LIBERALS PUSH FARM ISSUES
Despite hot concerns like the Harper government’s dishonesty about their mission in Afghanistan, their bungling of nuclear safety, and a growing number of Conservative ethical violations – agricultural issues gained a good deal of attention in Parliament this past week.
The Liberal Opposition is fighting to expose two items in particular.
One is the financial trouble facing Canadian beef and pork producers. The other is the renewed Conservative crusade to kill the Canadian Wheat Board.
While grain markets are strong, the opposite is true for livestock. Falling prices, rising input costs, a high Canadian dollar and the loss of processing capacity have created a near “perfect storm” of negative circumstances.
It’s no exaggeration to say that Canada’s entire pork industry could be lost!
Producers have asked for some basic federal help, but to date they’ve been ignored by the Harper government. Farm organizations have described the Conservative response as a “cruel joke”.
Liberals will keep pushing this government to get serious.
On the Wheat Board, Stephen Harper’s personal vendetta continues – using every dirty trick in the book to kill the Board by stealth.
Liberals have introduced a Private Member’s Bill to put into law stronger guarantees of democratic producer control over the CWB’s operations and jurisdiction.
Our proposal would increase the number of CWB directors chosen by farmers, while reducing the government’s number. We would also require, in law, any question in any future producer-vote to be clear and precise.
It’s not sufficient to have some fuzzy multiple-choice survey about marketing philosophies.
The government should be honest enough to say what they really mean. They should ask directly: “Do you want the CWB’s single-desk system, OR do you want the Open Market?”
That’s the choice. It has to be one way or the other. There’s no half-way house!
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