IT’S IN THE BAG
SOME FARM EXPERIENCE REQUIRED
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december 1, 2011
Rural Manitoba needs improved cell service coverage: AMM Delegates highlighted a lack of cellular service to provincial ministers By Lorraine Stevenson
HISTORIC
SERVING MANITOBA FARMERS SINCE 1925 | Vol. 69, No. 48
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the board’s last meeting?
Defiant until the end, directors demand Ottawa reimburse farmers for “expropriated” assets worth more than $300 million
co-operator staff / brandon
M
anitoba’s government wants cellphone service improved in rural areas and is taking whatever steps it can to make that happen, Premier Greg Selinger told municipal delegates attending their annual convention last week. The premier was reminded at the convention’s bear pit session of the “mass confusion” that ensued last fall when firefighters and other emergency personnel couldn’t communicate in the RMs of Piney and other southeastern Manitoba municipalities during the wildfire outbreaks. “Virtually every firefighter had a cellphone in their pocket,” said Duane Boutang, reeve of the RM of Piney. “And there was no service.” Lack of cell coverage is a c h ro n i c p ro b l e m i n m a n y parts of Manitoba, and should be viewed as a basic service for rural residents, said other municipal leaders at the Association of Manitoba Municipalities convention. Government can’t directly influence the provision of cell service by private companies, Selinger replied, “but there See CELL SERVICE on page 7 »
The Canadian Wheat Board’s farmer-elected board of directors held what’s likely to be its last meeting last week. When Bill C-18 becomes law the farmer-elected directors will be fired. Five government-appointed directors will administer the board. The farmer-elected directors are (l) Kyle Korneychuk, Stewart Wells, Bill Toews, Rod Flaman, Allen Oberg, Bill Woods, John Sandborn and Cam Goff. Submitted photo
By Allan Dawson co-operator staff
W
ith a mix of sadness and resignation, the Canadian Wheat Board’s farmer-controlled board of directors held what will likely be their last meeting at its Winnipeg headquarters last week. “It was a bit of a historic occasion I guess,” said board chair and Alberta farmer Allen Oberg. Thirteen years ago, control of the organization was turned over to farmers and with the expected p a s s a g e of Bill C-18 before year’s end, that control reverts back to the federal government. C-18 was expected to receive third
reading in the House of Commons this week, and then move to the Senate. Once the bill becomes law, the board’s 10 farmer-elected directors will be fired and the wheat board will be run by five government appointed directors — the incumbents if they agree to stay on, including current board president and CEO Ian White. (Two pro-open market farmer-elected directors have already resigned.) Farmers, grain companies and the government-owned and -controlled “voluntary” board can also start forward contracting wheat and barley for the 2011-12 crop year, however, the board’s monopoly over the sale of western Canadian wheat and barley destined for export or domestic human consumption remains intact until July 31, 2012. Under C-18 an open market starts Aug. 1, 2012.
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“Really what’s happening here is a government takeover of a producercontrolled organization.” ALLeN OBERG
One of the board’s final acts was to pass a resolution demanding the federal government reimburse farmers for the loss of assets worth more than $300 million. “Really what’s happening here is a government takeover of a producercontrolled organization,” Oberg said in an interview Nov. 24. “We use the word ‘expropriation’ of assets in the news release, but this is worse than expropriation. In expropriation you usually get some compensation.” The wheat board’s assets belong to the farmers who paid for board operations, Oberg said. Those assets include 3,400 hopper cars, an office building, a $200-million contingency fund and $28 million already paid towards the purchase of two grain lake freighters. The federal government should return the money to farmers through the board’s pool accounts or crop research, Oberg said. According to Oberg, final payments from the board’s 2010-11 pools will be $25 million lower than they should be because of an Oct. 18 directive from Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz forbidding the board from distributing monies
CWB board chair
See CWB MEETING on page 6 »
Industry mourns loss of dedicated extension worker » PaGe 8