Stephen Harper would destroy the Wheat Board
The Canadian Wheat Board
That’s right.
The one that pays farmers $2 a bushel for their wheat
Then deducts the freight rate
And throws them in jail
And confiscates their grain trucks
If they try to sell it themselves
Except if they’re in Ontario
That’s right
Only Western farmers must sell to the Wheat Board
Stephen Harper would put an end to all that
And make the Wheat Board voluntary for Western farmers
And stop putting them in jail
For selling their own grain
We are not making us up.
Choose your Canada.
Exactly Mary. Most of the post are merely backslapping self-congaradulatory consensual fondling of moot points.
Now I have a track record of saying nothing of importance…thanks for the slam.
Artemis:
Sorry � I did not see the �don�t feed the trolls� sign; billy goats can�t read 🙂
Stubblejumper:
To Mary�s Point (lest you castigate me for neglecting it)…
�Grovelling for respect� � respect is earned, and Artemis�s point was that we presently do not qualify.
�Screw international law� � International law derives from the willing cessation of sovereignty in specific instances to better able countries to mutually advance their best interests. I am unwilling to fault them for seeking their best interests within the framework of trade agreements judged by third parties. No agreement is made in isolation (this is the point Artemis is attempting to hammer into hard heads), and the implicit default by Canadian governments on previously understood commonalities justifies their treating us with some degree of contempt. From a historical perspective, the past and present US administrations have acted with admirable restraint.
Though a displaced prairie boy, I was not aware that there was a provincial �opt-out� to the CWB. My prior objection to the CWB was solely ideological, and hence left precious little room to justify the �criminal activity� of farmers selling outside of the board. I can now add an ethical objection, more easily condoning (nay, encouraging!) such behaviour.
Henry
Wade
You’re right and the news will surely please Conservatives. Let’s wait for the appeal results to see who honours international trade agreements.
Well Henry, I’m not at all aware of any ‘admirable restraint’ Dubyas’ regime has practised toward Canada. What are you suggesting that the USA should be doing to Canada?
Henry
It sounds almost as if you believe it’s a privilege to be “treated…with some degree of contempt” by the US administration.
The Bush 43 administration does not believe in being constrained by any law whether it be international or domestic which makes Dubya a superpower dictator.
Stubblejumper
Artemis ran off to wallow in the warmth of a “troll free” Conservative love-in.
Stubblejumper
Sigh – typical left/lib response…ignore central issues and grasp the tangent. Naytheless, I shall reach for my bag of peanuts:
The USA could invade us (for our oil, of course): the cost-benefit scenarios are much better than for Iraq. More seriously, we have a third of the population of Mexico…most Americans don’t know we exit – the US puts up with Mexican behaviour if they can pretend a self-interest, and the same is so for us. Weeping and running off with our marbles is NOT a serious option. The one thing that would cause a wholehearted endorsement of the Conservatives by the vast majority of Ontario �movers-and-shakers� is the whiff of Martin repudiating NAFTA.
…and the terminology is “administration” not “regime”. The latter is a more appropriate description of successive Liberal governments.
As to your most recent post: do you know no history?! Not constrained? Are you perchance chewing bubble gum while you post?
Mary:
Civility constrains me…
Let�s add a little (more) Bromone to the peanuts: just because someone does not see the world the same way as you � gasp!! � has a different set of opinions and beliefs (will �worldview� set you off?), does not make them evil: GWB (Mr. President, to the polite) is not the antichrist (another pellet for you).
Henry
Stubblejumper – what international law has the US broken? You probably mean the Iraq war. Did you realize that the US and Britain were fighting a low level war with Iraq since the 1991 Gulf war by patrolling the no-fly zone? Almost daily skirmishes were the rule, albeit little of this was reported at the time – out of sight, out of mind, etc.
There was no “international law” that the US broke by invading Iraq. Declaring war on another country is a basic “right” of a sovereign nation. Now you may disagree that it was the right thing to do, but don’t put up canards like breaking international law.
Hey Stub and Mary…
Go Away…
Don’t Go Away mad…
Just Go Away…!
One would think the leftists would be thankful to the U.S. of A. for the free protection and free research and developement (especially in medicine) so Canada can afford to be a nanny state.
Kate (or whoever asked who that ad was directed at) the ad is directed at the hundreds employed at CWB. In Winnipeg. In Canada.
Frankly, if all Canada has between us and the lawless blood drinking dictator to the south is Stubblejumpers and Mary’s mouth, we’re in big do do. 😉
I guess an unarmed civilian population of weapons-phobic pacifists and a non existant military wouldn’t offer them the fight the Iraqis are providing. 😉
Henry
Civility constrains you but verbosity makes you really silly.
Okay, I’ll say it: “Children, go to your room and shut the f*ck up.” Geesh, meaningful dialogue and debate are one thing, and even a clever joke or play with words, but the crap that the trollers have been spouting is pathetic.
Oh yes, It is Kate’s bat and ball so she has every right to do what she wants on HER blog.
Per Ardua, eh
Been saying this one for years now. There’s many a good reason why the liberals have never gotten rid of the (Western) ‘Canadian’ Wheat Board. Chief among these would be its revenues.
The only figures I’ve got are from 1999 but show that it was the fifth biggest crown corporation, by revenue at $4.026B after the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, Hydro-Quebec, Canada Post Corp., and only marginally behind Ontario Power Generation Inc.
What’s striking about these numbers is not simply that they’re huge, it’s that they’re only half the story. When compared with their respective profits, only Loto-Quebec (6) and Bank of Canada (10) broke the $1B mark. At $3.893B, they were by far the most profitable corporation in Canada, as a percentage of revenue.
Can you think of another corporation with a 96.68% profitability rating? Bear in mind that revenues were down 14 % and profits were down 15.5% from the previous year, making it somewhat BETTER than the previous year.
If anyone has the current numbers, I’d like to see them.
Texas Canuck deftly displays the definition of meaningful dialogue and debate.
Kate:
I am one of the original “Farmers for Justice” who has spent the last 10 years in three levels of court, arguing with appointed judges about our right to sell our grain.
It is very heartening to hear that Eastern Canadians know the issues and also find it unjust that “some farmers are more equal that other farmers” to quote George Orwell’s Animal Farm.
Not only are Western farmers restricted from selling their own grain but we must also pay for the administration of Eastern farmers freely selling theirs.
If we are to call it “The Canadian Wheat Board” should not Eastern farmers have a say, an opportunity to vote and a chance to sell five dollar wheat for two dollars?
Shortly after the election, we will file, in Federal Court, an action seeking compensation for abuse of process and malicious prosecution.
More information will be made available at farmersforjustice.com.
Mary:
Touch�…every once in a while I indulge – I don’t take me too seriously.
Those numbers the general has quoted are truly astonishing. Anyone know of sites tracking CWB numbers over time?
Henry
Norm–good for you and your group–it is time all Canadians have the famous ‘equality’ that Martin babbles on about. ‘the fact is’ that the Liberals have used the CWB as a cash cow on the world stage and right here at home. China was subsidized by the Western Farmer with cheap wheat that you guys worked to grow and paid to market.
Keep up the good work–Canadians owe you a great debt for standing up for justice.
Gen Lee,
Very interesting numbers about the CWB. I wonder if those farmers, who think that the wheat board is the best thing since sliced bread, realize just how much of they are paying the CWB to sell their wheat for them? I understand that some are willing to have someone sell their product for them but the fact that western farmers do not have an option is the part that stinks.
Another point is that those rebelious wheat farmers that had the audacity to sell their own product spent more time behind bars than convicted AdScam thiefs.
Is there anyone else out here on this blog that supports marijuana?
Does anyone have any info on the assets of the wheatboard? If I’m not mistaken, on paper the wheatboard is asset rich, which they use as collatoral to borrow money very cheaply (from the gov’t, us taxpayers). This is then used to re-invest at much better rates than it is borrowed. A lot of these “assests” are loans to the old Soviet Union (Trudeau’s role model), which in the real sense, are pretty well useless.
Morris Dorosh of Agriweek has written quite a bit about this.http://www.agriweek.com/, but I can’t find any relevant commentary on the site. Need a subscription it seems. haven’t read it for over 3 years, but he had some really good info on the Wheatboard, and their shenanigans
Is there anyone else out here on this blog that supports marijuana?”
You know the classic Canadian story bryce…
A Saskachewan wheat farmer goes to jail for selling wheat to the Americans. In jail the guy with him goes, “eh, oldtimer, whacha in for?” The poor farmer says “I’m in here for selling 30 bushels of wheat.” The other dude goes “Whoa, your going to be here for a while oldtimer. I got caught with only 33 grams.”
It’s what? Little over a decade old? I think I saw it on the CBC.
Softwood lumber… Yes, the WTO did make a ruling in favour of the US, but I suspect the real problem here is NAFTA. The US lumber lobby is scrambling for all the loopholes it can find to delay taking the tarif off finished lumber. Meanwhile, we are shipping raw logs down there. Simple solution, slap a VERY hefty export tax on raw logs effectively stopping the flow of logs… and jobs in US mills. Think they’ll wanna talk then? Good thing the Libranos are on top of the situation!
There are two key issues with the Wheat Board – 1. the “elections” of directors are 1 farmer with wheat board ticket = 1 vote. However anyone who has ever been on the Prairies knows marginal part-time farmers on small holdings are more numerous than the large farmers who actually produce the bulk of the grain. It should be a vote by bushels produced not by just being a ticket holder. 2. So-called “loans” to African countries, Cuba, and etc. really should be classified as uncollectable – but that would push $billions onto the national debt as Fed Gov’t is guarantor.
Norm said:
“I am one of the original “Farmers for Justice” who has spent the last 10 years in three levels of court, arguing with appointed judges about our right to sell our grain.>Not only are Western farmers restricted from selling their own grain but we must also pay for the administration of Eastern farmers freely selling theirs.
If we are to call it “The Canadian Wheat Board” should not Eastern farmers have a say, an opportunity to vote and a chance to sell five dollar wheat for two dollars?”
Ahhhhhh Norm… now there’s the rub….you have come up against the very “progressive” legislating that Martin says individual property rights will destroy…..I don’t want to appear “unCanadian” by doubting my fearless leader of the single party state but, I have to ask myself; “is this a bad thing?”
BTW: Keep up the fight. I was at your Alberta rally with Ted Morton and the free Alberta team. When CPC form a government we will see the CWB termites who jailed and tortured Andy for 155 days for selling his own grain, brought to justice.
Wow
Reading the trail of comments here is hilarious. The CWB is profitable, steals my grain, takes away my freedom. For all you non farmers adding comments to this trail, which based on the value of your comments is nearly all of you, ask yourself the value of a monopoly. Last time I looked Microsoft will spend billions to ensure its monopoly – why, because its good for business. Unless you have a vested interest in this debate (that is you sell wheat), leave it alone – I for one want the right to choose myself the outcome of the CWB.
Um…question. Didn’t a certain Liberal PM station Canadian Troops in certain Canadian cities back in, oh what was it? October 1970? And didn’t the Canadian public support the move?
If that’s the case, then it’s OK for Liberal PMs to use the military in such a fashion but not OK for a Tory PM to do the same?
Does the phrase merde de taureau have significance here? 🙂
Macker…The Tories did send troops into Winnipeg in 1919 to quell the general strike there and one person was killed in the riot as the authorities tried to arrest the strikers’ leadership.
how long does PMPM have to fill up the patronage appointments before he exits.
how many more will be entitled to their entitlements.???
Sorry, Farm Boy, I’m not buying your argument. Firstly, Microsoft is not a monopoly, for example, IBM is four times bigger than them. In modern western civilizations, we have effectively outlawed monopolies, except for the monopoly held by the state. It is in some sense the most natural monopoly, having two city councils is kind of silly. Nevertheless, that does mean that the state monopoly suffers from all the terrible things that befall monopolies imposed by force.
Secondly, because the CWB is a state monopoly organization, it is a matter relevant to all the citizens of the state. It matters not whether or not we are a customer of the CWB, we are stakeholders. If you want to keep the citizens out of your private affairs, shut down the CWB and set up your own private marketing board.
…ask yourself the value of a monopoly.
Farm Boy, a monopoly can work by two methods. Extort a price from the buyer or extort a price from the seller.
We know the buyers have other options in a sea of grain. That leaves the seller, you. Sucker.
There is nothing wrong with having the CWB. That said,any producer of a product should be able to choose whom to sell their product to. If the CWB is such a good deal, then why aren’t the eastern grain producers lobbying to be included in it? Prolly cause they’ve seen how the western producers have been raped, robbed, pillaged (pick one)by the CWB. It’s all about choice, it’s all about freedom.
Culvert wants to make Sask. a collective farm, on the old soviet union model. Sask MUST be having an election soon after this one. Does anyone think that Culverts right hand politbureau man (Goody two shoes – both red-, with a yellow star up the back)will win his riding in Red Ghina (capitol of Sask,)? I am n complete agreement with all of you posting on the evils of the Wheat Board and my blood still boils when I remember my dad giving his flax crop away because that Communist outfit would not buy it. We have had ‘two tier’ farmers in this country for years.
The CCF (NDP) LOVE the ‘control’ feeling so don’t expect Jacko to support any move to abolish it.
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