Protest in Winnipeg June 15 attn: Joe

[kato]

June 15 at 11 am.

Anyone interested in making a bit of noise over our situation can meet at the Forks in the parking lot.

Marching down Portage Avenue to the Convention Centre to the International Meat Congress meeting.

Organizers are expecting about 500 producers, but I bet they get more, even with a 24 hour notice.

Got your signs made Joe?

[15444]

Gosh darn. I'll be busy for most of tomorrow, otherwise I would be more then happy to join you.

Best of luck!

[kato]

If you can't make it, that's OK.

Instead, you can help by calling a bunch of neighbours and letting them know.

The notice is short, but if enough phones get ringing, we can collect up a crowd.

[kato]

Just got back from Winnipeg. Here's my report.

I'm not sure how big the crowd was, but when we walked to the convention center we took up over two city blocks. The police stopped traffic for us, and blocked off the street in front of the Meat Congress meeting. Afterwards we had a meeting at the Fairmont hotel, and there were well over 500 for that, even with not everyone staying.

There were lots of speeches, and a few hecklers too, just for fun. There were also a number of people from inside the Convention Center who came out and watched from a balcony. I can only imagine who they were. I hope they were important.

Bob Speller came out and talked to us, and so did Brian Evans from the CFIA. Bob Speller is starting to look as frustrated as we are. I also noticed that Brian Evans stayed and listened to every single speaker. I was quite impressed with that. I wouldn't doubt that the CFIA is interested in what grassroots producers are thinking regarding the testing issue.

One of the best speeches there was made by young Eric Dalke, the son of the meeting organizer, and boy was it ever good!

This rally was instigated by producers, but quickly got the backing and help from the Manitoba Cattle Producers Assoc. It seems that all the things that the BIG-C group is promoting have been embraced by the MCPA already. The two groups should talk.

Among the things talked about at the meeting were new packing plants for Manitoba, with BSE testing if the customers requested it.

Also brought up was the possibility of starting a petition and circulating it among people from all walks of life, not just farmers, stating that until the border is open to Canadian beef, they will boycott shopping in the States.

A local municipality passed a boycott motion last week, and got an immediate response from government officials in North Dakota. Seems a boycott strikes a nerve!

The MCPA circulated a discussion paper which we were invited to comment on, and add our opinions to.

On the list were such things as interest free cash advances, suspending supplementary import permits for beef, new slaughter facilities, testing, SRM's removed from all beef destined for any kind of animal food, including pet food, a disaster program separate from CAIS, more help from the government in finding new markets, and so on and so on.

The basic mood of the meeting was that we're fed up with being patient, and want some action now. Up until now the MCPA has been following the rest of the organizations in "relying on science", but I think that has all changed now. If the other mainstream organizations can get on board, we might just get something done.

Apparently, in the Meat Congress meeting, the president of the association said that if Canada and the United States can't get their trade issues solved between them, then the rest of the world will not trade with either of us.

Hopefully our neighbours to the south heard that.

We had good response from people on the street honking their horns in support. You gotta love that! Also, there was lots of media there. I guess we'll have to wait and see how much of it gets to the news programs and newspapers.

At least it looks like we're starting to get some attention again.

[kato]

Right on Kato.
Grass roots seems to be where it's at this summer. Sure would be nice if ABP would take a good look at MCBA. Hopefully some more numbers can initiate that.

Interesting stuff about Brian Evans, looks like it needs some follow up.

Thanks so much Kato.

[kato]

Kato ----
Sent an Email to Keith Robertson - Exectutive Director for MCPA at 8:22 a.m.
Had a reply at 8:54 a.m.

Could you please find the press release from June 14th Kato and post it on this site.

Great stuff coming from an organisation with producers in mind.

[kato]

I'll look for it.

I haven't seen it myself, I found out about the rally through the good old jungle g**** vine. LOL

[kato]

Is this it?

Beef producers plan downtown rally

WINNIPEG - Beef producers are organizing a "Walk for Beef" rally in downtown Winnipeg Tuesday to draw the attention of international meat-industry executives attending a conference in the city.

The bi-annual World Meat Congress brings together industry experts, government officials and academics from around the world.

Cattle producers also want to get in on the action. Glori Dalke, who owns a cattle feedlot near Morden, is planning the "Walk for Beef" rally; she hopes as many as 1,500 people will attend.

"We thought there was a real window of opportunity for Canadian cattle producers to draw some international attention to the fact that the delay in the BSE crisis is hurting Canadian cattle producers," she says.

Dalke says after more than a year with the U.S. border closed to Canadian beef, it's getting tougher to motivate farmers to keep up the political pressure.

"I would say it's definitely waning. As we've been calling around, our biggest struggle isn't that people think the rally isn't a good idea. Some are becoming somewhat apathetic," she says.

"For me, that really shocks me and makes me feel the urgency even more, that we definitely need to push this lobby. We don't want producers giving up."

Federal Agriculture Minister Bob Speller will address the rally, along with a representative of the American Beef Institute.

June 14, 2004: Farmers meet with federal Ag minister

The walk begins at 11 a.m. in the parking lot of CanWest Global Park. The cattle producers will make their way to the outside of the convention centre for a rally at noon.

We didn't get quite 1500 people, but then again we only found out about it the day before. It's amazing how word got around though,when you think about it.

[kato]

Beef producers rally at meat congress

WINNIPEG - More than 300 Manitoba cattle producers took to the streets of Winnipeg today in what they called a "walk for beef."

They say they're frustrated over the devastating impacts of mad cow disease on their farms, and they want international leaders to do something about it.

About 650 industry experts, government officials and academics from around the world are gathered in Winnipeg for the World Meat Congress this week.

CBC INDEPTH: Mad Cow in Canada

Frances Kwasny is one of the cattle farmers who came out to send a message to delegates the congress, and particularly the Americans.

"They better start trading fair because they might have us on our knees, but God help them when we get off our knees," said Kwasny.

Kwasny also had some words for the Canada's agriculture minister, Bob Speller, as he walked past her, to address the crowd: "We're dying out there, Mr. Speller. We're dying. We need help."

The U.S. borders were closed more than a year ago after a single cow was discovered infected with mad cow disease in Alberta. The ban was partially lifted last August, but still doesn't include the export of live cattle.

Speller told the rally Ottawa is doing what it can to introduce new countries to Canadian beef and convince the Americans to re-open its borders.

"There's no question our beef should be going across the border into the United States. And the Prime Minister made that very clear as he expressed your frustrations to the President of the United States last week," he said.

Protesters weren't impressed: "We want results, we don't want to listen to more talk, we want results!"

Speller admitted that's not happening as quickly as he would like.

Inside the congress, James Butler, deputy under-secretary with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, told reporters he has empathy and sympathy for the producers who are being hurt at the local level.

"The measures that we are taking are based on sound science. We have learned as the Canadians have learned from this process around the globe and the crisis in the EU and what the Japanese are suffering," he says.

Cattle farmers say unless the Americans do something soon, the Canadian beef industry might not survive long enough to see the changes international leaders are talking about.

[kato]

What the heck! Here's another one!

Beef producers demand opening of U.S. border
CTV.ca News Staff

While industry experts and academics talked, beef producers walked to protest the continued closure of the U.S. market to Canadian cattle over BSE fears.

About 400 producers and supporters from across Western Canada and Ontario took part in the Walk for Beef rally in Winnipeg, Tuesday, held concurrently with the World Meat Congress.

While they think cross-border trade will resume sometime, some producers are wondering if they'll still be in business -- or if they can afford to quit.

"It's always in the back of your mind," Larry Szymesko told CKY News.

"But the thing is, you can opt out, but at what cost. I've been doing this for 20 years. Up until two years ago, my cattle were worth $1,000 per cow; now they're worth $200. So even if I get rid of them, I've got nothing."

Syzmesko said his plan is to try and ride out this "storm" -- which began May 20, 2003, with the discovery of a BSE-infected cow in Alberta -- "and maybe come out the other end and maybe there'll be some value in them."

But he felt some producers won't be able to hold on.

That cow caused the U.S. to close its borders to Canadian meat products and live cattle. The big money is in the live cattle.

U.S. President George Bush told Prime Minister Paul Martin at last week's G8 Summit he wanted to see the border opened again, but no firm date was given.

"I can't give them a date. That's something that will be decided by the United States," Agriculture Minister Bob Speller told reporters at the rally.

"But what I can give them is my continued commitment to continue to pressure the United States and to continue to work with them."

On a campaign stop in Rimbey, Alta. on Sunday, Speller told farmers devastated by the closing of the U.S. border to Canadian beef that trade would resume in "weeks, not months, not years."

Some farmers expressed the view that agriculture was simply too low on everyone's radar for it to become a priority issue, even in an election campaign.

Harper has promised to stand up for primary producers and accused the Liberals of providing "complex" and "confusing" aid packages.

There is nothing on the Conservative.ca web site that refers to BSE specifically.

In late March, Martin announced $680 million in aid for mad cow and an additional $300 million for other farm aid.

Funding for mad cow disease testing was upped by $92 million in January.

BSE in Europe

Franz Fischler, the European Union's agriculture commissioner, told the congress that Europe had rebounded from its own mad cow crisis.

Britain detected more than 36,000 cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in 1992, versus 510 in 2002.

The difference includes rigorous testing, a system to trace meat from farm to consumer, and restricting the age of cattle that may be sold for human consumption.

Cattle under the age of three aren't believed to be at risk of BSE.

Europe lifted its ban on the import of British beef in the fall of 2002. That ban lasted seven years.

Fischler appeared to support Canada's desire to see live cattle trade resume, saying, "if one applies ... international rules, I don't see a reason why it would be necessary to continue an import ban."

Jim Butler, a deputy under-secretary with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, asked all countries to "make regulatory decisions based on sound science and not unfounded fears."

Standards and regulations should be applied equally, he added.

"It concerns us to see that many countries are applying the total trade embargoes as soon as an exporting country reports an animal disease and before it has conducted a risk assessment as is required by international guidelines."

When a case of mad cow was found on a Washington state farm in December, other countries closed their borders to U.S. beef.