I hardly even know what to say because this is so bizzare. These brazzen acts are not going unnoticed and I'm sure will not be forgotten quickly.
A Provincial Premier with zero jurisdiction over the cwb and the directors of a crown corp. suggesting the Minister of the CWB has no right to manage the future direction of that crown corp. or comment on the same is beyond the pale.
These nut jobs need to be reminded of what the chain of responsibility is here and that the CWB is a Federal Government ONLY entity.
Strahl is right when he comments on the cost. Manitoba's Crop Insurance is next thing to useless and that is a Provincial matter but MB Ag Minister Upchuck is doing squat on that.
I have spoke to people in Strals office and suggested that there is no way that the cwb voters list can be allowed to be used for these money wasting proving nothing provincial plebicites.
And the next time MB and Sask come begging for Federal help on anything, the feds should just point them to the door. If this is the way they want to carry on with federal-provincial relations.
Doer, directors cast Strahl as a bully
Fri Nov 17 2006
By Paul Samyn and Mia Rabson
OTTAWA -- Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl was painted as an anti-democratic bully by Premier Gary Doer and four Canadian Wheat Board directors who filed a formal protest alleging he is meddling in CWB elections now underway.
The no-holds-barred attack on Strahl Thursday came as the federal Tory trying to end the Winnipeg-based agency's marketing monopoly said Manitoba and Saskatchewan don't have the jurisdiction to hold referendums on the CWB's future as both provincial governments have vowed to do.
"What Chuck Strahl is saying is he's not willing to have a vote and he doesn't want us to have a vote," Doer said.
"The bottom line is the minister responsible for agriculture producers in this country does not believe in democracy. We do. I don't have any difficulty with his saying he's the federal government. He's the Jolly Green Giant, if you will. Have a vote, Mr. Giant. If you don't, we will."
At the same time, the four CWB directors running to defend its marketing monopoly officially complained to the elections co-ordinator overseeing the vote among producers across the West. Their protest focuses on a legal requirement that any third-party trying to influence the outcome of director elections has to register as an intervenor and limit their spending to $10,000.
"Unlike previous elections, the Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agrifood Canada (AAFC), the Honourable Chuck Strahl, is actively intervening in the election to promote the position of candidates who support the policy goals of the current minister's political party," says the complaint signed by Art Macklin, Bill Nicholson, Allen Oberg and Kyle Korneychuk.
"The Minster is also utilizing the resources of AAFC in this campaign. To this end, he has made public speeches, issued op-ed articles through AAFC, incurred travel expenses and other costs to further his political support of candidates he favours."
Their protest calls on the elections co-ordinator to "enforce the regulations and require that Minister Chuck Strahl comply with the regulations governing this election and that appropriate penalties be applied if there have been any violations of the purpose, spirit, and intent of the CWB Act and the Election Regulations."
Under a cabinet order, the Harper government is preventing the CWB from spending any money to advocate for the retention of its status as the single-desk seller of all wheat and barley grown across the West.
Nicholson, who farms at Shoal Lake, said he can't stand by while Strahl uses taxpayers' money to try to defeat him because he is opposed to Tory plans to move to an open market for wheat and barley.
Peter Eckersley, a chartered accountant with Myers, Norris Penny who is the CWB's election co-ordinator, said Strahl has not registered as a third-party intervenor as have other groups such as the National Farmers Union and the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association who are trying to influence the vote.
But Eckersley said he doesn't believe the legal requirement to register applies to Strahl even though he clearly has not been neutral during the campaign period.
"I am not sure whether the minister is required to register as a third-party intervenor," Eckersley said.
"I know it is a grey area, but on the basis that the government does not have to register as a third-party intervenor, I'm not sure if they are in the bailiwick of violating any of the regulations."
Manitoba Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk will introduce on Monday two resolutions regarding the wheat board -- one calling for Manitoba to support the wheat board's single-desk system and another calling on Ottawa to have a referendum on both wheat and barley.
The background:
Federal Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl has said he will only hold a vote among producers on his plan to open up the marketing of barley in the New Year, but not on his decision to end CWB's monopoly on wheat.
The development:
Strahl said Manitoba and Saskatchewan don't have the jurisdiction to hold referendums on the CWB's future. Both provincial governments have vowed to do so.
The quote:
"It's going to cost a pile of money, and if they have that kind of money to throw around, then they should use it on farm programming rather than simply hold another plebiscite that's not in their jurisdiction. Maybe I should reregulate their hog industry," Strahl said Thursday.
A Provincial Premier with zero jurisdiction over the cwb and the directors of a crown corp. suggesting the Minister of the CWB has no right to manage the future direction of that crown corp. or comment on the same is beyond the pale.
These nut jobs need to be reminded of what the chain of responsibility is here and that the CWB is a Federal Government ONLY entity.
Strahl is right when he comments on the cost. Manitoba's Crop Insurance is next thing to useless and that is a Provincial matter but MB Ag Minister Upchuck is doing squat on that.
I have spoke to people in Strals office and suggested that there is no way that the cwb voters list can be allowed to be used for these money wasting proving nothing provincial plebicites.
And the next time MB and Sask come begging for Federal help on anything, the feds should just point them to the door. If this is the way they want to carry on with federal-provincial relations.
Doer, directors cast Strahl as a bully
Fri Nov 17 2006
By Paul Samyn and Mia Rabson
OTTAWA -- Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl was painted as an anti-democratic bully by Premier Gary Doer and four Canadian Wheat Board directors who filed a formal protest alleging he is meddling in CWB elections now underway.
The no-holds-barred attack on Strahl Thursday came as the federal Tory trying to end the Winnipeg-based agency's marketing monopoly said Manitoba and Saskatchewan don't have the jurisdiction to hold referendums on the CWB's future as both provincial governments have vowed to do.
"What Chuck Strahl is saying is he's not willing to have a vote and he doesn't want us to have a vote," Doer said.
"The bottom line is the minister responsible for agriculture producers in this country does not believe in democracy. We do. I don't have any difficulty with his saying he's the federal government. He's the Jolly Green Giant, if you will. Have a vote, Mr. Giant. If you don't, we will."
At the same time, the four CWB directors running to defend its marketing monopoly officially complained to the elections co-ordinator overseeing the vote among producers across the West. Their protest focuses on a legal requirement that any third-party trying to influence the outcome of director elections has to register as an intervenor and limit their spending to $10,000.
"Unlike previous elections, the Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agrifood Canada (AAFC), the Honourable Chuck Strahl, is actively intervening in the election to promote the position of candidates who support the policy goals of the current minister's political party," says the complaint signed by Art Macklin, Bill Nicholson, Allen Oberg and Kyle Korneychuk.
"The Minster is also utilizing the resources of AAFC in this campaign. To this end, he has made public speeches, issued op-ed articles through AAFC, incurred travel expenses and other costs to further his political support of candidates he favours."
Their protest calls on the elections co-ordinator to "enforce the regulations and require that Minister Chuck Strahl comply with the regulations governing this election and that appropriate penalties be applied if there have been any violations of the purpose, spirit, and intent of the CWB Act and the Election Regulations."
Under a cabinet order, the Harper government is preventing the CWB from spending any money to advocate for the retention of its status as the single-desk seller of all wheat and barley grown across the West.
Nicholson, who farms at Shoal Lake, said he can't stand by while Strahl uses taxpayers' money to try to defeat him because he is opposed to Tory plans to move to an open market for wheat and barley.
Peter Eckersley, a chartered accountant with Myers, Norris Penny who is the CWB's election co-ordinator, said Strahl has not registered as a third-party intervenor as have other groups such as the National Farmers Union and the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association who are trying to influence the vote.
But Eckersley said he doesn't believe the legal requirement to register applies to Strahl even though he clearly has not been neutral during the campaign period.
"I am not sure whether the minister is required to register as a third-party intervenor," Eckersley said.
"I know it is a grey area, but on the basis that the government does not have to register as a third-party intervenor, I'm not sure if they are in the bailiwick of violating any of the regulations."
Manitoba Agriculture Minister Rosann Wowchuk will introduce on Monday two resolutions regarding the wheat board -- one calling for Manitoba to support the wheat board's single-desk system and another calling on Ottawa to have a referendum on both wheat and barley.
The background:
Federal Agriculture Minister Chuck Strahl has said he will only hold a vote among producers on his plan to open up the marketing of barley in the New Year, but not on his decision to end CWB's monopoly on wheat.
The development:
Strahl said Manitoba and Saskatchewan don't have the jurisdiction to hold referendums on the CWB's future. Both provincial governments have vowed to do so.
The quote:
"It's going to cost a pile of money, and if they have that kind of money to throw around, then they should use it on farm programming rather than simply hold another plebiscite that's not in their jurisdiction. Maybe I should reregulate their hog industry," Strahl said Thursday.
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