I got this in the mail... Friday.
"November 2011
An open letter to farmers from your elected CWB directors
The federal government wants to hand each and every grain farmer in Western Canada a bill of more than $4,000 to pay for the destruction of the CWB's single desk.
Perhaps if farmers had a say in the decision to end the CWB, it would be fair to ask us to foot the bill. But we didn't have a say. The government ploughed ahead unilaterally, and steadfastly refused to consult with or listen to Prairie producers.
The government's plan is to expropriate the contingency fund and a number of sizable assets to help pay the costs of getting rid of the current CWB. The contingency fund is currently sitting at about $120 million. To make matters worse, the Conservative government recently upped the contingency fund cap to $200 million - meaning this government could potentially grab up to $200 million from the fund to help pay for the dismantling of the CWB.
The government would also take $80 million in assets, including a fleet of 3,400 rail hopper cars and the CWB office building in Winnipeg. In addition, farmers will have paid $28 million - or nearly half the cost - of two new laker vessels by August 1, 2012. The government plans to hijack these ships, meaning farmers will never receive the long-term revenue and cost-saving benefits the ships would have generated.
Add it all up, and it comes to more than $200 million - money that should rightfully be returned to farmers, not used to finance the government's decision to remove the single desk and set up a government-controlled grain company in an open market environment.
To put this in context, the board has been criticized for spending about $1.4 million on advertising to oppose the government's tactics in dismantling the single desk without consulting producers and in fast-tracking Bill C-18 through Parliament. It has also been criticized for spending roughly $100,000 on a lawsuit to defend farmers' democratic right to have a say on this issue. Meanwhile, the Harper government is planning to take at least 130 times this combined amount and force you to pay for their decision to eliminate the single desk. The board's expenditure amounts to pennies per tonne, while the government's tally of money and assets totals more than $4,000 per producer.
Our own plebiscite showed that 62 per cent of wheat farmers want to keep the CWB intact. The majority of farmers clearly oppose the dismantling of the single desk - so why should we have to pay for it?
The CWB's contingency fund underwrites the financial risks associated with two types of farmer programs operated by the CWB: Producer Payment Options and cash-trading programs. Funding is received primarily through the users of these programs - in short, the money comes from farmers. We believe, as the CWB is wound down, that the money should be returned to farmers. The same goes for hopper cars, ships and other assets - farmers' money has paid for these, so it's only right that farmers recoup their value.
Farmers are already paying dearly for the government's move to an open market. Under the single desk model, the CWB is the only seller of western Canadian wheat and barley. This creates a farmers' monopoly: wheat and barley farmers are not competing against each other for sales and driving down the price of their grain. The loss of this monopoly will cost producers an additional $500 million each year in lost premiums. In addition, due to the single desk's marketing clout, the CWB is able to provide a number of other benefits, from branding to fighting for reduced grain-transportation costs.
This government is acting purely on ideology - it has provided no economic analysis on its plan, and has adamantly refused to let farmers decide the issue, it is also steamrolling Bill C-18 through Parliament to limit debate.
If Bill C-18 is passed into law, we, your elected representatives to the CWB board, will be fired. The CWB will cease to be a farmer-controlled organization, and will be without farmer input for the first time in almost 30 years. The organization will become a government-controlled entity and a shell of its former self. Profits that now flow to farmers will instead accrue to large grain companies.
It's utterly unfair to demand farmers pay for the opportunity to earn less money.
If you agree that the government should keep its hands off the contingency fund and other assets, then we encourage you to contact elected officials through the online form at www.cwb.ca. As Bill C-18 heads to the Senate, you may also want to contact your province's Senators. Contact information is available at www.parl.gc.ca, in the Senate column.
Farmers are losing enough with this move to an open market. Farmers didn't ask for it, farmers don't support it, and farmers' certainly shouldn't be forced to pay for it.
Stewart Wells
Swift Current, SK, District 3
Bill Woods
Eston, SK. District 4
Allen Oberg, CWB chair
Forestburg, AB District 5
Cam Goff
Hanley, SK, District 6
Kyle Korneychuk
Pelly, SK, District 7
Rod Flaman
Edenwold, SK, District 8
John Sandborn
Benito, MB, District 9
Bill Toews
Kane, MB, District 10"
I agree with this:
"It's utterly unfair to demand farmers pay for the opportunity to earn less money."
Which is exactly the reason the Courts and the Government have told these 8 Rogue CWB Directors to STOP Wasting my money promoting the CWB 'Single Desk'.
"November 2011
An open letter to farmers from your elected CWB directors
The federal government wants to hand each and every grain farmer in Western Canada a bill of more than $4,000 to pay for the destruction of the CWB's single desk.
Perhaps if farmers had a say in the decision to end the CWB, it would be fair to ask us to foot the bill. But we didn't have a say. The government ploughed ahead unilaterally, and steadfastly refused to consult with or listen to Prairie producers.
The government's plan is to expropriate the contingency fund and a number of sizable assets to help pay the costs of getting rid of the current CWB. The contingency fund is currently sitting at about $120 million. To make matters worse, the Conservative government recently upped the contingency fund cap to $200 million - meaning this government could potentially grab up to $200 million from the fund to help pay for the dismantling of the CWB.
The government would also take $80 million in assets, including a fleet of 3,400 rail hopper cars and the CWB office building in Winnipeg. In addition, farmers will have paid $28 million - or nearly half the cost - of two new laker vessels by August 1, 2012. The government plans to hijack these ships, meaning farmers will never receive the long-term revenue and cost-saving benefits the ships would have generated.
Add it all up, and it comes to more than $200 million - money that should rightfully be returned to farmers, not used to finance the government's decision to remove the single desk and set up a government-controlled grain company in an open market environment.
To put this in context, the board has been criticized for spending about $1.4 million on advertising to oppose the government's tactics in dismantling the single desk without consulting producers and in fast-tracking Bill C-18 through Parliament. It has also been criticized for spending roughly $100,000 on a lawsuit to defend farmers' democratic right to have a say on this issue. Meanwhile, the Harper government is planning to take at least 130 times this combined amount and force you to pay for their decision to eliminate the single desk. The board's expenditure amounts to pennies per tonne, while the government's tally of money and assets totals more than $4,000 per producer.
Our own plebiscite showed that 62 per cent of wheat farmers want to keep the CWB intact. The majority of farmers clearly oppose the dismantling of the single desk - so why should we have to pay for it?
The CWB's contingency fund underwrites the financial risks associated with two types of farmer programs operated by the CWB: Producer Payment Options and cash-trading programs. Funding is received primarily through the users of these programs - in short, the money comes from farmers. We believe, as the CWB is wound down, that the money should be returned to farmers. The same goes for hopper cars, ships and other assets - farmers' money has paid for these, so it's only right that farmers recoup their value.
Farmers are already paying dearly for the government's move to an open market. Under the single desk model, the CWB is the only seller of western Canadian wheat and barley. This creates a farmers' monopoly: wheat and barley farmers are not competing against each other for sales and driving down the price of their grain. The loss of this monopoly will cost producers an additional $500 million each year in lost premiums. In addition, due to the single desk's marketing clout, the CWB is able to provide a number of other benefits, from branding to fighting for reduced grain-transportation costs.
This government is acting purely on ideology - it has provided no economic analysis on its plan, and has adamantly refused to let farmers decide the issue, it is also steamrolling Bill C-18 through Parliament to limit debate.
If Bill C-18 is passed into law, we, your elected representatives to the CWB board, will be fired. The CWB will cease to be a farmer-controlled organization, and will be without farmer input for the first time in almost 30 years. The organization will become a government-controlled entity and a shell of its former self. Profits that now flow to farmers will instead accrue to large grain companies.
It's utterly unfair to demand farmers pay for the opportunity to earn less money.
If you agree that the government should keep its hands off the contingency fund and other assets, then we encourage you to contact elected officials through the online form at www.cwb.ca. As Bill C-18 heads to the Senate, you may also want to contact your province's Senators. Contact information is available at www.parl.gc.ca, in the Senate column.
Farmers are losing enough with this move to an open market. Farmers didn't ask for it, farmers don't support it, and farmers' certainly shouldn't be forced to pay for it.
Stewart Wells
Swift Current, SK, District 3
Bill Woods
Eston, SK. District 4
Allen Oberg, CWB chair
Forestburg, AB District 5
Cam Goff
Hanley, SK, District 6
Kyle Korneychuk
Pelly, SK, District 7
Rod Flaman
Edenwold, SK, District 8
John Sandborn
Benito, MB, District 9
Bill Toews
Kane, MB, District 10"
I agree with this:
"It's utterly unfair to demand farmers pay for the opportunity to earn less money."
Which is exactly the reason the Courts and the Government have told these 8 Rogue CWB Directors to STOP Wasting my money promoting the CWB 'Single Desk'.
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