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 Please note this address will change without notice. |
| November
5, 2004 Submission to Farmers Independent Weekly by Eduard Hiebert as CWB candidate As a candidate in CWB District 10, I believe in the long-standing cooperative principle of equity, were rules must be applied equally to all, rich and poor, without prejudice, including one person, one vote. By contrast, the private corporate sector sings "one dollar, one vote" and the "go along gang " echo "one bushel" or "one acre". Too many of the people we elected to the Pools would "go along to get along". Now all we have left is the Canadian Wheat Board. I will support initiatives, which improve the single desk selling and orderly marketing powers of the CWB. My career is farming, so I will not go along with changes that hurt farmers' returns just to get along to a new career. And let's remember, through the CWB we have REAL choices. The new marketing options increase choices without undercutting the CWB's list price and harming the rest of us. There is room for improvement! In a "dual market" the CWB would be just another grain broker with no elevators. It is a lie to say the CWB "buys" our grain. It really is our sales department without the middlemen taking cuts and demanding a return on investment. In the private trade a "million dollar rain" means a rain of money for short sellers, at the expense of farmers. Even though all of the multi-national agri-business giant corporations dwarf the CWB; the CWB brings more net foreign currency into Canada than any other single business AND all but a small percentage of this money is returned directly as cash to farmers. In a world controlled ever more by giant corporations, some of which are larger than democratically run countries, the CWB system, because it returns so much money to the local economy from the corporately dominated marketplace, the CWB is under WTO attack. Through vigilance, it is ours to keep; or to loose by simply taking it for granted or letting others stand alone to defend our common interests as farmers. If elected to the CWB, I would continue my record of advancing and initiating positive change while exposing and successfully tackling industry, government, and any other policies that are detrimental to farmers. I have done so as a farmer and as a private citizen. My track record of speaking truth to power, kindly but firmly, advancing the common good, even on unpopular issues sets me apart from all the other candidates. I will not "go along to get along" with powerful forces and thereby sell out farmers interests. I believe my record shows voters that I am the clear choice for responsibly delivering stewardship of the CWB powers in the interests "of, by and for" the farmer. These are hard farming times (BSE, wide canola basis, high Fusarium discount until the CWB started a special program...). To support the trans-national agri-business giants' soaring profit levels, their first order of business is to buy ever lower from farmers and sell ever higher to consumers. No farmer need be "a rocket scientist" or "trade analyst" to see why these corporations cry the CWB is a "trade irritant." Too many government and farmer leaders, including CWB candidates, are willing to trade the CWB farmer advantage away at the WTO, by going along with the lie that the CWB is "trade distorting". Everyone who has an ounce of credibility concedes that the CWB is not a subsidy, but gets farmers premium prices from the market place. If that is trade distorting, I want more of it! Unfortunately, and I say this respectfully, the powerful advantage of the CWB preferential ballot system is still poorly understood among too many. If you only vote for one pro-CWB candidate who loses, your ballot quits counting, thereby risking the CWB's future. I have encouraged Butch, Bill and Chuck as a matter of good public policy to advocate voting 1, 2, 3 for the three of us, but so far, deplorably and regrettably, all three have refused. Please encourage them to do the right thing. Fortunately, the power of the preferential ballot rests with each voter, who may vote for me as their most committed, able and dependable first choice candidate without in any way risking that your second choice of Bill or Chuck would then also lose, should I not be elected! It is as simple as 1, 2, 3. Please make every vote count and if elected, then together we will also address further much needed CWB electoral reform so, we can say every legitimate vote is counted and only those persons who sell grain through the CWB have the vote. I would like to thank the FIW in allowing me my say in my words. No other media is as gracious. And among those that advance a "dual" market and "choice", interestingly, almost none of them provide choice, only one side of the story! My thanks to the FIW! Eduard Hiebert |