Saskatchewan government peddling fairy dust – again
(August 11, 2016) With prospects of another bumper crop, the Saskatchewan government is laying the groundwork for a “blame the railways narrative” with its recent news release titled “Joint Efforts Ensure Grain Transportation System Is Prepared to Move Harvest.” The Saskatchewan Government is pretending that setting up talking shops with no regulatory power will somehow move the giant...
Read MoreHow long does Thunder Bay have?
(August 3, 2016) Last week’s effective closure of the port of Churchill as a grain shipping port and likely a rail-based adventure tourist destination marks another sad milestone in the transformation of the western grain economy. In spite of assurances from the Western Grain Elevators Association (WGEA) that they have lots of handling capacity at Thunder Bay to offset the loss of Churchill;...
Read MoreChurchill tweets raise more questions
(August 1, 2016) When it comes to the announced abandonment of the port of Churchill former Harper Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz is manfully tweeting and twittering in an effort to create doubt and divert attention from the corpse of the Wheat Board hanging around his neck. He does this whenever another wreck happens as a direct consequence of killing the farmer-owned and operated Canadian...
Read MoreChurchill was about value for farmers
(July 28, 2016) It is never well received to say “we told you so” but the people of the Churchill, Manitoba region, this organization, and many others have long warned that killing the farmer-controlled, single-desk Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) would spell the end of the Port of Churchill and much else. Some 95% of the grain going through Churchill was directed there by the single-desk CWB...
Read MorePrairie Arms Race
(July 7, 2016) Prairie farmers may remember former Harper Ag Minister Ritz assuring us that killing the Wheat Board would mean grain shipments would flourish. Grain bin salesmen he said would be unhappy because without the Wheat Board grain shipments would go so quickly that farmers would no longer be interested in storing grain on their farms. The exact opposite has happened. There is now a...
Read MoreFarewell Harper
(May 26, 2016) This weekend the Conservative Party will hold its policy conference in Vancouver and Stephan Harper will give his swan song and by all reports resign his seat in the House of Commons ending the career of one of the odder politicians Canada has seen since the séance-attending Mackenzie King communed with the spirit of his dead dog over 75 years ago. For farmers Mr. Harper first...
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