Chuck Strahl, "Farmers have spoken."

[Fransisco]

Here is the wheat board portion of the speech Chuck Strahl gave yesterday. It runs about 12 minutes.

Click on [URL="http://www.siemenssays.com/?p=4903 "]Chuck Strahl.[/URL]

[Fransisco]

I wonder how the Western Producer will cover this speech?

[lakenheath]

My dad was at the meeting where Chuck gave his speech. A Canadian Wheat Board Director was there and asked Chuck two very straight forward and simple questions. Chuck's face turned beet red and ignored the director, then went ahead and asked the crowd if there were any other questions. The politics absolutely stink.

The whole Barley plebisite was a joke. Even though I am in favour of barley being on the open market, I am not at all impressed with Chuck. Let's get some class back into Canadian politics.

[AdamSmith]

Lakenheath, of course the politics of all this stink, but why do you suppose the politics stink so much?

Could it be the fact that the CWB has had a strategy for ten years of ignoring and belittling those farmers who want change?

Could it be that the CWB has adopted the strategy of calling everyone "idiots" if the don't go along with the single desk vision?

And if you don't believe every concocted utterance out of the CWB communications dept. no matter how convoluted or contradictory it is, your an "idiot"?

Be forewarned Lakenheath, the politics will get alot more stinky before this is all over with. The CWB have charted this course, it's deliberate. Up until now everyone fell into line and didn't want to demean themselves by crawling down into the smelly goo and take on these snakes, but that's we're they are, and if your going to take them on, your going to have to accept the rancid smell that the fight will project.

[Fransisco]

lakenheath your father may have not been completely straight with you on that. The director was Bill Toews, he never asked a question and I think it may just have been Toews who was red in the face.

Listen for yourself [URL=" http://www.siemenssays.com/?p=4899"]here.[/URL]

If you want to see some class put back into Canadian politics why don't you send Bill Toews an email telling him he should apologize for being so disrespectful of his boss the CWB Minister at a public meeting.

[sumdumguy]

Lakenheath, I think it is very sad that the "board" is as creative as a "board". If farmers/businessmen were so inflexible and unable to adapt to change, there wouldn't be any of us left. I have managed an on-farm business for decades and I'd like to inform you that every day we need to adapt and invent and reinvent our procedures. Sure, sometimes these upsets are not as convenient as we'd like and always we like the path of least resistence, but in the real world the survivors are the ones who can develop new strategies in a sea of change. So stop bawling as sit down with the minister like men and design a plan that embraces the needs of farmers.

[chaffmeister]

lake - I was there (front row seat, with a very good view of both Chuck and Bill). Fran is right - Toews asked no question, rather he made an attempt at scolding the Minister for suggesting the CWB had not submitted a new barley plan. Although he went on to say that even though they have looked at it three times, the staff still can't come up with a plan. (So, I guess Chuck's right - they haven't submitted a plan.)

When I was in management I had a rule, praise in public, reprimand in private. Everyone, I repeat everyone, deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, particularly in public. Toews should be ashamed of himself (I'm sure he's not) for attempting what he tried yesterday.

The reason Chuck never responded was because there was no question. He did the right thing by ignoring the pot-shot and allowing Bill to slink to the back of the room before asking for more questions.

I don't think Chuck was "red in the face" (didn't notice from my front row seat) but it was clear that he was angry. I would've been too (and I doubt I would've handled it as well).