Official CWB response to yesterdays meeting with Ritz

[Fransisco]

Audio clips can be found here.

http://www.siemenssays.com/?p=9023

[Fransisco]

It can be summed up that the CWB has told the feds to take a long walk off a short peer.

Clip 5 is interesting. Apparently there is just not enough time to discuss any of this properly because we are in a pre election period.

Geez, you'd think this hasn't been going on for the last two years now wouldn't you.

[Fransisco]

Clip 7 is crowing about cashplus and how there is finally a "cash" price out there. And isn't it great what we can do without legislation.

No mention anywhere about pulling out of the wheat market yesterday.

[Fransisco]

Clip 10 is interesting. The last thing Ritter wants to talk about is how the board would operate without the single desk. That question it "off topic".

[TOM4CWB]

Newsroom
2008
CWB disappointed in outcome of barley meeting with Minister

February 13, 2008

Winnipeg – The CWB’s board of directors today decided to discontinue discussions about barley marketing with the federal government.

“We came to the table looking to find ways to stabilize the grain marketing environment in Western Canada,” said board chair Ken Ritter, who yesterday led a committee to meet in Ottawa with the Hon. Gerry Ritz, Minister Responsible for the CWB. “We had prepared a solid business proposal that could end the uncertainty on barley marketing, but we could not identify enough common ground to move forward.”

The CWB’s board of directors spent most of its semi-annual strategic planning session on January 30 and 31 discussing ways to resolve the impasse on barley marketing. It requested yesterday’s meeting and assembled a professional team to prepare a solid business plan.

Ritter said the CWB had hoped to engage the Minister in discussions about ways to improve its relationship with government, enhance farmer control, improve the CWB’s ability to serve farmers and stabilize its mandate with regards to both barley and wheat. “We entered these discussions in good faith but, based on yesterday’s meeting, we could not see a way to responsibly proceed.”

Controlled by western Canadian farmers, the CWB is the largest wheat and barley marketer in the world. One of Canada's biggest exporters, the Winnipeg-based organization sells grain to over 70 countries and returns all sales revenue, less marketing costs, to farmers.

--30--

For more information, please contact:

Maureen Fitzhenry,
Media relations manager
The Canadian Wheat Board
(204) 983-3101
Cell: (204) 227-6927

[Fransisco]

Like I said long walk, short peer.

[charliep]

Just got done listening to Ritz's response. Will let tone of press release speak for itself.

Noted a comment that he had seen the financial statements for 2006/07 and noted some pretty negative results for some of the producer pricing options - am suspecting the Daily Price contract in particular but not clear. Will be an interesting annual report.

[liberty]

Looks like the CWB adopted its usual position of stonewalling fundamental change. There were rumours recently that the CWB might be willing to accept at least a continental free barley market, but that doesn't seem to be the case at all. Legislation is the only way to resolve this impasse.

I've often wondered what makes the majority of the directors of the CWB so adamant about keeping the monopoly, and I think it boils down to this: power lust. CWB directors get far more exposure to the media and opportunities to meddle in the grain markets than they otherwise would if the CWB operated in a competitive environment.

For instance, how often do you see the board of directors of a private company like Viterra interviewed in the media? Usually, the CEO handles the media. The board of directors tend to take a background and/or advisory role, for the most part leaving the running of the company to a group of professionals hired for that purpose. Opportunities for strutting and crowing about imminent apocalypse are few and far between on the boards of private concerns. I think this is what the pro-monopoly directors are really afraid to lose more than anything.

[AdamSmith]

Liberty, I don't think that's the real fundemental reason behind the BOD stance. I consider that to be more of an ego booster than anything else. Oh don't get me wrong that's a part of it but not the main part. Although I would agree it's probably quite true for Ritter and Flaman but not the others.

The other six we're born socialist poolies. These guys all came through the ranks of the 1960's and 70's Prairie Pool indoctrination system.

The CWB is God to them. The Pools were just merely deciples. Who as it turned out to be deciples in the vain of Judas as they see it.

But I digress,

This is a religion based solely on pure faith and pure adulation to these guys.

They really believe this stuff.

Did you ever try and reason with a religious zealot?

Same thing here, only problem is the pols in Ottawa have never figured this fundemental dynamic about the cwb.

Starting with Goodale and all the way through with Ritz now, these pols all assumed they were dealing with rational people who are cappable of compromise and capable of sorting through complex issues and would be capable of reaching reasonable solutions.

Religious zealots don't think that way, they think in the simplest terms possible and and will never ever consider the possibility that their beliefs are flawed. Nor will they ever question their faith.

I'm sure they may say the same of someone like me but I can assure you if I was shown the proof and I could experience the premiums, I too would consider the board to be of some value.

But nothing I have ever seen or personally experienced has shown that to be the case. What I've seen and experience has shown me the opposite to be true.

[parsley]

Zealot or hapie, why didn't the CWB IMMEDIATELY anoounce their decision to withdraw fromt he market?


They should be sued for witholding information.

Parsley