In his first major public meeting in Saskatoon since winning the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada Stéphane Dion will reply to Stephen Harper’s ongoing attack on prairie farmers and the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB).
Date: Sunday, April 1, 2007
Time: 2 p.m.
Place: Bessborough Hotel (Battleford Room)
601 Spadina Crescent E.
Saskatoon
Over the past decade and a half, the Canadian Wheat Board has endured a dozen trade challenges from the U.S. industry seeking — unsuccessfully — its demise. Now, Stephen Harper and his government have joined in. For months, the Harper administration has been attacking, undermining and threatening to destroy the power of the Canadian Wheat Board.
According to Saskatoon-Wanuskewin Conservative MP Maurice Vellacott:
“The Canadian Wheat Board is the last bastion of socialist thought in western Canada. It is the only instrument remaining that owes its birthright to the Regina Manifesto and remains an instrument of eastern domination of western agriculture.” (Letter from M. Vellacott, www.ken.farmersforjustice.com/letter.htm)
FACTS:
- The Canadian Wheat Board was introduced by a Conservative government, that of R.B. Bennett, in response to farmers’ demands for an end to exploitation by the large grain companies.
- Starting from zero in the 1930s, the Canadian Wheat Board has grown to become the largest marketer of wheat and barley in the world.
- The CWB is one of Canada’s largest earners of foreign currency and has a reputation as the world’s most prestigious marketing board. This international respect puts dollars in western pockets.
- Based in Winnipeg, the CWB is a multi-billion dollar Canadian success story that gives the western farmer some clout.
Since its inception, for seven decades, the Canadian Wheat Board has been supported by every Canadian government. Until now.
If the Wheat Board is destroyed, as the Harper government intends, control of Canadian grain marketing will quickly move from the hands of Canadian farmers to those of the giant American grain companies. The east-west transportation links, built by Canadians, and the big grain terminals in ports from Prince Rupert to Quebec City, including Churchill, our only prairie seaport, will be crippled. The direct out-of-pocket cost to western farmers will be hundreds of millions of dollars each year.
Don’t miss this chance to hear Stéphane Dion take on Stephen Harper on behalf of the west. Bring your friends, one and all!
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