I am asking my fellow ranchers to read the following two letters to the editor which my husband and I have just fired off. Please take them to your ABP meetings and discuss the contents - if you'd be so kind.
You will be surprised to learn that all cattle producers in Canada are "automatically" included in the Class Action Lawsuit(s) against Ridley Inc. and the Government of Canada. If you want to maintain your right to sue these entities on your own accord in the future, especially once the real causative agent or agents of BSE are revealed... you need to Opt Out of the class action by December 12 2008 (re: the first Ridley Inc. Settlement.
Please print these two letters out and give them your time and consideration. Thank you. "Kathy"
The BSE Class Action – Whether You Want It or Not!
Many are aware of the "BSE Class Action" lawsuit by Crawford Class Action Services, on behalf of Canadian cattle producers [plaintiffs], against Ridley Inc. and the Government of Canada [defendants]. The lawyers for the producers will attempt to prove that Ridley Inc. and the Government of Canada were aware that contaminated feed was spreading BSE throughout the Canadian cattle herd, and the Government failed to act in a timely manner to control the spread of the disease.
However, most producers are not aware that all of us are automatically listed as plaintiffs in this class action battles. If you do not wish to be listed as a plaintiff in these legal cases, it is your responsibility to "opt out" by December 12, 2008. This is highly unusual as most class actions require the plaintiffs to opt in. The duty to become informed about the situation and make a conscious decision to participate should be your responsibility. For some bizarre reason, these particular challenges have reigned in all cattle producers without our knowledge or consent.
Ridley Inc has subsequently made a settlement agreement with Crawford Class Action Services where-in Ridley "denies liability and wrongdoing on its part" but pays out 6 million dollars into a 'settlement trust fund". This cash will then be used to continue the case against the Government of Canada only. At the conclusion of all this legal wrangling, should there be any surplus after legal costs, none will go to producers rather it will be divided equally among five Canadian Veterinarian Colleges.
If producers do not "opt out" by December 12, 2008 with written and signed election to the Administrator at Crawford - they will, "remain in the BSE class actions and will not be able to bring or maintain any other claim or legal proceeding in connection with any aspect of the BSE crisis against the settling defendant and any individual action that this class member commences against the settling defendant will be dismissed." Any producer who unknowingly fails to "opt out" of the class action lawsuit will be permanently denied any legal action against Ridley Inc.
Under any future settlement with the Government of Canada, a similar "Release of claims and effect on other proceedings" most likely will be issued. Again, if producers do not opt out, they will, forever, be unable to bring suit against the Government on any matters relating to BSE.
What we must be concerned about here, is that producers and the public have been sold a bill of goods regarding the true "agent" causing BSE, other-wise theorized to be an "infectious prion protein" and its method of transmission. Should another "agent" or "agents" responsible for the disease be revealed, and our Government is complicit with its distribution in the environment, producer/plaintiffs will be denied the ability to seek further restitution via the courts - forever. It is interesting to note that the packers are not included in this class action process, and their right to sue these defendants will not be restricted.
Since the publication of the “Notification of Certification and of National Partial Settlement of the BSE Class Actions” in the fall 2008 Cattlemen’s magazine, we are the first producers in Canada to have contacted Crawford Class Action Services to inform them we wish to “opt out”.
What all Canadian cattle producers must realize is, that through no action of their own, their right to sue the Canadian Government or Ridley Inc. over “any aspect” to do with BSE, in the future, will be obstructed by their involuntary participation within “the BSE Class Action” lawsuit.
No matter your beliefs about what causes BSE, failure to act [opt out] will seriously limit your rights.
YVT,
Les and Kathy Czar
Hanna, AB
(403)854-2433
October 27, 2008
The “Alberta Livestock & Meat Strategy” – Marketing or Control?
Since the 1998 Bill 31/Thurber Report fiasco over Grazing Leases, ranchers have been aware that the Alberta Government wants more control over our land, as our property rights are an impediment to more lucrative uses. Now we are faced with a further hostile take-over attempt of lands involved in the production of livestock and meat, in the guise of a “Marketing Strategy”.
On June 5, 2008, Ag Minister Groenveld ordered us to cooperate or “find an exit strategy”. We haven’t slept well since that announcement.
Their “Marketing Strategy” is really a covert land/animal control coup-d’etat to be implemented with regulations under the new Alberta Animal Health Act (AHA) passed in 2007, yet still awaits Royal Assent.
The darker side of this plan could see ranchers put out of business and their land taken out of production, merely because their property was exposed to an “agent” that MIGHT cause disease (“micro-organisms, macro-organisms, chemicals, toxins or other agents”). Any “abnormal symptom”, without clinical evidence of disease, is sufficient to trigger control measures. Our animals need not be sick for bureaucrats to restrict their movement, or have them destroyed!
The Act allows the Minister to order ranchers to obtain a “unique identification number” for their “Premise”. American ranchers have been fighting “Premise I.D.” for years. It is not, as claimed by the Minister, an Alberta hatched idea. It is actually a global license system, controlling all animal rearing operations. It is not transferable. Buyers of land may have to submit an application to raise animals on property that has been doing just that for generations, with no guarantee this activity will be allowed to continue.
“Premise” or “Premise I.D.” is mentioned roughly 89 times in the AHA, and the word “quarantined” prefixes it in most cases! Is it really a “marketing strategy” when you’re operation is listed under one of the 3 “animal health zones” described as; “Surveillance”, “Control” or “Quarantine”?
The exemption from obtaining an I.L.O. license for small intensive livestock operations and ranches will be null and void, as ranching is now considered a high risk activity requiring government control and licensing.
When our MLAs passed the AHA last year (which they loosely describe as the “Vet Bill”) did they understand that they were passing a bill that would require the licensing of all primary livestock producers in this province?
Why has this “Marketing Strategy” been accompanied by fat cheques for those that voluntarily sign up before the Act is even proclaimed?? Perhaps they figured a bribe was the best bait to lure cash strapped producers into their net.
While the ever-optimistic rancher might not want to look at the dark side of the ALM Strategy, ignoring it won’t make it go away. Through no fault of our own, our property can be exposed to “agents” of a disease from industrial emissions, nuclear fallout or even military activities, which when brought by wind, rain or snow, could result in our ranches being shut down by the AHA. What if activities presently deemed safe, become unsafe, like previously acceptable sewage sludge spreading.
The AHA states the Minister “may” compensate you, when your animals or property are destroyed, when it should say MUST compensate you, and also puts limitations on compensation payouts! Future licensing for “any purpose” through regulation is another of the excessive powers granted by the Act [Part 9, Sec. 43 (1) (4)].
The governments claim that they are “sick of propping us up” is merely a ruse to take control. Stop the hand-outs! Let the chips fall where they may. Ranchers are capable of finding balance, sustainability and our own markets without government control and intervention.
Les & Kathy Czar
Hanna, AB
(403)854-2433
lkczar@hotmail.com
You will be surprised to learn that all cattle producers in Canada are "automatically" included in the Class Action Lawsuit(s) against Ridley Inc. and the Government of Canada. If you want to maintain your right to sue these entities on your own accord in the future, especially once the real causative agent or agents of BSE are revealed... you need to Opt Out of the class action by December 12 2008 (re: the first Ridley Inc. Settlement.
Please print these two letters out and give them your time and consideration. Thank you. "Kathy"
The BSE Class Action – Whether You Want It or Not!
Many are aware of the "BSE Class Action" lawsuit by Crawford Class Action Services, on behalf of Canadian cattle producers [plaintiffs], against Ridley Inc. and the Government of Canada [defendants]. The lawyers for the producers will attempt to prove that Ridley Inc. and the Government of Canada were aware that contaminated feed was spreading BSE throughout the Canadian cattle herd, and the Government failed to act in a timely manner to control the spread of the disease.
However, most producers are not aware that all of us are automatically listed as plaintiffs in this class action battles. If you do not wish to be listed as a plaintiff in these legal cases, it is your responsibility to "opt out" by December 12, 2008. This is highly unusual as most class actions require the plaintiffs to opt in. The duty to become informed about the situation and make a conscious decision to participate should be your responsibility. For some bizarre reason, these particular challenges have reigned in all cattle producers without our knowledge or consent.
Ridley Inc has subsequently made a settlement agreement with Crawford Class Action Services where-in Ridley "denies liability and wrongdoing on its part" but pays out 6 million dollars into a 'settlement trust fund". This cash will then be used to continue the case against the Government of Canada only. At the conclusion of all this legal wrangling, should there be any surplus after legal costs, none will go to producers rather it will be divided equally among five Canadian Veterinarian Colleges.
If producers do not "opt out" by December 12, 2008 with written and signed election to the Administrator at Crawford - they will, "remain in the BSE class actions and will not be able to bring or maintain any other claim or legal proceeding in connection with any aspect of the BSE crisis against the settling defendant and any individual action that this class member commences against the settling defendant will be dismissed." Any producer who unknowingly fails to "opt out" of the class action lawsuit will be permanently denied any legal action against Ridley Inc.
Under any future settlement with the Government of Canada, a similar "Release of claims and effect on other proceedings" most likely will be issued. Again, if producers do not opt out, they will, forever, be unable to bring suit against the Government on any matters relating to BSE.
What we must be concerned about here, is that producers and the public have been sold a bill of goods regarding the true "agent" causing BSE, other-wise theorized to be an "infectious prion protein" and its method of transmission. Should another "agent" or "agents" responsible for the disease be revealed, and our Government is complicit with its distribution in the environment, producer/plaintiffs will be denied the ability to seek further restitution via the courts - forever. It is interesting to note that the packers are not included in this class action process, and their right to sue these defendants will not be restricted.
Since the publication of the “Notification of Certification and of National Partial Settlement of the BSE Class Actions” in the fall 2008 Cattlemen’s magazine, we are the first producers in Canada to have contacted Crawford Class Action Services to inform them we wish to “opt out”.
What all Canadian cattle producers must realize is, that through no action of their own, their right to sue the Canadian Government or Ridley Inc. over “any aspect” to do with BSE, in the future, will be obstructed by their involuntary participation within “the BSE Class Action” lawsuit.
No matter your beliefs about what causes BSE, failure to act [opt out] will seriously limit your rights.
YVT,
Les and Kathy Czar
Hanna, AB
(403)854-2433
October 27, 2008
The “Alberta Livestock & Meat Strategy” – Marketing or Control?
Since the 1998 Bill 31/Thurber Report fiasco over Grazing Leases, ranchers have been aware that the Alberta Government wants more control over our land, as our property rights are an impediment to more lucrative uses. Now we are faced with a further hostile take-over attempt of lands involved in the production of livestock and meat, in the guise of a “Marketing Strategy”.
On June 5, 2008, Ag Minister Groenveld ordered us to cooperate or “find an exit strategy”. We haven’t slept well since that announcement.
Their “Marketing Strategy” is really a covert land/animal control coup-d’etat to be implemented with regulations under the new Alberta Animal Health Act (AHA) passed in 2007, yet still awaits Royal Assent.
The darker side of this plan could see ranchers put out of business and their land taken out of production, merely because their property was exposed to an “agent” that MIGHT cause disease (“micro-organisms, macro-organisms, chemicals, toxins or other agents”). Any “abnormal symptom”, without clinical evidence of disease, is sufficient to trigger control measures. Our animals need not be sick for bureaucrats to restrict their movement, or have them destroyed!
The Act allows the Minister to order ranchers to obtain a “unique identification number” for their “Premise”. American ranchers have been fighting “Premise I.D.” for years. It is not, as claimed by the Minister, an Alberta hatched idea. It is actually a global license system, controlling all animal rearing operations. It is not transferable. Buyers of land may have to submit an application to raise animals on property that has been doing just that for generations, with no guarantee this activity will be allowed to continue.
“Premise” or “Premise I.D.” is mentioned roughly 89 times in the AHA, and the word “quarantined” prefixes it in most cases! Is it really a “marketing strategy” when you’re operation is listed under one of the 3 “animal health zones” described as; “Surveillance”, “Control” or “Quarantine”?
The exemption from obtaining an I.L.O. license for small intensive livestock operations and ranches will be null and void, as ranching is now considered a high risk activity requiring government control and licensing.
When our MLAs passed the AHA last year (which they loosely describe as the “Vet Bill”) did they understand that they were passing a bill that would require the licensing of all primary livestock producers in this province?
Why has this “Marketing Strategy” been accompanied by fat cheques for those that voluntarily sign up before the Act is even proclaimed?? Perhaps they figured a bribe was the best bait to lure cash strapped producers into their net.
While the ever-optimistic rancher might not want to look at the dark side of the ALM Strategy, ignoring it won’t make it go away. Through no fault of our own, our property can be exposed to “agents” of a disease from industrial emissions, nuclear fallout or even military activities, which when brought by wind, rain or snow, could result in our ranches being shut down by the AHA. What if activities presently deemed safe, become unsafe, like previously acceptable sewage sludge spreading.
The AHA states the Minister “may” compensate you, when your animals or property are destroyed, when it should say MUST compensate you, and also puts limitations on compensation payouts! Future licensing for “any purpose” through regulation is another of the excessive powers granted by the Act [Part 9, Sec. 43 (1) (4)].
The governments claim that they are “sick of propping us up” is merely a ruse to take control. Stop the hand-outs! Let the chips fall where they may. Ranchers are capable of finding balance, sustainability and our own markets without government control and intervention.
Les & Kathy Czar
Hanna, AB
(403)854-2433
lkczar@hotmail.com
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