Can Ken Ritter be shut up? waiting for Grain Matters

[ALLFARMER]

Has the Riddler been silenced? Will he stop throwing farmers hard earned money out his office window to get people to listen to him.

Ken.. Shut up and get to work! Write something in your editorial other than "I don't know why people are mad a me"

[wilagro]

When Harper's gov't wants to destroy the CWB by sculduggery, why shouln't Ritter speak up?

Every CWB supporter should speak up and tell these interfering politicos to bug out and let the CWB do its job...after all most farmers are in favour of the CWB acting on their behalf.

If there is any doubt, how about a plebiscite of wheat and barley growers to decide this BEFORE the CWB is effectively weakened or destroyed?

Don't forget that the CWB has been an effective marketer of western Canadian wheat and barley since the 1930's and is highly regarded around the world.

[Southpaw]

Wilagro, Mr. Ritter doesn't need to be spending my money telling me how good he is.
As far as "interfering politicos", The CWB Act is federal legislation and they are the ones that are going to change it not you or I. That is why I voted for the Conservatives. It was part of their platform,to allow me choice of marketing my crop. This is my crop, my land, my family and I should have the right to sell my crop to whomever I wish.
The CWB Act was made Mandatory in 1943 to control the price of wheat and they have been doing a excellent job at this for the last 63 years.

[TOM4CWB]

Wilagro,

The CWB is totally responsible to the Parliament of Canada; and breaking the law seems to have been Goodale's and the CWB's specialty.

Section 32 of the CWB Act gives the CWB authority to market grain I offer to them... not the right to confiscate my grain.

Part IV of the CWB Act applies to all of Canada equally, and is the only part of the CWB Act that restricts an export I may need to proceed with... and only restrict that export if there is a difference between the price inside and outside Canada.

By NAFTA law; there cannot be any difference between the price inside and outside Canada; therefore there is no pecuniary benefit for the CWB issuing my export license.


As Rod Flaman wrote years ago... and is still true today... the CWB "monopoly" is a hoax.

Why should we not request the CWB to stop wasteing our money on promoting a hoax... with dishonest statements?

[wilagro]

Southpaw: I didn't vote for the CONservatives and haven't done so since Diefenbaker was in power.

Like I said, how about a plebiscite on this issue? I think the CWB detractors are scared of a plebiscite as it might turn out badly for their side.

[Incognito]

If there is a vote then all farmers in Canada including Ontario should vote.

That is democracy. How voting in western Canada for western Canadian farmers remains constitutional is beyond me.

Run that one by your beloved Jack Layton, and watch him squirm.

[chaffmeister]

wilagro:
you wrote: "Don't forget that the CWB has been an effective marketer of western Canadian wheat and barley since the 1930's and is highly regarded around the world."

On what do you base your use of the term "effective"?
What evidence do you have?
How are you measuring it?
How are you defining "effective"?
Would you still support the CWB if it was shown that it's not "effective"?

[wilagro]

Chaffmeister: The CWB sold your grain didn't it. Must have been effective...you got paid didn't you? The gov't of Canada looked after the credit arrangements on foreign sales and guaranteed that you would get your cheque.
I am not going to debate semantics, no time for that.

[chaffmeister]

Selling grain for someone and subsequently paying for it does not constitute “effective marketing” – at least not in my books. If that’s all that it takes to be “effective” for you, give me all your non-CWB grains to market for you – I’ll be as effective as all get out. And I guarantee you’ll get paid (even without the Government of Canada). It may not be the best price and I may not sell all of your grain (even though you’d like me to), but by your definition I’d be “effective”.

This is not just semantics. The CWB has many supporters that make empty comments like yours. My questions weren’t just to find out what you mean by “effective” – they were meant to find out HOW you know the CWB is an “effective marketer”. Bottom line is that you don’t know – but for some reason you’re willing to stick your neck out and make the proclamation that it is.

If you can’t say what the value of the CWB is in real terms, then I guess you don’t know what its value is - in real terms. So, why not question it more? Demand some answers, not rhetoric, not benchmarking, not academic studies. Get the real story. Then, if you like what you “know” – then give it all your support.

Why support it so fervently yet so blindly?

I don’t think the future of your CWB should be predicated on wishful thinking.

[Incognito]

22,912,200 people in North Korea support Kim Jong-il and they have no idea what he is doing either. Go figure.