PM Harper answers questions at SARM

[TOM4CWB]

CaptnObvious,

I was there. Customs officers told the farmers to remove their vehicles... I watched them do this. Instructions they followed.

This was a simple trap... set by CWB instructions... which were followed very closely.

To portray the CWB as being free and clear of this situation... and not primarily responsible for the operational executions of orders Customs Officers were issued... is simply wrong and not believable.

I saw the special plaque on the Customs was after the demonstrations at Coutts... with the CWB thanking the Customs Officers for the outstanding services they provided.

Thanks for making this painfully clear... that the CWB is responsible for many myths.. paid for with blood sweat and tears... of our brother and sisters in our farm community... myths that are simply put... FALSE.

[wilagro]

CptnObvious: Tom and the other co-conspirators will ALWAYS ignore the truth no matter who presents it. They are willfully ignorant when it serves their ends.

Anyway they succeeded in their efforts to destroy the only marketing agent that worked on their behalf...now they scream for justice in dealing with the railroads. They should realize that nobody in government gives a red rat's ass if they get their grain to market or not because they will never be satisfied no matter what.

"Marketing Freedom"...what a joke.

[CptnObvious]

A little harsh perhaps, wilagro, however: it strains credibility that the CWB was destroyed, then 'POOF,' we are losing over $3 billion/year, and they cannot see the connection.

[blackpowder]

Again, too funny.

[bucket]

If was wrong for the cwb to displace farmers money thru the discretionary trading losses?

Isn't it just qas wrong what's going on today?

Why are there crickets about the current situation?

[TOM4CWB]

CPTNOBVIOUS,

I NEVER INDICATED THAT 2 WRONGS MADE THINGS FINE OR RIGHT. WE HAVE MUCH WORK TO DO.

BECOMING TRUSTWORTHY AND DEPENDABLE PROVIDERS OF HIGH QUALITY FOODGRAINS... IS FURTHER AWAY FROM BEING ATTAINED THAN IS ACCEPTABLE.

OUR DURUM MARKET HAS BEEN ALLOWED TO ARBITRAGE... AND THE RESULTS HAVE PAID HUGE DIVIDENDS TO GRAIN GROWERS NEAR COMPETITIVE POINTS NEARER THE US BORDER.

CLEARLY THIS IS NOT ABOUT CWB CONTROL OF LOGISTICS.

[CptnObvious]

TOM!! Oh, sorry, didn't mean to shout.

1)Why would anyone think you said two wrongs make a right?

2) Loss of the CWB and cuts at the CGC mean we are getting farther and farther from our traditional top notch quality.

3) If we still had the CWB, distance from the U.S. border would not be a disadvantage.

4) If the CWB was in charge of logistics we wouldn't have this extortion by the graincos, ship loading would be way more efficient, and rail movement would be slightly better and way more equitable.

[TOM4CWB]

cptn,

i - "it strains credibility that the CWB was destroyed, then 'POOF,' we are losing over $3 billion/year, and they cannot see the connection"
you said,

Two above wrongs you just brought up... justify the return of the CWB... you have advocated.

ii - wrong number one...so...

Cdn durum growers who tend to be closer to the US border... must lose their arbitrage benefit...

iii - wrong number two...

"If the cwb was in charge of logistics we wouldn't have this extortion by the graincos

(sadly mistaken... if US/export borders are closed... the cwbgrain forced through same grainco's same ports same lack of arbitrage and competition),

ship loading would be way more efficient
(again your memory failed you... the cwb had ships lined up worse than now...), and rail movement would be slightly better and way more equitable" (history does not back up this statement either; as to avoid ship demurrage the CWB was forced into the same inequities to resolve the backlogs at port).

i hope i whispered that quietly enough for you...

We have a much better solution coming forward now that all shippers... of all grains... and bulk commodities... have the same interests to solve the same market power the monopoly railroads hold.

Performance bonds, Competition and fair demurrage is a minimum for shippers/grainfarmers

when rail providers (a utility provider with monopoly)

neglect to provide sufficient and reasonable movement of grain/bulk commodities to export position (by intentionally reducing the RR capacity to increase RR profits) to force regulatory system into flowing through higher profits to shareholders.

Obviously a paradox... as more revenue for service does not result in better transport services... as increased profits were created by reducing service.

Interesting exercise... thanks Cptn!

[bucket]

Tom

About the durum thing and being close to the border for arbritrage.

Why didn't RITZ just reverse goodale's order?

Farmers could have contracted with American companies if they wanted and the board would have still had enough to **** things up with.

And whatever the board didn't accept could be released to the farmer to do as he pleased.

There is a solution.

But remember this. We would still have the same railway issues today. As in 1997. And no one be is working on them.

Studying yes. Decades of ****ing around.

But no action. Farmers can call the MPS of any party. They do not give a shit or this would have been done years ago.

[LEP]

Captainoblivious, I have had trucks in my yard all winter hauling durum 1000 kms to a US mill at prices that never would have been acheived under the CWB.

I did export some grain in the early 90's to the USand got export permits because it was a seed variety.

I tried to do the same in the mid-2000's and was told I had to name the purchaser of the grain, the price of the contract and then they would tell me the price of the buyback from the pool for the "no-cost" export permit.

The 3 billion lost that you claim is ficticious. I have never achieved higher grain prices in my farming career since I have had freedom. Things have never been better.