Playing In The Pool

While eyes are focused on the debacle that is the Tories failed attempt to impose dual marketing in the Wheat and Barley market, with their backdoor attempt to dismatle the Wheat Board lets look at who benefits from dual marketing.

And no it's not about competition, or better prices, its about private purchasing monopolies versus public producer monopoly. To whit the two major suppliers of Grains in the west to buyers is Saskpool and Agricore.

Distributors/buyers versus Farmers/Producers. The irony is that the Wheat Board was not a creation of socialists but the producer advocates in the UFA and Labour in the Alberta Government in the Thirties and later the Social Credit Party.

UFA was founded in 1909 as a government lobby group following a merger between the Alberta Farmers' Association and the Canadian Society for Equity. UFA began as a non-partisan organization who's aim was to promote the interest of farmers in the province. In 1913, it was able to pressure Alberta's Liberal government to organize the "Alberta Farmers' Cooperative Elevator Company" which eventually became the "United Grain Growers".

The UFA was a believer in the cooperative movement, and supported women's suffrage. In 1912 women were permitted to become members of the parallel United Farm Women's Association, and in 1914, women were granted full membership rights in UFA itself.

By 1920, UFA had become the most influential lobby group in Alberta with over 30,000 registered members.

Agricore is now under a hostile takeover bid by Saskpool in anticipation of the Tories dual marketing scheme.

Saskatchewan Wheat Pool cut its loss in its first quarter by exporting more grain, and expects bigger shipments to continue, Canada's second-largest grain company said on Thursday.

Saskpool -- which has launched a hostile bid for bigger rival Agricore United (AU.TO: Quote) -- reported a loss of C$5.1 million ($4.4 million), or 6 Canadian cents per share, for the quarter ended October 31. That compares with a loss of C$7.7 million, or 9 Canadian cents a share, a year earlier.

"We believe margins in our grain business will improve over last year given the high quality of this year's crop and robust export movement to date," Chief Executive Mayo Schmidt told analysts on a conference call.

Revenue was C$341.3 million, up 25 percent from year-before sales of C$273.9 million

And who should have investments in Agricore besides the old Alberta Wheat Pool and the Alberta Government? Both notoriously Anti-Wheat Board. Why Brian Mulroneys old pals the agribusiness monopoly; ADM.

U.S. grain giant Archer Daniels Midland (ADM.N: Quote) owns 23.4 percent of Agricore shares, and will see its stake rise to 28 percent on January 10, when Agricore redeems debentures for shares.

And of course its about Free Trade, despite the failure of the Doha round of WTO talks. The reason Agriculture and Agri-Foods Minister Chuck Strahl is dividing the issue into two; Barley and Wheat and holding a plebiscite on barley marketing only is the support they have amongst their Reform base of some Prarie Barley farmers.

We cannot ignore trade implications when we decide how to vote on wheat or barley marketing. Support for the single-desk plays into the hands of those who would build and maintain trade barriers along our borders.

Tom Hewson, vice-president, Western Barley Growers Association.

For more coverage of the Wheat Board from the Left see Buckdog.

See

Wheat Board

WTO

Farmers

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Irony Thy Name is Zaccardelli

Ironically, Zaccardelli is the only federal official who has offered a public apology to Arar for his treatment. The government has refused to do so, pending negotiations on financial compensation.

Because the Government is full of those who called Arar a terrorist and demanded harsher, brutal treatment of him and carte blanche for the RCMP to round up more of those listed in their terrorist profile.

A teary-eyed Giuliano Zaccardelli says he's stepping down as RCMP commissioner with a clear conscience, having told the truth and done the right thing.

And the only reason Zaccardelli had crocodile tears for us today was because he was covering for those Mounties that screwed up.

More junior officers who actually conducted the investigation of Arar — and made the mistakes that led to his ordeal — continue to serve with the Mounties and in some cases have won promotion.

Zaccardelli, standing in front of a backdrop photo of charging Mounties on horseback, told a news conference that he’s resigning to help preserve public confidence in the Mounties.

We won't have confidence in the RCMP or the New Law and Order Government until there are resignations or firings of the Mounties responsible for the Arar affair, for leaking false information after the fact and for raiding an Ottawa Journalists home for having recieived the leaked information, imprisoning her illegally.

See:

Falling On His Sword

RCMP Terror

RCMP

Arar



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What About Afghanistan Mr. Layton

Here was a perfect opportunity to criticize Flip Flop Dion, and the NDP missed it, focusing instead on incidentals, that have ticked off a good amount of Dipper Blogs.

The New Democrats do a little better. They attack Dion for his record as environment minister, which is exactly what they should be doing - They also quote him as supporting the mission to Afghanistan, which is half-way there - but for some reason they avoid accusing him of flip-flopping through his later (quasi-) opposition to the mission.

Yeah what about that Jack. Dion flip flopped on Afghanistan in order to get Gerard Kennedys support and supporters. Certainly that is more of an issue than Liberals who will be supporting the Tories SSM Motion.

Even this scoop that the NDP could have used against Dion to prove the Liberals are still Liberals rather than leaving it to blow over, post-convention.

See:

NDP

Dion

Afghanistan





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Oda-lisque

Just to get this clear, Bev Oda Minister in charge of the Status of Women says that;

a.) budget cuts to Status of Women were done for efficiency b.) the cuts will be part of the $1 billion dollar savings that the Tories announced in April c.) money is being wasted on advocacy so we are closing Status of Womens offices saving taxpayers $5 million dollars.


Yesterday she told the house in Question Period that; a.)Money saved will go directly to women b.) All $5 million saved closing Status of Womens offices and closing advocacy programs will not be part of the cuts announced in Apri. The savings will be spent 'directly' on women.

So which is it?

This is after all the government that claims it is taking care of taxpayers money by cutting ineffciencies like Status of Women, Environmental programs, Museums, Court Challenge Program.

And of course when caught in a fib well blame the Liberals. Oda says the Liberals cut funding to Status of Women three times, so there. Nyahh, Nyahh. Except those cuts were wrong as well. Women’s website takes aim at Tories’ nickel and diming


See:

Feminism

Status of Women

Bev Oda

Tory Cuts


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Pay Back

Now this; National Portrait Gallery to Move To Calgary: 'It's pork barrel politics' wouldn't have anything to do with this; Firestorm Erupting Over Bev Oda's Fundraisers would it?

Or perhaps it is as Jason Kenney said yesterday on Mike Duffy Live (CTV) that the new capital of Canada is in the West; Calgary. Perhaps he was confusing his capitals, financial and national. Though the Tories do treat Ottawa like it was in Alberta.

Or perhaps it was all about money after all, since building it in Calgary would be funded by a private investor. A P3 National Portrait Gallery, probably renamed the Encana National Portrait Gallery.

Showing that Encana has no hard feelings over that broken promise about Income Trusts.

Of course it was the NDP that exposed this nonsense about moving the NATIONAL Portrait Gallery from the Nations Capital. Because the New Government of Canada as usual failed to inform the public of its intentions.

Feds spend $100M to fix up cultural buildings

- The federal government will spend almost $100 million to repair the buildings housing five of its major cultural institutions in Ottawa-Gatineau but has warned them they must increasingly look towards getting money from the private sector.

Heritage Minister Bev Oda and Treasury Board President John Baird deliberately made their announcement Monday in the Canadian Museum of Nature, where a new $10-million fossil gallery has just opened with the help of a $2-million grant from Talisman Energy Inc.

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Saved By The Bra

Victoria's Secret owner will stop buying paper from suppliers, including West Fraser Timber, that log in caribou habitat in the Rocky Mountain Foothills near Hinton, Alberta

In a statement Wednesday, Limited Brands said the growing controversy about logging in caribou rangeland is “of serious concern” and that the company wants to ensure that its paper consumption does not contribute to the demise of endangered species.

As part of the agreement, Limited Brands has agreed not to buy from suppliers that source material from Vancouver-based West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., which operates a pulp mill near Hinton, Alberta.

The company's new policy also states a preference for fibre from forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, an international group that runs a certification program for Canadian forests.

Victoria's Secret mails more than 360 million catalogues each year. Limited Brands runs about 3,500 retail stores and reported sales of $9.7-billion (U.S.) last year.

Canada's woodland caribou have been designated as threatened by the federal government.

The last Liberal Federal government. The New Conservative Canadian Government hasn't decided on their extinction yet.

See

Tories Put Endangered Species at Risk

Environmentali$m

Aspen Mystery

Neil Waugh Moves Left

A Hunting We Will Go

Alberta Sacrifices Wildlife for Profit

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