Western wheat farmers expect an apology — and perhaps a tear — from Trudeau
In 1947, Senator Walter Aseltine calculated that in the first 3½ years of CWB operations, western wheat growers suffered $535 million in lost income. The monopoly was supposed to end after the war, but Ottawa instead entered into wheat agreements with foreign buyers — often at bargain prices.
Prime Minister John Diefenbaker argued at one point that Ottawa’s decision to make western farmers finance war reconstruction was ridiculous. He said that when aircraft and other war materials were sent to Britain, it was never the manufacturers that were expected to pay the cost.
“Why,” he wanted to know, “were farmers being treated so differently and unfairly.”
Tears? Certainly not for western grain farmers–they’re the wrong sort of people: hard-working and decent.
If he does turn on the waterworks, it’s for his Laurentian elite buddies who are forced to pay for things out of their own pockets.
Hush up – you may inspire PM Selfie to reinstate the mandatory aspects of the CWB.
Oh there are some – in Northern Alberta – who are still big fans of the wheat board. They were paid more than Southern Alberta farmers. Their barley yielded more but is lower quality and not purchased by the malters. In the south the quality is better but lower yield. The board gave a larger quota to the north based on yield. However it paid the same per bushel regardless of the quality.
A bunch of the northerners showed up at the border in the 90’s along with Gloabal news to promote and support the Board. My dad almost ended up in a go round with the ring leader who acted as a typical liberal party farmer. One of northerners did finally admit on camera that not all farmers like the board. Unfortunately Global still ran with the narrative that they represented all farmers.
The board didn’t do any favours for farmers. Hutterites- who could afford it – thought of them as a marketing convenience. However, I remember growing up in the 70’S where any good harvest resulted in the long shoremen going on strike. The board would not ship to alternate ports and the farmers Had to pay for the cargo ships sitting in the dock to be loaded. The board deducted it from the already reduced price.
Again, a northerner tried to convince me that all vendors pay the cost of delivering. It was no point arguing as pointing out he paid delivery on his vehicle would likely not change his mind.
An apology?? What a joke!!
The bassttardds at CWB have hated farmers since it was first conceived!! In the late 60’s and early 70’s at about the time that Trudeau Sr. uttered * ”Why should I sell your wheat?” our family operated a garage, bulk fuel, chemical and fertilizer outlet in SW Sask. A lot of farmers could not pay their bills, thus my Dad took wheat on trade for farm products.
My Bro (God bless his soul) and I went to a farm near Coderre, Sk to pick up 600 bushels of wheat in exchange for an old pickup truck we had sold the farmer. We went to the shed, loaded the two F-8 Fords and hauled the wheat to a feed lot near Assiniboia. Good #1 RSW was selling for .50-.75 cents per bushel. A crying shame, but it paid for the truck. Why was it selling that low?? Because the CWB was sleeping at the helm.
The CWB had WWII Nazzi style spotters spying on farmers who sold what was know as ”black market wheat.” This was their wheat, grown on their farms, except that the buyers were not CWB. When they (spotters) came to talk to my Dad on our property, they started questioning us about the wheat we had taken on trade. Our garage was NOT a farm, thus they had no business there. They could have gone after the guy who sold us the wheat in exchange for the truck, however Dad refused to give them the farmers name. My Bro was so p’d off, he was going to chase them off the lot with a CO2 fire extinguisher. In hindsight, he was glad he hadn’t. They finally left. That’s how the Liberal government of Pierre Trudeau ran the CWB.
* While I realize that Trudeau’s now famous quote was taken out of context by the press, it was indeed his job to sell our wheat if the CWB had been on track.
Exactly. Farmers do not generally vote Liberal as they generally do not subscribe to the free lunch philosophy.
Frances, good point. We got rid of the soviet style institution, good riddance, and lets not awake the soviet CWB monster.
I do not think tRUDEau will never shed a tear for the dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board – and the corrupt organization it became.
It was Goodale and the rest of the LIEberals that fought very hard to keep it. Farmers were sent to jail for selling their own wheat, will tRUDEau also clear all the criminal records of farmers that sold their wheat?
tRUDEau forgiving, with tears, anything for the West is laughable …. next thing he will NEVER shed a tear for is the “transfer payments” to (mainly) Quebec. … He would have to have onion juice dropped in his eyes to produce a “single tear” for anything concerning Western Canada.
‘will tRUDEau also clear all the criminal records of farmers that sold their wheat’
Done. As far as I know a fellow named Harper had all those criminal records stricken from the books, a move rabidly criticized at the time by our media lapdogs.
I remember those times Sask. Watch; barley sold 3 bushels for a dollar and it wasn’t just old trucks acquired with grain. Many farms got their first snowmobile pedaling grain that the CWB was unable to market. Soviet style planning at its finest.
“As far as I know a fellow named Harper had all those criminal records stricken from the books …”
That is great!!!!
Another reason LIEberals hated Harper and his policies put forth by the Conservatives.
Canada gave interest free loans to countries to buy grain and forgave many of those loans. the government also gave away nuke plants in the same manner. not real bright are we?
Communists despise urban workers while pretending to love them. Communists openly despise farmers – kulaks – as uppity free people who need knocking down.
And, after all, food comes from the store.
Those loans were not really interest free. The country’s just didn’t pay. The loans drawn from Canadian Banksters were underwritten by the federal government.
The banks never called on the government (taxpayers) to realize on the bad debts and so the interest on the bad loans was viewed as an on going cost of doing business by the Wheat Board and the interest was paid by the wheat grower.
Heh, does not everyone?
One of the biggest crimes committed by the Wheat Board was the oversupply left on the Prairies to ensure a low price for feeders. They were not working the slightest bit in the interest of grain farmers. Some years they likely had the potential to export 100 % of the crop at premium prices but they refused to. Enough grain had to be deliberately held back to maintain a surplus so the off-board price would be ludicrously low for livestock feeders. Thus the open market price was often less than half what the elevator 10 miles away in North Dakota would pay but the trip to North Dakota would land you in jail. And what tops it all? More the half the farmers, in number not volume of production, thought taking it the rear was a good thing. Farmers are doing better than ever since the Wheat Board has gone. Soviet central planning simply doesn’t work.
So, Dief asked questions, but he didn’t end CWB either…
All politicians and government employees need to be great leap forwarded every couple of years I think.
“…expect an apology”?
Right, like that’ll happen.
When pee-Air turdo the elder can organize a hockey game at his current address!
that is even worse than my take on it. i guess i knew that .
I still remember how the chairman of the Wheat Board tried to go on the internet to defend their monopoly. He was swarmed by the virtual equivalent of an angry mob and compared to a Soviet grain commissar.
It was beautiful to see that arrogant bureaucrat get laid so low…
I still remember how the chairman of the Wheat Board tried to go on the internet to defend their monopoly. He was swarmed by the virtual equivalent of an angry mob and compared to a Soviet grain commissar.
It was beautiful to see that arrogant bureaucrat get laid so low…