Minister Ritz's background

[foragefarmer]

LEP Again, your off topic. I'm asking a simple question what is Ritz's Ag background. I don't care what Trudeau said nor that Wynne is the premier of Ontario. Just like I could care less about Alison Redford. This business about pointing fingers at other political parties is getting worn out. Ritz's is my current Ag mimister none of the above are he is the one setting Ag policy.

IF you hold a Conservative Membership card please put it away, as big brother is not watching you, and stop diverting the question.

Ok LEP you established he's from Rosetown area. Great!! Did he farm? Was he successfull at it? Was he involved in grain of livestock? I'm not involved in any political party and never have been. I'm a farmer just asking farmers from Sask. who post on here about Ritz' Ag background nothing more.

[sumdumguy]

Sask government KIDS hired in other ministries.
Is this partisan politics?

[TOM4CWB]

FF,

"Life and pre-political career[edit]
Ritz was born in Delisle, Saskatchewan and prior to his
political career, he worked as a farmer at the family
farm for over 20 years and owned a contracting
business company.

Federal Politics[edit]
Ritz was elected as the Reform Party candidate in the
1997 general election, and then re-elected with the
Canadian Alliance in the 2000 election and the
Conservative Party of Canada in the 2004 election. Ritz
has been the vice-chair of the House of Commons
Agriculture Committee since 2002. He was appointed
Secretary of State for small business and tourism in the
Harper government on January 4, 2007.

Minister of Agriculture[edit]
On August 14, 2007, Ritz was promoted to the Cabinet
as Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food replacing
Chuck Strahl.[2]

Ritz made national news when, in response to the
2008 Canadian listeriosis outbreak he was quoted as
saying, "This is like a death by a thousand cuts. Or
should I say cold cuts." Then when told of a death in
Prince Edward Island, Ritz said, "Please tell me it's
(Liberal MP) Wayne Easter." Ritz later apologized for his
comments [3] and Prime Minister Stephen Harper kept
Ritz in Cabinet after the 2008 Canadian general
election.

In September 2012, E. coli bacteria was found in meat
from the XL Foods plant in Brooks, Alberta. This led to
over 1800 products being recalled across Canada and
the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture
estimated that 1.1 million kilograms of meat from XL
Foods were recalled from American stores.[4] This was
also the largest beef recall in Canadian history, with
meat being recalled in every province and territory in
Canada and 41 American states.[5]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Ritz


"About Gerry

Born on a farm near Rosetown, Saskatchewan, and
driven by a lifelong passion for agriculture, Agriculture
Minister Gerry Ritz believes in putting "Farmers First". It
means that by ensuring a strong and profitable farm
gate the entire value chain is better positioned to
capitalize on market opportunities, drive the economy
and feed the world.

Over his four years as Agriculture Minister, Ritz has
worked to ensure a profitable farm gate by improving
market access around the world and investing in
research and development here at home. He has led
over 30 trade missions around the world in an effort to
open, reopen and expand market access by promoting
a rules and science-based approach to trade. At home,
Minister Ritz works with industry, academia and other
levels of government to strategically invest in science
and innovation that will create new market
opportunities for Canada's hardworking producers and
processors.

Most recently, Minister Ritz quarterbacked the passage
of the historic Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers
Act, which is opening the door to new investment,
innovation and value-added opportunities for Western
Canadian wheat and barley growers. Working
collaboratively with the provinces, territories and
industry, he is leading the development of a renewed
policy framework for agriculture to meet the ever-
changing needs of the farm gate while strengthening
the entire agriculture industry.

In recognition of his achievements, Minister Ritz
received the Western Canadian Wheat Growers "Shovel
of Gratitude" in January 2012 for delivering marketing
freedom for western wheat, durum and barley farmers.
Minister Ritz was also awarded the first-ever Jim
Graham Award by the Canada Beef Export Federation
in 2009 for "the greatest contribution made to
Canadian beef and veal exports". In 2010, he was
recognized by the Canadian Pork Council for his efforts
to maintain global confidence in Canadian pork
following the H1N1 crisis.

Minister Ritz has been serving farmers, food processors
and all Canadians as Minister of Agriculture since
2007, and as Member of Parliament for Battlefords-
Lloydminster since 1997. He previously served as
Secretary of State for Small Business and Tourism and
continues to represent his native Saskatchewan as
Regional Minister.

In addition to farming, Minister Ritz has owned and
operated a general contracting business, and co-
owned a weekly newspaper. Minister Ritz also has a
long history of community involvement including work
with economic development organizations and
coaching hockey. He and his wife Judy live at
Brightsand Lake in western Saskatchewan. They have
two children and three grandchildren."

http://gerryritz.ca/content/about

http://www.smalldeadanimals.com/images/RITZ-1.pdf

"Gerry Ritz was first elected to the House of Commons
in 1997. He was re- elected in 2000 and 2004. During
the course of his career, Mr. Ritz has run his own
farming operation, owned and operated a general
contracting business, and co-owned a weekly
newspaper.
Mr. Ritz served as the Chair of the Standing Committee
on Agriculture and Agri-food. He has also served as
the Critic for Agriculture and Agri-Food and for Public
Works and Government Services. Mr. Ritz also held the
position of Deputy Whip and Question Period
Coordinator for the Official Opposition. He was Chair
of the Subcommittee on the Estimates Process and a
member of the standing committees on Finance and on
Transport, the Subcommittee on Private Members’
Business and the Liaison Committee.
Prior to entering Parliament, Mr. Ritz worked as
constituency coordinator for former Saskatchewan MP,
Elwin Hermanson. As a parliamentarian, Mr. Ritz has
served as Agriculture critic, Public Works and
Government Operations critic and Question Period
coordinator. Gerry Ritz and his wife, Judy, have two
adult children. Mr. Ritz enjoys outdoor sports and
tinkering with machinery."

[LEP]

Forage, when you ask what his background is you
imply he isn't qualified.

My comments are that he has done more than
probably any ag minister in recent history to
advance farming.

Also my comments regarding Wynne are that we
could do worse and my comment regarding
Trudeau's comments are that when you speak
and have every comment recorded for posterity it
is the rare few that don't step in it at some point.

[ado089]

I treat politics like machinery...I go
with the one I dislike the least. Other
than scraping the board Harper et.al.
have done sfa for ag. They blocked a
deal that would have created competition
in potash, they've allowed the
consolidation of input suppliers and
grain buyers, they've given
biotechnology a cart Blanche, they've
allowed any assholes with a dollar in
their pocket come here and buy our land
and now they've allowed for a duopoly in
the rail industry to facilitate the
theft of billions of dollars from the
western economy.

Do we have a viable alternative? No! But
to call harper and Ritz competent policy
makers with the interests of Canadians
and Canadian Business is laughable.

[blackpowder]

Professional politicians speak of an ag portfolio as
the kiss of death. He's sure hung on given all the
change.

[perfecho]

"Marketing Freedom" has worked well.......

[FarmRanger]

<i>"now they've allowed for a duopoly in the rail industry "</i>

There was a duopoly for a hundred years before the Harper Conservatives got into power, but since they haven't fixed it in the 5 years they've been in power, it's all their fault. /sarc

<i>""Marketing Freedom" has worked well......."</i>

I know that is a sarcastic comment, but if you look at 2012-13, it sure was nice to finally see Canadian wheat trade at a premium to our US competitors. First year in my farming career where you wouldn’t get handcuffs for going across the border with your wheat, and also the first year where you wouldn’t want to.

I agree that we need to get the rail transportation system fixed, but why is the system still broken? Government after government did absolutely nothing to makes sure that extra surge capacity was built into a monopolistic system that provides guaranteed profits for the railroads?!?! The single desk forced holdback of grain in cashstrapped farmer’s bins was a piss poor way of taking the pressure off the railroads in my opinion.
At least now something might get done.