grain prices low. so Britian could afford to buy wheat after the war...well it has done a very good job..the war is over and britian can now afford to pay the world price..

why is it so importanted to the socialists to keep the CWB as a monopoly? they don't even represent western Canadian farmers..

Pure right wing propaganda joe! Pure right wing ideology.

Here is a quote from Richard Gray, a professor of agricultural economics at the U of S who REPRIMANDS the Harper government for their dishonesty on the issue of barley sales!!

"It is shameful that most of the malting barley sales experts in Canada, such as the CWB sales staff, are prevented by the government from informing producers during this important plebiscite.

Without their participation in the dialogue misinformation and misconceptions can go unchallenged. Surely the best policy to create an informed debate is to allow all knowledgeable parties to participate in the debate."

joe - if you are on Harper or Wall's payroll ... give the money back because you are doing a piss poor job of spinning their lies and misinformation.

POSTSCRIPT:
Thank goodness that the Courts of Canada are protecting farmers from the Harper government's actions on this issue:
- the Conservatives suppressed debate and information on international barley sales because the truth does not suit their ideological goal.
- the Conservatives rigged the voters list for the plebiscite to leave off thousands of eligible farmers from voting.

This is the kind of crap that the Harper government uses to try and bully its way when it cannot adequately argue for their position.

Umm, LD, that quote doesn't reprimand the gov't for dishonesty, it reprimands them for holding CWB staff to the same standards as _every other_ public servant including the military.

"No comment."

Cheers,
lance

Lance that is complete crap! Do you like winning issues by being dishonest? That seems to be the way that right wingers operate.

Harper spends $1.2 Million on Anti- Canadian Wheat Board advertising!

Where was I dishonest?

Are gov't workers allowed to be publicly partisan? Yes or No?

Obviously it's 'No'.

Regarding your truly gifted reading of that news report at Save My CWB, show me the exact passage that says the gov't spent the money on advertising for a position as opposed to advertising the referendum.

I do see, though, how you would take advertising on the vote and where and how to get vote cards as an attack by the gov't. The more people who vote, the less % of votes the pro-CWB side gets.

Cheers,
lance

Once again I will say "Thank goodness that the Courts of Canada are protecting farmers from the Harper government's actions on this issue."

The barley marketing experts on contract with the CWB are hardly 'gov't workers'! The Board is arms length from government and contracts with marketing experts from academia and the ag industry! Muzzling them worked up until the Courts got involved. At least in Court, they would get a fair hearing.

Harper and his Conservatives and Wall and his Saskatchewan Party (who are actually the Conservatives under the Witness Protection Program) are beholding to multi national Ag corps - and now Herper and Wall are trying to pay the piper!

Why do you care? are you a farmer?

I know Richard very well, he seems to be quoted a lot when it comes to the CWB...he is a very strong NDPer supporter..he gets paid for his research by the CWB. in other words he is an employee of the Board..
Richard used to farm, in the Indian Head area..ask him why he isn't any longer...I think he still owns the land. we never talk farming...

Richard does a very good job of using the numbers that the CWB gives him...

all the experts at the CWB are paid by the Board...and do the work that they are told to do..just like Richard...
world prices don't lie unless you are a blind socialist...even Rod Flaman has admited that the board doesn't capture the top price, but that is ok because it saved the Ag buisness a 1/4 of a billion dollars in 2007. in durum sales alone...money that could have come to sask. farmers...but instead went east and south...

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Once again the lack of democracy. What we have is an elected dictatorship that then imposes itself upon the people. Surely it ought to be up to the farmers to decide about the Wheat Board and not the Harpocritic government?

The current mandate works because it puts HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS of extra dollars into farmers pockets.

You said, "I don't get you sometimes." - Ollie it is obvious that you don't get me - you need to set aside any 'free enterprise" - 'open market' thinking that you have for just a few minutes.

The Big US companies are NOT worried about giving a boost to American farmers ... what they want is those HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS in profits that the CWB makes and then gives BACK to the Canadian farmers. They want that action for their own profit margin!! This is not rocket science.

Harper is doing this based on some right wing, Alberta based, Reform logic that tells him - the open market is ALWAYS better. No matter what facts are put in front of him which dissolves his rationale, he doesn't care - that is why we have labelled these changes as 'ideologically driven' - they are not based on fact of the true business case, they are based on a belief that Harper and the tories have on how they think it 'should' be.

The conservatives are LOSING this fight. That does not mean that they still won't do a unilateral, dictatorial change to the CWB mandate anyway.

The fight continues.

Posted by leftdog | 6:18 PM, December 13, 2006


Leftdog, time to rethink what you said back in Dec. 13/06..
Rod Flaman Director of CWB district 8 said that the CWB isn't getting top dollar for durum wheat...but that is a good thing because Agri Buisness is saving 1/4 of a Billion dollars...that is money that should be coming to Sask. durum growers but is going to eastern and American grain millers....

Yes the CWB is doing a bang up job time for it to go...

"farmers' barley revenue from the wheat board was $C59 million higher from 1995 to 2004 than it would have been in an open market system.
Wheat board supporters argue that the board also helps farmers by negotiating terms with railways and ports. The system seems to have supporters on the buyers' side as well. It provides a more uniform grading of grains than is available in the US, for instance. But averaging prices has a drawback for some farmers. By definition, an average price is often lower than what individual farmers who live near the US border could obtain by directly trucking their harvest south."
New York Times

Inadvertantly joe you exposed what the fight against the CWB is about ... a few Canadian farmers who live close to the USA border, may from time time to time, be able to rush a load across to the US on a day when the spot price is higher than what the CWB is paying. That does not help the majority of farmers who do NOT have quick easy access to the US.

LD said, "That does not help the majority of farmers who do NOT have quick easy access to the US."

Nonsense. We don't have a comparable system up here so you can't in any way say the price at the terminals wouldn't be the same.

Even if there was a price differential, as you say those close would travel to get the best price, and what happens then? The terminals close to the border match the price so that they can get their business back. . . and so on north.

Come on LD, at least try something other than the same old talking points to get your side out.

Cheers,
lance

"Nonsense. We don't have a comparable system up here so you can't in any way say the price at the terminals wouldn't be the same." HUH??????

"Even if there was a price differential, as you say those close would travel to get the best price, and what happens then? The terminals close to the border match the price so that they can get their business back. . . and so on north." HUH??????

Lance ... if the elevator in Bowbells, North Dakota needs a certain grade and variety of wheat, and put out a call at a set price, the farmers around Estevan have a chance to put a load on the truck, race to the border, cross ... and deliver at Bowbells. He may get a better spot price that day than the CWB is paying BUT how does that scenario help a farmer up near Yorkton?????

That is not an old talking point, that is reality!

Screw the farmer in Yorkton. It is a dog eat dog world and competition is everything. If I was the farmer in Estevan why should I care about any other farmer?

leftdog you really don't know anything about grain farming do you?

the grain isn't going to be going directly to the american elevators. the companies up here will still be sourcing the grain...the freight rates and terminal charges is unfounded..the canadian transportation system is one of the reasons farmers costs are so high..nothing like paying freight to thunder bay for malt barley grown at humbolt sask. when the barley is trucked to the malt plant at humbolt sask...yep a real good system

i also believe that little ditti of an article you are quoting from the New York Times...was researched by interviewing someone at the CWB.....good place to go if you want to know the facts...if I'm wrong please correct me