Class Action Suit

[kato]

There was a meeting not long ago in Manitoba regarding the progress on the class action suit. It was too far away for us to go, but we sure would have like to be there. I did a bit of looking around last night,and found a post on another site from someone who'd been there.

Basically this is what he said, short version.

They were told that the case was strong against the government. They were told the government had the means to stall things, but that the fact that there is a minority in parliament was an advantage to producers. The advice given was that all producers should be contacting their MP's and MLA's to make the case for settling out of court.

I think they have a point. I don't know about anyone else here, but I don't remember a time when I was less satisfied with our so called leadership in this country. I'm talking provincial as well as federal, and all the way down. I also think the politicians are maybe starting to see that there are a lot of other disillusioned people out there. We have been quite frankly written off as a lost cause, and the contribution we make to the economy is not recognized or valued at all. It's like the government is living in a different world than us, and just refuses to listen. They just don't care.

I find it insulting.

I heard a story the other day about how Mr. Ignatieff is saying he wants to support family farmers. I'm too jaded to think he really means it, but it does show that he has recognized that there are people in this part of the country who are losing their blind support for all things Conservative, and being a politician, he's prepared to move on that.

That's a good sign, no matter what party you belong to. This guy has seen the weak spot Mr. Harper has opened up by turning his back on the west in order to concentrate on Quebec. He's vulnerable, and the opposition will pick up on that. This is a good thing for us, and we should be using it.

An out of court settlement would be a win win for all of us. Quite frankly it would be a way for the government to toss us a lifeline without bringing up that tired old argument about trade retaliation.

What does everyone here think?

[vagabonddreamer]

This is a troubling situation...I find it amazing that government at all levels is taking a "hands off" approach to the food supply in all areas...grains included...

at least at a provincial level...Alta/Sask/Man...governemts have been trying to address the situation in SOME manner...here in BC..it is like we dont exist...and I guess in reality...if you arent growing g****s..you dont exist...vineyards are NOT really family farm type operations...more...they are the personal playground of expatriate Albertan oil millionaires...

BC cattlemens is largely ineffective...and the provincial government has NO money to help ranchers in even the most basic of things...we have thousands of miles of useless range "fencing" on crown leases that were installed in the early 70's...we cant even get them to replace fencing on land they CHARGE us to use...

it is becoming very clear...that even though my youngest son has expressed an interest in continuing in the cattle business...it would be irresponsible of us as parents to delude the next generation into believing it is a viable occupation...

dispersal sales have become the norm in BC...as evidenced by the drastic fall in total provincial herd...some historic ranches are gone forever...the government plainly does not care...and obviously sees no value in the family farm...we will likely continue to run cattle just out of stubbornness...but it does not appear as though there will be cattle on our land once the kids have stopped 4-H and have moved on...it disgusts me to talk this way...about one of the oldest industries in our country...

but here we are looking for a way for government to help us...without making it appear they are helping us...and even in that...they are resistant...and are willing to battle in court...against us...vs

[kato]

I think the situation in Manitoba is not that different from B.C. A lot more like you and less like Alberta and Sask. The problem probably lies in the fact that in both our provinces, urban voters outnumber rural. Over half the population of Manitoba lives inside Winnipeg, and it is almost totally due to an urban based NDP vote. The rural MLA's are pretty much all Conservative, one exception being the Ag Minister Wowchuk, who I don't think carries a bit of weight in the legislature. So we have a split right down the middle, with the urban population, and their government having the power. It really doesn't matter one bit what happens outside the city, we can't touch them.

Anything that the provincial government has seemed to do for agriculture has been leaning toward the smoke and mirrors approach. Lots of talk, but not much action. They've taken an active approach to bring in regulation upon regulation with an eagerness that is quite frankly, a little scarey sometimes.

They've come right out and openly stopped the hog farmers in their tracks with a moratorium in the biggest hog producing areas of the province. All in the name of saving Lake Winnipeg from the evil piggys. Meanwhile they sit back and don't lifting a finger when the City of Winnipeg has malfunctions in their sewage systems that dump millions of litres of raw sewage into the Red River. Cattle and other livestock producers in this province can't help feeling that we're the next target.

End of provincial rant. Back to the feds....

It's so sad that it takes something like a lawsuit to try and get a government to wake up to it's responsibility. Why did it have to come to this? There is so much wrong here it's hard to begin adding it up.

Am alone in feeling betrayed here? It's the best word I can think of to describe the situation. The world grinds to a stop when an auto plant threatens to shut down, yet agriculture contributes a massive amount to the economy of this country, and is just as important.

I guess we're just easier to ignore than the CAW.

[rkaiser]

I only hope that WHEN the Feds settle out of court that those of us left are wise enough to use most of the money collectively to release the current multinational grip on our industry. If Cargill or the new - old kids on the block --- Nilsens --- don't want to sell, we have to build a few large plants with the payout from the feds.

Almost time to start making some noise again I recon.

Any of you NFU guys looking for another recruit these days.

[rcf]

Going further east to PEI, the situation is deplorable. We as producers have built a processing plant with a lot of government help but now supply is becoming a huge problem as many are exiting the industry. Price of beef and escalating costs are the 2 main reasons for exodus. Beef plant is having extreme difficulty in making ends meet financially. So be very carefull about wanting producer owned plants as long as the big guys are around, they will drown you. I feel like most of you that governments are ignoring us hoping we'll survive. Truth is, there are not going to be very many left in this industry very soon. Ottawa doesn't realize the importance of this sector to economic viability of rural Canada not to mention our ability as a nation to produce our own food and not be dependant upon other nations for our food supply. I am totally disgusted at the CCA. It is because of them that Ottawa is not helping industry, they won't ask. They claim countervail, well this situation is not working either. The focus should now be on producing for the domestic market. We have tried export and it doesn't work. There is too much cheap meat produced in parts of the world where costs of production are much lower than in Canada . We cannot compete with countries where grazing happens 12 months of the year, little machinery and labor are required and saftey standards are not what they are in this country. COOL is going to break the rest us still doing business. I have been reading post here for a few years and just wanted to let you know that the situation in the east is no better. We are all in a sinking ship.......

[kato]

Welcome to agri-ville. It's good to hear from all parts of the country. We've got a lot in common, no matter where we live.

I find it ironic that in the very times that have seen the big business model take the largest shellacking ever, that our governments have decided to abandon the little guy.

You would think that after seeing the so called unthinkable happen on Wall Street that someone in government would have some inkling that maybe bigger is not better. A year ago, if someone said today we'd be hearing about GM nearly in bankruptcy, AIG on the rocks, and very big banks going down all over the world, you'd have said they were crazy. Remember back to this time last year when the sky was the limit, and there was money to burn. Corporations that were so big and powerful everyone thought nothing could touch them have tanked. They've gone broke.

This could happen to the big packers too. Never say never. We're watching much bigger players than the big packers going down right now. We were in trouble in 03 when the border closed. Can you just imagine the trouble we'd be in if we allow 90% of our packing capacity to be in the hands of two companies, and we lost one or both of them?

To call it a nightmare would be an understatement.

I think that governments all over the world, not just here, need to wake up to the fact that the big business multi-national model is not immune to collapse. We were just the canary in the coal mine regarding the dangers of dependency on a small range of options for the sale of our product.

If the government wants to use bailout money in a way that will ensure the economy is stable in the future, it needs to be concentrating on spreading the risk to everyone by encouraging more small business, and less big business. Economy of scale is fine, but when that one big player crashes, everybody goes down with him. Spread that same business over several hundred players, and there will always be some doing well even if things get tough.

This love affair between our government and big business is a lot of the reason we need a class action suit to get their attention. They've been bought and paid for by someone, and it's not us. (Like we could afford to buy ourselves a politician... LOL)

[greybeard]

Good post Kato. It does indeed seem like the federal and many provincial governments have a DNR (as in do not resuscitate) order on livestock. When they had the fed/provincial ministers meeting our Sask ag minister did seem to be pressing hard for a national support program, but didn’t get any support from other provinces. Now Ritz can claim no general support.
Cargill isn’t likely to leave with unpaid accounts but NB reflects the stereotype of the outfit that tanks. A bit of bad luck or bad timing can make credit dry up quickly these days. As you pointed out, as an industry we can’t afford any more problems
I think that Governments all over the world are waking up to the fact that the “trickle down effect” isn’t working. The big worry is that hundreds of millions of the new middle class in the emerging economies are slipping back into an unemployed poor status. As new consumers they were driving much of the world economic growth. Serious social unrest may result if mishandled. Trillions have been given to the banks world wide to try to encourage consumption and keep people working and for the most part there has been no trickle down.
It will be interesting to see where the request from the boss at Ford for the subsidy money to go direct to the consumer gets attention. It might provide hope that we may see more bottom up stimulus that some day might make it easier to fund more producer participation in the “beef” business.
In the meantime they seem to be continuing with the long standing policy that fewer producers require a smaller total in subsidies. They are certainly making quick progress at reducing those numbers these days.

[grassfarmer]

Hey Randy, you know the NFU always welcome new recruits - you know where to call;0) Hell for a $150 a year you're even allowed a voice in the organisation. There's a novelty compared to ABP.

[bombay_43]

Ok, maybe I missed this somewhere. Who is part of this class action? I have visited the website several times, and still get no smarter. Are all cattle farmers a part of it, or do you need to register?

[kato]

From what I understand, if you were in the cattle business when the border closed, you're automatically in, unless you specifically choose to opt out.