12.08.2011

The Harperites vs. The Canadian Wheat Board, Headin for Armegeddon?

The Canadian Wheat Board is a 75-year-old marketing structure that works by price pooling and single-desk selling. Farmers fought very hard, over the decades, to build a system that could serve their own interests against predatory grain companies and giant railways.

A Federal Court judge in Winnipeg ruled Wednesday that Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz breached the Canadian Wheat Board Act by introducing legislation without holding a plebiscite for producers.  Ritz's answer,“This declaration will have no effect on continuing to move forward for freedom for western Canadian farmers.”

Farmers have approved none of this. Most are well aware that this path will only diminish their own power and profits, and hand them back to the corporate world of agri-business. That's what this is about, money honey, $5 billion a year and Harper's backers want a bigger bite, no matter that generations devoted their lives to the Prairie cooperative movement that resulted in creation of the Canadian Wheat Board, or that this decision could be the beginning of the end for many family farms that are the backbone of Canadian agriculture, in a matter of weeks it'll be gone if the Harperites get away with it.

Who rules Canada, the courts, or the parliament? Is any government above the law? Or does Harper think he's guided by a law higher than human law? Most evangelicals do, George Bush did, and this Conservative government is loaded with 'em. as Marci McDonald's book 'The Armageddon Factor' shows. This could quickly escalate into a showdown at high noon in the Supreme Court. Of course i always bet on the underdog so i'm predicting a huge win for the little guys and a big black eye for the Harperites.

Address to Senate standing committee on Agriculture and Forestry December 8, 2011 by Allen Oberg, Chair, CWB board of directors - Very informative!

Stop The Steamroller - Over 30,000 supporters of the Canadian Wheat Board Alliance have sent an email so far..