feeling cheated?

[ivbinconned]

Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy

WEEKLY COMMENTARY
"Just Between Us"

January 24, 2006

The only hope for the West now lies in major constitutional reform

Anyone looking for genuine federal change in the January 23 election probably felt cheated.

The Conservatives -- the only party promising at least modest federal reform -- should have swept the country. They should have captured a majority.

Instead they half-won. They crawled to victory, if that's what it was. By gaining 25 seats they eked out a paper-thin minority government.

From 30% in 2004, the Conservative vote edged up to 37%. From just under one-third of Canadians to a little over.

This despite the ongoing scandals of the Martin Liberals, their incoherent and unproductive minority government, an incompetent Liberal campaign, a flawless Conservative national campaign, and endorsements of the Conservative Party from almost every major newspaper in the country.

It's time for all Canadians to face the fact that two generations of abysmally bad and abusive government have turned eastern Canada into a backward, left-wing, and anti-free market place wedded to federal subsidies, patronage and freeloading transfers from the West.

In the next Parliament the Conservatives will confront a majority of three opposition parties united against everything they believe in and most of what they promised to do -- to replace Kyoto, abolish the gun registry, restore the definition of marriage, and fund parents instead of daycares.

They may be able to finesse some of these modest changes through a largely hostile Commons and Senate, and they may not.

But they will not be able to finesse their way around the fact that 60% of Ontarians, 63% of Maritimers and 81% of Quebeckers have clung to big-spending central government.

This includes the Bloc Quebecois, which is demanding a federal surtax on oil company profits, a major increase in Quebec's equalization subsidy from the West, and implementation of the Kyoto accord. The Bloc even opposes Ottawa scrapping the federal wheat board monopoly in the West.

It is easy to see the shape of national politics to come.

With Ontario heading into recession and Quebec towards sovereignty, the opposition parties will clamor for Harper to "save Canada" with more central government spending and control, more financial transfers from the West -- especially Alberta -- and more federal intrusion into provincial jurisdictions.

And the eastern half of the Conservative caucus will be inclined to agree. Their 10 MPs from Quebec, the 40 from Ontario, and the nine from the Atlantic provinces will urge Harper to make the West pay more. If they hope to be reelected, how can they not?

With Martin gone, the Liberals will reunite under a strong centralist in the tradition of Pierre Trudeau and it will be 1980 all over again.

It is time for provincial governments in the West, led by Alberta, to demand constitutional reform that permanently reduces federal transfers, taxes and control.

And if this constitutional reform is refused, we in the West will then have to decide what we will do about it.

- Link Byfield

Link Byfield is chairman of the Edmonton-based Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy, and an Alberta senator-elect.

"Just Between Us" is a feature service of the Citizens Centre for Freedom and Democracy. The purpose of the Citizens Centre is to enhance freedom and democracy by enabling ordinary citizens to become active and effective on important issues outside the normal processes of party politics

[sawfly]

it was a good result. liberals gone, and if as you say the bloc will support the cwb great.
hopefullly the the gun regestry will be gone, ethics laws introduced ,great.
hopefully something along the lines of an elected senate may come to pass.
medicare may get some new ideas without destroying the good parts.
we will get to see if the us treats us any better tradewise with harper in charge. im optimistic

[sawfly]

its so nice to have a right wing paper delivered free to the rural issues section of agriville.
kinda like the fox news channel

[ivbinconned]

Just trying to provide equal time to counter the onslaught of eastern media bias where opinions are presented as fact!!!

[cowman]

I think this new Conservative government has to take baby steps instead of trying to do it all? The fact is they are going to have to show a lot of skill in negotiating their way through this Parliment?
How do you implement your promises when you have the other parties ready to gang up on you? You might have to play ball with one party or the other to get things done.
I think the first step is to get the accountability act in place and track down the criminals? Duceppe will be all for that!
I would think starving the gun registry to death would be the way to go? As far as the CWB I would suggest a new CWB minister could get a whole lot done without the need to involve Parliment? Get rid of the single market biased staff and executive? Issue export certificates free with no buyback? I don't think he would have to do anything that isn't already on the books?
The Liberals are obviously not ready for another election? They can't afford to bring down the house right now? I would think the Conservatives could be fairly bold right now with some changes without the Liberals challenging them?
I doubt any kind of constitutional change is possible in this country, but there are more ways than one to skin a cat?

[cropduster]

I think you`re bang on Cowman......have a GREAT day!!!

[WRAPper]

My thoughts echo that of Cowman , I think of it as this we've (canada) have just hired and group of new employeees and a new general manager and we've done what we should have, we've said "OK you don't have much experience in running a company but we like your attitude and what you say you'll do for the company(canada) and the people we had in the position we're not doing the job to our expectations so go to it and in a year or so we will do an annual(likely 2year) performance review and at that time decided if we will give you an increased role and extend your contract.
I'm happy with the results though a few more conservative seats in urban areas in the east and the maritimes would have been nice.

As far as Link Byfield my wife had a subscription to his magazine and they decided to quit publishing it and kept all the subscribers money, as far as I'm concerned he's a thief and a conman who just writes what people want to hear so that they support him.

[WRAPper]

...how could we argue with cowman on this one...60% of our population leans to the left so it will take some time to change the tide...if i was harper one of my first moves would be to change management at the cbc if possible ...the mood for change has to come from the messenger...

[blackjack]

...how could we argue with cowman on this one...60% of our population leans to the left so it will take some time to change the tide...if i was harper one of my first moves would be to change management at the cbc if possible ...the mood for change has to come from the messenger...

[wilagro]

The CWB needs little change other than the usual performance audits.

Why any government would want to screw it up is beyond my comprehension. Farmers have very little power in the world marketplace, The CWB gives farmers a modicum of control over the marketing of the FEW grains allowed by the CWB to market.

[ivbinconned]

"performance audits."!!

I agree and am confident that it would be sc****d as a government, liberal, supported entity.

Then they would be calling wilagrow and farmers-son for donations.

[Horse]

Sounds like a lot of wind . Just what is so wrong with the CWB Do you realy feel you can go make a sale to ouher countrys or are you oggiling over the USA market. I dont supose you think the yanks will welcome you with open arms do you?
As for being able to sell what you produce try to sell meat or eggs or milk products they are all regulated and for some good reason.

[cakadu]

I am going to wade a little way into this debate. Many of us have been talking value-added and producers marketing their own products for years. Throughout the BSE mess there was much said about producer owned packing plants, which would mean that someone would have to market the products. In the case of the CWB, would it not be the same? I agree that ALL grain producers should be free to market their products to whomever they choose and if that includes the CWB, then that is great because you've had a choice.

What I do wonder about is whether or not producers are willing to become marketers? Throughout the years on this site we've seen repeated messages about being producers, not marketers. To play in the world markets, which is where commodity prices are at, you would have to market grains on your own, or find someone with the expertise to do it for you and form a group using the skills of that person or persons.

How would you see that working?

[carebear300]

I hate to be the only negative one on this posting but unless I am completely out to lunch(which I might be) the conservatives will have considerable trouble in surviving for much over eighteen months. If you doubt it just try and visual putting 130 free thinking outspoken people in a room for only a couple of hours and you can soon see the major problem. We conservatives by nature have no patience for things that get bogged down in constant haggling,and we have a tendency to try and push things through as quick and as efficently as we can. Also part of our nature is to be very opinionated and at times exceedingly stubborn in our viewpoints, all qualities that in real life get things done but in this situation of a minority government will make things really difficult to hang it all together and stay in power. I hope you get the drift of what I am saying and I hope that three years from now that you all have the chance to remind me of how wrong I was.

[cowman]

carebear: You're probably right. About eighteen months is probably as good as it gets?
Hopefully in the eighteen months they can make some fundamental changes? The first and most important is put a system in place where the Mafia(Liberals) can't pull off these thefts? A system where the politicians listen to their constituents instead of the high powered paid lobbyist?
Linda: Was the CWB going somewhere? Ending the single desk monopoly doesn't end the option to still market your grain through them...despite the rhetoric? In reality there would in all probability be a lot more "value adding" once they lost their monopoly? Why wasn't Prairie Pasta built here? Why wasn't a huge American brewery built here?...the CWB.
How is it that Ontario farmers can market their grain without a single desk, but it is impossible here? Do you believe different parts of the country should be treated differently by the federal government? Isn't that discrimination? What about the rights of the prairie farmer who wants to market his own grain to whomever he wants?