CWB, Election Results

[JACKFLASH]

Vader:

I would have gladly voted in District 8 elections. But I took my book out in a elevator in another district. My vote would not have been for single desk.

But get this my father also took his book out at the same elevator and he gets a vote. He votes single desk. Makes for interesting conversation around the supper table.

I wonder how many of these situations occur. I did not pursue this with the CWB,as to what result would I have gotten. Just more fustration!!!

Young farmers like myself are apathetic to the process. The CWB can continue down the path they chose. We only use the board if we have to. I chose a different path. The high one.

[charliep]

Kinda like chasing a horse after it has left the barn but a lot of interesting information about the election process at the CWB election website.

Voter eligibility - http://www.cwbelection.com/process.asp#voter

Regulations - http://www.cwbelection.com/regulations.asp

Forums - http://www.cwbelection.com/forms.asp

Frequently asked questions - http://www.cwbelection.com/faq.asp

I found the FAQ the most interesting. After reading all this (not that much), I am still not sure what criteria were used in determining where farmers vote (other than permit book information). I note that on this point, the election voters list only includes permit book holders in the past crop year plus the current one (I assume 2003 and 2004 crop years).

I also note a corporation that has multiple owners gets one vote - the same as a crop share landlord. With multiple types of ownership and CWB permit books on many farms, I don't know how the CWB or MNP keeps things sorted out using permit books.

Elections Canada maintains a voters list using I think income filing data. Corporations and cooperatives are based on ownership. Farm organizations are based on membership. In hindsite (2004 is now water under the bridge with results final), what should be done for the future?

[charliep]

Last paragraph - should be income tax filing information. Am using my foggy memory, but it seems we all have to indicate on our personal tax forms where can be used in elections Canada voting list. Not sure how lists are maintained by countie/municipalities or the provinces.

[wd9]

Did anyone in the regions with the elections not receive a ballot, and should have?

[TOM4CWB]

WD9;

I understand that only 151 of the late thousand or so ballots that were tracked by the election coordinator for the Federal Court of Canada were returned and counted.

Further;

In his T-2191-04 Affidavit and included in point [58] of the Federal Court judgement by Madame Justice MacTavish was this statement: "the affidavit of Peter Eckersley, filed on behalf of MNP, discloses that at least some of the ballots likely did not reach voters prior to the close of the election period.
[59]. This is arguably more than a ‘technical breach’, and in my view, constitutes a serious issue."

WD9, I have talked to personally many producers who did not get a ballot at all, or who got a ballot too late to vote, and submitted some of this evidence to the T2191-04 Hearing on the 20th of December.

[agstar77]

All this philosophical disussion is all well and good but the bottom line is that grain prices are too low to match cost of production. It really matters little who markets our grain . It would be a losing proposition no matter what. The only ones still receiving their costs are the integrated multinationals that don't really care about our costs or the price of the commodity. In other words we are losing site of the real problem, nobody cares whether farmers survive or not as long as the food keeps flowing to the grocery store and they can get it cheap. Nobody cares that if there was a large disaster such as a volcanic eruption or a nuclear accident, that would destroy production capacity in Europe or Asia. Evidence is available in the current problems in asia.