More on the Wheat Board
I find it funny the liberals scream about having choice. Most of the time. But then when it comes to marketing choice, like western farmers having the choice to market their wheat howsoever they may choose, they clam up and say "we are Borg."
I mean really, they rail and bray against the tyranny of the majority tromping on the rights of the minority when it suits them, but then scream about the majority ruling when it doesn't. So let's say for argument's sake that 95% of farmers want a single-desk system to market their wheat, leaving 5% of farmers who want to market their own. Even if one farmer wants to sell his wheat outside of the Wheat Board, what's the problem?
And the real nub of this is that, if the WB is so great, even if open to competition, the WB would still garner a majority of the wheat.
Moreover, it appears to me to be NEP--wheat style. Why is it mandatory for farmers west of the MB/ON border to go through the WB but not farmers east of said border? Strange things a-happenin'.
I suspect that, if the books were open to audit by the AG (I'm not so sure they can be open to her, because the WB isn't a fully government-run operation), there would be some rather odd things in there. The secrecy surrounding it and the pedal-to-the-metal attempts to stop any audits by liberals reminds me of another time. Something smells funny here.
7 Comments:
I agree 100%. What other skeletons are just lerking in the corners waiting to be found. It would be so sweet to have a Conservative Majority to start looking deeply into some of these issues.
Merry Christmas Dave. What do you think about that ice-shelf thingy falling off that island? Sign me up to Kyoto!
Oh my gosh!, I totally agree with you! Couldn't have put it better myself! Very well said!!
Merry Christmas Dave!
2 things, zolton.
First, I'm talking about the freedom to choose. Liberals rail about the freedom to choose abortion, so why shouldn't the freedom to choose how to sell your grain be just as important? Moreover, why should the CWB only apply to certain regions of the country? Some are more free than others?
Second, that's your one and only chance with ad hominem. I welcome debate, but once you start saying things like "...the only people wanting the privatization of the wheat boared [sic] are ideological ass mites..." you're crossing a line. Attack anyone personally and you get banned. Debate without the name calling and you're fine.
And for the record, I do know what at least some farmers want. My grandfather was a grain farmer for 50 years and I'm related to about half of the farming community in Saskatchewan. Some want choice. Give it to them.
Well said. I live in Nova Scotia and there is no wheat board here (lived in Winnipeg for 14 yrs).
Perhaps Strahl should force all grain producers from coast to coast into this stalinist era monopoly and see how Farmer Levesque in Quebec likes losing his freedom of choice.
I kind of miss the west. Nothing but red tories and assorted "gov't owes me everything" types here.
I don't know what farm notloz has been working on but being a CWB permitbook holder I'd like to offer a few comments.
First off the CWB, like dual marketing has it's advantages and disadvantages.
If the CWB is sooo great then why don't they have a monopoly on all grain produced in Canada?
If the CWB is sooo great then why can't they operate in the open market?
If farmers seem to be mature enough to market their off board grains to say Cargill then what's the biggy with wheat and barley. They are after all just a part of normal crop rotation.
notloz has apparently been drinking a lot of coffee with J. Layton and E. May since they all seem to think that farmers still use the ox and walking plow. The fact of the matter is that most "small" farms are now costly enterprizes with a million dollars or more in assets.
I've lived the ag life for over 50 years now and the old days of grandma and grandpa down on the farm have gone the way of the dodo.I don't like or agree with it but it simply is the way it is.
The CWB may be around as a monopoly or dual operation for years to come but they can't stop the rapid rate of farm rationalization and rural depopulation.
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