I have blogged about this for years, the CWB needs to get it's power cut. Ontario farmers can sell their wheat and barley to anyone in the world that they want to, but not our western farmers, thanks to the opposition parties.
In a wildly UNDER-REPORTED challenge, by our biased media, we hear about another win for the Conservative government.
CWB loses gag-order challenge
OTTAWA — The Canadian Wheat Board lost its bid to have the Supreme Court hear its case against a federally-imposed gag order.
The federal government imposed a ban on the prairie grain growers crown corporation, preventing it from using money to promote the monopoly the board has on all prairie wheat and barley sales.
The Wheat Board initially won its challenge in federal court but the decision was overturned on appeal. The board pursued the case to the Supreme Court but this morning the court dismissed the request to hear the case, with costs.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper pledged in the last two elections to eliminate the monopoly held by the Wheat Board, triggering a long-running feud with the board. An initial attempt to do so by cabinet decree was stopped by the courts and legislation introduced to open up barley sales never got debated before the 2008 election call. No legislation has been introduced since.
I wonder if the Conservative government would throw farmers in jail for trying to sell their wheat in the US, like the Liberals did. I think not. Maybe one brave farmer should try crossing the border and see what happens. If nothing does, if no-one is arrested, then the power of the CWB will be gone. What if western farmers planted anything but wheat and barley? What could the CWB do about that? They would have nothing to sell.
I don't want the CWB dissolved, I want it to be reformed so that farmers can CHOOSE to sell their grain to them or not. It's that simple. Farmers who like the CWB can still sell their grains to them, other farmers can take their product anywhere they want.
Why are "progressives" against freedom for our farmers? Why should Quebec and Ontario be able to stop our western farmers from freely selling their products to anyone they want to, while Quebec makes everyone in this country pay more for cheese and milk products because of their marketing boards.
Every opposition party supports the CWB, that is why no bill has been proposed recently. This is just another example of how eastern Canada oppresses western Canada. Eastern farmers can sell to whoever they want, western farmers get jailed for the same thing. NICE!
Set our farmers free!
9 comments:
Cartels, the entrails of John Nash's beautiful mind...
So...if we set them free, does that mean we stop giving them subsidies? Farmers get lots, and lots of tax dollars. Just curious.
Yes EsQue it would mean the "end" of tax subsidies and at the same rate as the end of Quebec's! Just Curious?
SQ, if we had been allowed to sell our own wheat to the highest bidder all these years, we wouldn't need subsidies.
Do you work, do you get paid every 2 wks, or once a month, for the work you did during those days. How would you like to get paid like a wheat farmer-tell the CWB, in April what you are going to plant, seed crop in April/may, harvest in fall, and then have your boss tell you that you can only sell x no. of bushels at a certain time, then have about 30% of the check deducted for freight, cleaning, dockage, and a few other things. Then, maybe a year later get the final payment on what you grew and were able to sell.
You tell me, by April 1st, how many hours you intend to work, then in about Dec, your boss says, gee, we will pay you an initial wage for only so many hours you worked. In about a year, you will get the rest of what you earned.
That's a great idea, So Que!
So what if ending those subisidies would force many farmers out of the business of farming grain, reducing the national supply, and forcing prices up! So what?
It would be good for those farmers who survive this economically apocalyptic scenario. Who cares about those who don't? So what?
So what if the price of bread and other food products goes up in stores? So what if it doubles or maybe even triples? So what?
So what if the poor will starve? Who cares about them? So what?
And let's not mention that if we're going to give farmers subsidies we apparently have the right to dicate to them who they may or may not sell their grain to.
So what if we don't apply the same idea to welfare recipients -- whose survival the Canadian taxpayer subsidizes! So what?
Sarcasm off.
That's some great thinking, there, SoQue.
Thanks for coming out.
SQ doesn't want western farmers to be equal to eastern farmers. That's how "progressives" think, you are equal only if you agree with the lefty point of view.
Quebec wants to separate because....funny, I can't think why Quebec would want to leave the trough called Canada, can anyone enlighten me?
I'll take "because Lucien Bouchard suggested they could still feed at the trough even as a soveregn country" for $500.
I'm not certain if Southern Quebec -- that's an odd choice of a user name, by the way -- understands what he's implying.
We don't imprison everyone whom we give tax dollars to. My lord, imagine if we did!
Now, to suggest that we're imprisoning farmers would be hyperbole. Farmers should be deciding these things for themselves.
Doling out subsidies shouldn't entitle the government to dictate to anyone who they may or may not sell their product to, or how.
I say we keep the CWB. Make the rules even tighter. In fact, lets include all the farmer who grow grain from coast to coast. And just for kicks, we will force all the new farmers added to the CWB monopoly that weren't members before, to pay the freight for all the previous farmer's freight. Lets say we make them pay it for about 60 yrs and then we can all get together again and talk about how fair the CWB really is.
Choice. Everybody has a choice in most everything they do. Everybody it seems, but western wheat farmers.
Either force all farmers to be in it, or abolish the forced membership. How hard is that? Hard? No.... Easy? What say you Iggy and Jacko?
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