Round Table wth RItz

[perfecho]

Hey Mr. Pallet, Kato, Randy,...etc.
Been invited to an intimate round table discussion with our MP and Mr. Ritz. Would like to take the opportunity to ask about the class action law suit and why it is not being dealt with.
Would like input to for the top three points that this should be settled due to Gov negligence....and any advice as to how to ask without sounding like a whining farmer ;-)
Also would like to address the lack of competition...any suggestions.
Thanks, Larry

[kato]

Gonna give this some thought. I'll be back.

[rkaiser]

Why not have an independent mediator?

[ASRG]

You might ask him about a food inspection agency that obviously needs an overhaul on how they handle food poisoning cases (listeria and ecoli).

[per]

On the CFIA, don't let him suggest the centers of excellence initiative as the fix to what ASRG refers. They are probably a good idea but don't address the systemic issues within a bureaucracy out of control. Also letting the CFIA do the investigation into the XL affair doesn't cut it.

[perfecho]

At first I declined the invitation, thought I would get too ticked and show my "other" side..;-0
However, I am certainly getting weary of other peoples mistakes costing the beef industry (and me) dearly. Personally, we just got going before BSE, with a purebred herd, and it cost us dearly. After the XL catastrophe, the confidence level of many to expand, jump back in is not there. And this is due to others, not the producers. Even though the markets are good after banging our head against a wall for so long, they are not great return compared to cost escalation of inputs. For such a valuable component of life ..food...it certainly is not highly regarded, I believe.
Please keep the thoughts coming. I apprecaite the insight of others. Wish I could bring you all along, it certainly would be interesting to sit back and watch.

[grassfarmer]

I wouldn't lose too much sleep over what to say as
Ritz doesn't appear to be blessed with even the
most basic modicum of intelligence. You could ask
him how the ostrich business is doing and suggest
that he tries the cold cuts. You should probably
enquire after his friend Brian Nilsson's well being
too - have heard much about him recently.

[kato]

This is what I would ask him. (Like I'd ever be allowed within a mile. ha ha)

"On May 19, 2003, the cattle and beef segment of agriculture was one of the largest contributors to Canada's then healthy export surplus, as well as being a major economic force in the Canadian economy. Ten years later, it has been reduced to a fraction of what it was, and is in real danger of being a sideline industry. The cow herd has been liquidating steadily and consistently year over year, with no end in sight. The economic losses have been extraordinary. The cow calf producers were the first to fall, and then the domino effect hit the feedlots, packers, truckers, vets, farm suppliers, and other industries that once thrived on the business the cattle brought.

An entire generation has been lost to the cattle industry. Many remaining producers are getting older, and will not be replaced when they leave.

The question is "Why is this happening?"

The answer is "Lack of confidence in the future."

The cattle industry in this country has been let down by it's regulators in so many ways it's hard to count them. It started with a lack of action on the government's part with the very first cow diagnosed with BSE back in the 90's. This negligence led to the BSE crisis as we know it. And was the start of the slippery slope to oblivion. It led to rules and regulations that were meant to protect us, but which only caused more bureaucracy and red tape that made business more difficult without giving any benefit to those who were supposed to be helped by it.

There is no sense of confidence that we won't be let down again. None of these troubles were the fault of Canadian cattle producers. We have done our part, and the disasters delivered on us were not of our doing.

My questions are...

1. Will the government appoint the mediator to settle our class action suit, as we've been asking for years now? This will address the problem that started it all.

2. Will the government cancel the sale of the PFRA pastures?

3. Will the government fund the CFIA well enough that it can do a proper job of monitoring the beef processors, and concentrate on that part of the food system, rather than chasing trucks around the country looking for lost eartags?

If they did these three things, maybe we'd see a reason to stay in business in the future.

[kato]

... as she is escorted from the room.

[GaryE]

Good points Kato except that the job that CFIA is supposed to do is totally unrelated to its funding. We need a total overhaul starting with accountability and vision statement for CFIA. The days of standing on guard on assembly lines are over. We do need the centers of excellence but do not need pages of regulations. The CFIA needs to become more proactive in preventing crisis and less active in media hysteria. CFIA is now taking credit for identifying the potential problems at XL prior to the discovery of E.coli but certainly did not stop the problem form occurring. We need to keep the call in place for an independent review of the agency.