More on the Ridley lawsuit

[farmers_son]

I would be very surprised if the U.S. allowed any beef imports from Japan.

Even under the USDA proposed rule Japan would not be considered a miminal risk country. Last time I checked I believe they have 15 positive cases of BSE.

[SASH]

I saw the lawyer for these bunch that are suing the government on Canada AM this morning. I, personally, think its going to take alot to judge what happened in 1990-1993 by today's standards. Hindsight is 20/20. Mistakes were made, fingers were pointed. I'd like to see the government work more on getting some slaughter capacity and developing other markets but I don't think this suit is going to help our situation at all.

[cpallett]

Informed decisions require information. I suggest you take a lesson from farmers_son, go to www.bseclassaction.ca and read the statement of claim before you make up your mind one way or the other.

[Willowcreek]

"By the government's own admission, one or more of those 80 cattle are the most likely source of BSE in Canada," Mr. Pallett said. "Where was the monitoring? Where was the government's concern for the health of Canadians? Why did the government fail so badly in the exercise of its regulatory responsibilities?"

Farmers_son--Sounds like this Canadian ranchers group and their attorney are admitting BSE is a health concern and a health risk -- Looks like they are joining the R-CALF argument and Judge Cebulls ruling of a genuine risk....

[farmers_son]

cpallett: Thought that name sounded familiar. Would that be Cameron Pallett, one of the lawyers involved in this suit? If so, a question I have is if a farmer gets involved in this suit could they somehow get hit with costs later on if the suit was unsuccessful?

I am not unsympathetic to the action you have filed. At least in hindsight more could have been done. I am not sure that I would want to held to that same standard myself however, i.e. in hindsight I should have been more observant or careful on a particular issue but I guess that is why I buy insurance.

I would appreciate any comments you would care to make.

[farmers_son]

Willowcreek: I would be curious to know the dispostion of the cattle imported into the U.S. from Britain during the same years that Canada imported cattle from Britain. Did those cows end up in the food chain or were they removed and disposed of. I have never seen any mention of what happened to the U.S. cows of British origin, very hush hush.

[rkaiser]

It seems that this one is feeding right in to Oltimers hands. Proof Proof Proof.

Never seen such a hypocrite in my whole life.

This lawsuit is another act of frustration on the part of producers going down hard.

Rehashing blame will get us nowhere. Unless you want to talk about the continued agression of the Rcalf gang of idiots.

I support a suit against the slanderous words of Rcalf, but hesitate in bringing up past that cannot, and will not be repaired in Canada.

We need producer owned, or at the very least Canadian owned packing plants, and we need to have access to testing for export demand. If the boxed beef that Cargil and Tyson are profitting profusely on is threatened, we also need testing to try to access American markets.

You think you got a good one here, don't you Oltimer. Well I say you are an idiot, if you think for a minute that the USA has no BSE,,, and you must believe we are all iodiots if you think we believe you want the border to stay shut to protect American producers, and get this BSE thing under control.

The authorities that be don't have a clue how to recognise, monitor, or even deal with BSE, and closed borders only lenghten the timeframe for any forward direction in that regard. Getting on the same page could move us ahead, using BSE as an economic weapon will not. Blame and finger pointing only secure a lengthy battle.

I say the same for this suit for 7 billion. It will not accomplish a thing.

We have offered the solutions on this thread, and at meetings across this country. Bridge financing to build plants paid back by producers through a levy.

No more handouts, no more blame.

Who the hell is listening.

[cpallett]

farmers_son - No, the costs exposure is limited to the representative plaintiffs and perhaps their counsel at this stage. Cattle producers can sit on their tails and wait for a cheque, they have that legitimate option. Or they can choose to get involved and help out, they have that option as well. Or, apparently they can choose to rant without bothering to seek information. Lots of choices.

[SASH]

I'm a little concerned how the public at large and our consumers are going to lokk at us going after their tax money. I think the sympathy of the general public is on our side right now but this could change things. the other thing I don't like about this confrontational approach is that any future payments or plans the government may have had for the cattle producers could be shelved by this suit. If the boxed beef to the US gets cut off, we won't even have government support to find other markets. If this happens, you guys who are supporting this have truly screwed us. I guess, at least the lawyers will be making money, but I can't see how this is going to help the cattle producers.

[cpallett]

SASH, you really should do your homework. Have you visited www.bseclassaction.ca and read the claim? My information is that the Feds are putting together another relief package, but they are going to ask producers to sign a waiver and release from the class action before they will issue the cheque. That should tell you something if and when it arrives. If you bothered to visit the website, you would also find out that all the lawyers are working on a contingency basis. In other words, if you don't get paid, we don't get paid. My ass is hanging out there in the wind with the cattle producers on this one simply because it makes my blood boil that families are getting hurt. Canada's hardworking cattle producers shouldn't have to lose their farms to cover up for bureaucrats who failed to do their jobs. Besides, Don Quixote has always been a hero of mine. No offence, but there is no excuse for ignorance on this one. All the information is on the website.

[SASH]

Perhaps you should read up a bit on the theories of Mark Purdy. Also, where did the original case of BSE come from? It is thought that one in a million animals will develop BSE spontaneously. I don't think your case holds water and my concern is that the general public will turn against the cattle producers if this case is pursued. I saw your man on Canada AM this morning. I, personally don't think dredging up BSE on National Television is going to help consumer confidence. Unlike alot of the others on this board, I'm a corporate dropout. I've worked with quite a few lawyers before so please don't feel hurt if I don't believe you are doing this 'out of the goodness of your heart'. I expect more likely that you are hoping for some good exposure for you and your firm. A little bit of time in the limelight never hurts to build that clientele. I've long since got past the point of 'good or evil' in the corporate world and now understand 'It's just business'.
I guess what I'm looking at is if you manage to get all government aid cut off and the border closes to boxed beef, what do you have to lose? What is your stake in the outcome of this decision? This could turn out very badly for the rest of us.

[rkaiser]

How long have we waited for this moment folks.

A Lawyer, right here on our site, telling us what to do.

Well Mr. Pallett, I went and read most of your web site. Didn't have to go far before I wondered how this thing is going to work. You plan on presenting facts about BSE where facts do not exist. BSE has never been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt to be spread through feed transmission.

The one thing that your suit may bring out, is a govenment taking a second look at this infectious theory. Mark Purdey is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to research surrounding alternative theories, and in particular metal contamination.

I am not overly well versed on the topic but will enlist a very learned couple who are, to help explain the problems you will encounter before you even get this thing started. Stay tuned to Agriville folks, including you Mr. Pallett.

I appreciate your will to try to help the industry, but please consider some of the points made in your opening suit. BSE is not CAUSED by eating contaminated MBM. It is THOUGHT to be spread this way. And don't forget that there are no facts, just theories.