Why is the CWB not meeting our needs???

[TOM4CWB]

Charlie and hsiemens,

What is the legislative mandate of the CWB?

The In MJ Farms, (Jake Heoppner’s legal challenge to the CWB) the Canadian Courts ruled that the CWB “had no duty of care” to the “designated area” to maximize grain producer’s returns. The CWB Lawyers and staff are well aware of this legal president.

The CWB Act is obviously therefore useless as protection for “designated area” grain producers to assure a reasonable job is being done with the hard earned grain they produce.

It is further obvious that the Canadian Government has no intention of changing the CWB Act to place “duty of care” upon the CWB to maximize “designated area” grain producer’s returns from the sale of wheat and barley in interprovincial and international markets. With the drought in Ontario, what better "Canadian" institution than the CWB to insure low cost feed stocks to the industrialized supply managed Agriculture? Milk producers are now boasting about how cheap Canadian milk is.

On what other farmer's back?

US corn producers that must compete with cheap "designated area" feed barley and feed wheat are hurt just like this "designated area" slave!

And these effects aren't just in my mind, the George Morris center, and the Western Grain Marketing Pannel both sponsored by the Canadian Governemt itself state these absurd facts!

Now, what are we “designated area” slaves supposed to interpret from these clear signals from the Canadian Government?

1.The Canadian Government sets the prices “designated area” slaves get for their Wheat and Barley.

2.The Canadian Government retains total legislative and administrative control over the CWB corporate board and its actions, right down to approving the CWB’s budget and lending practices.

3.The upcoming Auditor General’s CWB Audit is “at the pleasure” of the CWB Minister and nothing either the CWB board, OR the Minister Responsible for the CWB want to remain unpublished will become public information.

Now please show me where any accountability to this “designated area” slave occurs at the CWB?

Canada is a free and democratic nation?

ONLY IN JEAN CRETIEN’S AND RALPH GOODALE’S MINDS AND the minds of other good Canadian Communists!!!

This is I believe 2001 isn’t it;

I OBJECT!!! This SLAVE is free only to do what he is told to do with his WHEAT and BARLEY.

[charliep]

Tom4CWB

My purpose is as moderator is to stimulate discussion and present ideas. I am not trying to represent the CWB but I think it is important to make sure everyone is aware of how things work now without taking sides. The good or bad is for others to talk about.

You present some good ideas about CWB activities for farm managers to think about as they put the harvest in the bin. I will let others discuss later this fall.

Charlie P>

[hsiemens]

Charlie: I appreciate your position as moderator. Often rules, regulations, policy or whatever else may influence operations like CWB directors, ideals and actual practice differ. I'm only repeating how one person saw it working from within.

[TOM4CWB]

Charlie,

You know I understand that you worked at the CWB, and I do appreciate your insights into operations at 423 Main in Winnipeg!

If the CWB would not operate like a bull in a china shop, and carefully respect "designated area" grain producers right to decide who to sell their grain to, then this whole argument would be moot.

The Ontario Wheat Producers Marketing Board has the power to even be more high handed than the CWB, but they choose to respect their farmers freedom of choice.

If the CWB would respect us the same way as the OWPMB, then I would be able to accept in good faith the trust that we all need with each other to have business relationships fulfilling and honourable.

Until the CWB learns to respect the "designated area" grain producers they are supposed to be serving, we will continue to have a huge problem.

Am I asking to much, to be treated like an Ontario Wheat Producer, instead of a pawn from the outer reaches of nowhere?

[TOM4CWB]

Well, this is interesting discussion. Charlie laid out a pretty good description of the sales planning process, so not much need to expand there. I will stand up for the current CWB, and here goes.

I think, Tom, that many of your comments are anchored in a view of an organization that doesn't exist. The CWB fundamentally changed in 1998. There are elected farmer directors comprising 10 of the 15 positions on the Board. Frankly, I think they would agree with some of the statements you make and that's why you're seeing the changes that you do.

I do take some offense on your characterization of the sales staff. One very strong motivation is that many of these people come from farm backgrounds, are actively engaged in farming or have immediate families who farm. As one sales marketing manager put it to me once in describing his motivation, "I approach every sale thinking that I am selling my mom and dad's grain."

Regarding past critics turned supporters, I find it hard to believe that free thinknin people like Lorne Hehn, Earl Geddes and Ken Ritter are the types to be persuaded by " fat cheques". Especially not when these individuals could be earning fatter cheques in the private trade, and in some cases were doing so.

Perhaps they have come to the realization that there is an economic benefit for western Canadian farmers of operating the CWB.

The protrayal of a government institution doesn't fit anymore. This legislation is in place for the benefit of farmers. If they feel the organization needs to be changed, they will elect different Directors who will push for that change. Ultimately, farmers could call for a vote on adding or deleting crops from the mandate of the CWB, so could dismantle it through a democratic process if they collectively wished to.

Regarding the perfectly functioning canola market, I have heard many negative comments about the widely fluctuating basis that exists. Also about the marketability of some of the varieties, and their negative impacts on accessing high value markets.

Regarding the Ontario Wheat Producers Marketing Board, Tom be careful what you are asking for. I don't think you would want to give up the domestic feed market that exists in western Canada, for example. Ontarians are required to sell their feed quality grain to the OWPMB, whereas here there is 5-7 million tonne traded annually in the open domestic feed market in western Canada.

So there is a role for a critic in a democracy, and many of the comments to this site serve that valuable purpose. Farmers overall may be stronger speaking with a united voice on the key issues though.

Tom

[wedino]

Thalpenny, All feed grain or feed wheat? What is it? >>Ontarians are required to sell their feed quality grain to the OWPMB, whereas here there is 5-7 million tonne traded <<

[wedino]

Thalpenny, From Tom4cwb post: >>The In MJ Farms, (Jake Heoppner’s legal challenge to the CWB) the Canadian Courts ruled that the CWB “had no duty of care” to the “designated area” to maximize grain producer’s returns. The CWB Lawyers and staff are well aware of this legal president.<<

Thalpenny, please answer, Does the cwb now have a "duty of care" for Western Canadian farmers?? If your answer is yes please provide a copy of the act to verify.

[TOM4CWB]

thalpenny,

I sure wish what you said about the 1998 CWB Act changes would have made the difference you claim.

We have a major problem when the 80% of producers who produce 20% of the wheat and barley take the easy way out, using the CWB!!!

For many of us who are truly making our livings from grain farming, we need the direct signals being maked by the CWB today.

I would take the OWPMB system any day over what the CWB is doing today!!!!!!

So go ahead and put it in place!!!

If the CWB had to be legally responsible for the distortions that are built into our western Canadian Feed market today, then things would be much different!

When the CWB charges absurd high buy backs to distort the feed grain markets, huge distortions build here, as the Western Grain Marketing Panel and George Morris Centre have stated.

High buy backs can only be for one purpose, to keep feed grain inside the designated area, or conversely inside Canada.

This in turn prevents arbitage with internatioal prices as the studies prove.

The misalocation of resourses caused by the CWB will take generations to correct, when we finally fix our marketing system and stop acting like communist CUBA.

If the sales people are working so well, and we can trust what you say as being the truth, thalpenny, why are you so afraid of a little freindly competition like Ontario wheat growers allow, and the pork producers have today?

Wouldn't a 80% market share, with added ability to market other grains besides wheat and barley all on a voluntary basis, not make the CWB much stronger, and therefore serve the CWB purists much better?

There will be change thalpenny, don't you want to be part of the solution, rather than the problem?

[TOM4CWB]

To Wedino - I meant to indicate that the OWPMB is involved with feed wheat, not all feed grains. The 5-7mmt number I referred to was an estimate of all feed cereals, so thanks for seeking clarification on this point.

[cowman]

I am not in favor of the monopoly powers of the CWB, mainly on principle, but I have to agree with thalpenny that with the changes to the act it is a truly democratic institution. Get enough people on side and you will end the monopoly. I think that is the only way things will change as long as we have the Liberals in power! And with those bunch of clowns called the Alliance as the opposition, it might be for a long, long time!
What would happen if suddenly they scrapped the buyback? Do you think everyone would get rich running that grain across the border? The Americans would slam that border closed so fast it would make your head spin! They don't want competition...they are only free traders when it benifits them!