cwb election

[topper]

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, Dec 15 (Reuters) - A well-organized slate of farmers opposed to the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly failed to make major inroads on its board of directors, according to election results announced on Sunday.

Four monopoly supporters and one dissident were elected to five open positions on the board of directors of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB), the world's largest seller of wheat and barley and one of Canada's largest exporters.

[charliep]

The press release breakdown of results is located at:

http://www.cwbelection.com/pressreleases/cwbnewsrelease6.pdf

[TOM4CWB]

Charlie;

As an observer it was interesting to watch the ballots that were spoiled!

Two ballots with the same hand writing were spoiled...

The first one said " The gov. is allowing the slaves to vote " and then the next one said... " Ag in Sask. is finished... Pay us welfare". Both ballots were not used... and it was in big black block letters... obvious that they were written by the same person.

In another case someone mixed up the ballots and envelopes from two districts. As the ballot/envelope were colour coded with the same colour... you could tell this person put the wrong ballot colour in the envelope... and in the other district the same thing happened with one envelope.

Hand writing was obvious you could tell that at times one person had filled out two or three ballots in a row.

THe districts are becoming unbalanced... with some haveing 2 or 3 thousand more voters... but with the odd even 2 year system... it is difficult to redistribute the districts... now that MNP is pushing to only allow any person to vote only every four years!


Interesting that A. Oberg doesn't farm or live in District 5, yet he will be voting in District 4 in two years...

My family and crop share families finally got our ballots for District One... on DEC. 6th... after the postal deadline.... of course now we won't be able to vote in two years either... one could only assume it was a deliberate act to sabitage our democratic rights.

I of course was not allowed vote, when I had neighbours all over District Four voting multiple ballots, who farm neither in district 5 or 1. I just wonder how many votes came from district 4 to skew the outcome of the district 5 results.

As observers we were not allowed to see if multiple ballots were being cast by watching the scanning and matching addresses. One person even put a blank ballot along with a filled out ballot in the same envelope... both were spoiled cause MNP said if two ballots were in one envelope neither were any good... the person even said on the unmarked ballot... that they were returning the extra ballot.


We need a total overhaul of this CWB ballot system as it is neither democratic or fair.

[charliep]

Seems to be something Florida and western Canada have in common. What was the problem called in the 2000 presidential election - chits (name for the hole left beside the candidates of choices name). Wonder what the expression be for the CWB ballets?

[TOM4CWB]

Charlie;

A real problem with accountability exists before the ballots are opened.

The accounting people know where every ballot came from and who's ballot it was... as well as the postal mark showing what area it was from, even before it was scanned.

MNP told me in the Alliance leadership race, 75% of the mail in ballots were returned.

What if selected areas of the "designated area" had ballots that did not get to MNP, or were taken from MNP, or were "lost" by MNP?

The CWB election voting system could not be verified from a specific voter, who mailed a ballot, though to see if it actually made it into the election count... MNP refuses to allow it.

I have absoultely no proof that there was or is a problem (other than my own case of deliberate CWB/MNP discrimination/election irregularities)...

Other than we could not audit the election system to prove there is integrety from and between the farmer's mail box and until the ballots were recieved by the scrutineers.

Ballots were being re-issued and being removed from the process... all without oversight... after Enron and Aurther Andersen... there is obviously more than a question... as you have said even a question in Florida elections!

Now will Minister Goodale do anything?

Obviously he didn't after the last election... and with the result of this election... the chances of major reform of the CWB election systems are about as good as a snowba.....

On an issue this important, the federal government MUST allow Elections Canada to do the CWB election... we cannot be certain that a fair and democratic election has occured any other way

[TOM4CWB]

My thought on the election.

Of all eligible voters in the past two elections this is what appears to be the outcome.

57% of voters don't vote because they grow very little or no board grains, they don't care which way it goes or they are dumb like the city folk say we are.

23% vote for single desk because they fail to try an understand the free marketing system or they believe all of the misformation the CWB serves to them.

20% vote for marketing choice because it is the only way for Western Canadian to improve their sustainability in agriculture.

There are documented cases of the CWB dumping Canadian grain on world markets at prices below going world prices. There is proof that the CWB pooling account has been used to pay for unauthorized expenses. There is alot of unexplained financial concerns. The Auditor General was not allow access to sales contracts and other fincanial records as alot of misformed farmers were led to believe by CWB propaganda. As the Audit was only on operations and policy.

Think about it, the CWB makes some 4300 sales contracts a year thats in the neighborhood of 20n sales a day throughout the year. If anyone believes that they are obtaining a premium price for OUR wheat and barley through the single desk better get their eyes widen. The best they can do is average price which is nearly a dollar off the top price. 20% of well informed farmers believe they can do better. How about you.

The 20 percenters are beginning to bock at being classified in the group as farmers, maybe engineers of husbandry would be more fitting.

[TOM4CWB]

Kernel;

I am sick of the CWB spending millions of the 20%ers money on telling us we are stupid... plus basing a system that allows multi-millions more to be piddled away through CWB "Price Discrimination".

The US WTO challenge as well as the Alta. legislation will force the Fed Gov. to really think this one through...

On the CBC coming back through Sask. on the 15th, they wouldn't even allow the Alberta Premier's comments to include alienation through CWB issues... they substituted the CWB with "other things"!

The hair on the back of my neck brissled... cause I was near positive the CWB was part of his comment... which of course was the truth.

The inclusion of Alberta in Sask. CWB districts is clear manipulation of the democratic system... we can be assured that Mr. Spencer would have won easily if District 3 had ended at the Alberta Border!

If District 5 had taken Edm. north, and stopped at the Sask. border... and District 1 was just the Peace region... the outcome could well be totally different there as well.

Farmers are guinea pigs in Goodales blender of a "new Democratic experiment" that has been a total disaster for our "free and democratic" society in Alberta.


Priemer Klein is right... Kyoto, Gun Control, and the CWB are all good reasons something must change... don't you think?

[TOM4CWB]

I'am on Ralph's side with you Tom.