Bill 43

[farmers_son]

I like choice too. That is why I want to vote through a plebiscite. Why won't the government let us vote on this and decide for ourselves? I think it is because the Governemnt knows how unpopular the mandatory aspects of ALMA are and that producers know full well ABP was the only organization that stood up for them on the mandatory issue.

Boils down to why won't the government let producers decide this for ourselves. Producers need to ask that question.

[BFW]

FArmere Son, I think you are the poster child for ABP. You really said a mouthful and tipped your hand when you said, "this is about who will control the ABP. cow-calf or feedlots." If this is the true feeling at ABP then clearly the minister and the government have made the right decsion here. It takes courage and leadership to make the hard, unpopular decisions sometimes. If this is all you guys have now, calling for a plebiscite and screaming about what an injustice has been done then you just continue to demonstrate how little value ABP actually brings to the industry. The really sad thing is how long this has been allowed to go on.

[per]

Choice was requested several years ago and denied by the very ABP that now wants a vote. That is why another route was chosen. The Minister is now offering us the choice that the ABP denied us. Too bad it had to come to this but I am sooo ready especially after the display of consternation and using our check-off dollars to lobby against at least several of it's constituents.

[farmers_son]

Just as I am sure you are not a poster child of the Alberta Cattle Feeders please believe me when I say I am not a poster boy for ABP. We have both expressed our opinions on checkoff going back quite some time. I do respect your opinion and understand where you are coming from.

However we are supposed to be living in a democracy in this province and country. The majority is supposed to rule. We will not know that the majority viewpoint is on this issue unless and until we have a plebiscite. If the feeders win then more power to them.

But we need the plebiscite and we need an informed debate with both sides expressing their viewpoints and the producers ultimately deciding the issue. It should not be a matter of who has the Premiers ear or who contributed the most the the Conservative campaign. I still believe the average guy needs to count for something and having the industry controlled by big shots will back fire on the entire industry in the long run.

[grassfarmer]

"The majority is supposed to rule. We will not know that the majority viewpoint is on this issue unless and until we have a plebiscite."
Didn't seem to matter when the producers were calling for a plebiscite. Talk about ordinary producers voices not counting.
Why should we back the dictators, oops...sorry directors, when they decide they want a plebiscite because they think they might just gain some job security by doing so?

[BFW]

We all know that plebiscites have been asked for many times over the past several years and have been flatly rejected by the ABP because they were too expensive, or producers didn't support having one or whatever. The plain fact is they didn't have to respond to the requests because they knew they held all the cards. Now that some change to the status quo is imminent we must have a plebiscite in the name of democracy. You still want to frame this as a "feedlot" vs cow calf man issue. FS you talk about these 40 mega feedlots as wanting to control the industry. When the last plebiscite was held in 1994 I believe about 7400 people or about 20% of the industry turned out to vote. I don't recall the exact number but it was somewhere in the area of 3900 to 3500 in favor of retaining the checkoff. Clearly then there is more support for this than just 50-100 cattle feeders. This is the basis for the decision that is being made. The plebiscite will solve nothing. Force the industry to get together on a level playing field and get working for the betterment of the entire cattle industry in this province.

[farmers_son]

I said earlier that Bill 43 had received second reading on May 6. That did not happen.

Second reading is now scheduled for the afternoon of May 12 although it can change from that day too.

Folks...there is still time. You need to phone, you need to fax, you need to send letters to the editor. Contact your MLA, contact the Premiers Office, even contact city MLAs. They did not get in by the same huge margins the rural MLAs did and are more inclined to listen.

You need to be talking to your neighbours and getting them to do the same. There is a reason why Bill 43 is making its way through the legislature during this busy time. It is because the Government wants to get this Bill through without your input.
It really is being rammed down your throats.

Producers should be deciding the fate of the checkoff and who controls ABP, cow calf or feedlot, that should be decided by a plebiscite vote not by more mandatory decrees from Governemnt. Make your voice heard while you still have a voice left.

There is still a shred of democracy left in Alberta, make it count. Only takes a few minutes to make your voice heard.