Letters
The views expressed here are those of our members, and are not necessarily official party policy. To have your letter published here, send a copy to our office.
Editor,
Regardless of where one stands on the issue of whether the Canadian Wheat Board should retain its monopoly over wheat and barley in the Prairie Provinces (more below on that), the actions of Steven Harper and Chuck Strahl in dismissing Adrian Measner should disgust those who believe in due process. The actions show again that this government is not open to dissent. Canadians, including Harper and Strahl when in opposition, complained that the previous Liberal prime ministers had too much power and acted as if they were dictators. What hypocrites this new crew are!
The Board of Directors of the CWB hired Mr. Measner after a careful search of potential candidates. Mr. Measner piloted the Wheat Board through some very difficult challenges backed by American and European private grain marketers who resent the power that the CWB has in the marketing of the products of Canadian farmers. He should be cherished rather than fired.
If the CWB loses its status as the sole exporter of prairie wheat, some farmers may be able to make a quick buck shipping wheat to the USA, but they’ll be at the mercy of the five big corporations that control 80% of world grain markets. Lawrence Herman, a trade lawyer with Cassels Brock & Blackwell in Toronto, who was quoted in the Globe and Mail (20 December), said the wheat board could disappear if it is no longer the sole exporter. The CWB has been given special rights by WTO because it’s a state monopoly, according to Herman; those rights would be under attack by the private grain corporations once the CWB’s monopoly is taken away.
The CWB was formed by farmers to defend them against the very private corporations who’ll profit if it disappears. (Some suspect that these corporations are actually funding the fight against the wheat board.) Anyone who believes these corporations have the farmers’ best interests at heart is naive and should be careful of other scams such as invitations to help rich people get their money out of Nigeria, or phone calls saying they’ve just won a big lottery prize.
Mark Sandilands Lethbridge, Alberta
September 5th 2006
Editor,
On August 31st, and again on September 4th, Jack Layton, Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada, called for the withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan, beginning as soon as possible with a goal to be completed by February 2007. In their attempt to provide a balanced story the media have not fully presented the case for withdrawal of our troops and have highlighted many critical comments about Mr. Layton and the NDP.
To me it’s most ironic that Mr. Layton is asking the same questions now that Conservative Minister of Defence, Gordon O’Connor asked the Liberal government when he was Defence critic for the Conservatives. The questions, as laid out by Mr. Layton are:
* What are the goals and objectives of this mission and how do they meet Canada’s foreign policy objectives?
* What is the realistic mandate of the mission and how is it being enforced?
* What are the criteria to measure progress?
* What is the definition of success?
* And what is the clear exit strategy for this mission?
Mr. Layton pointed out that, last year, while in opposition, Gordon O’Connor said that these questions must be answered when intervening in failed states. Now, after seven months in office, the Conservatives, just like the Liberals before them, have failed to answer these questions.
Instead, by causing Canadian troops to fight the USA led counter insurgency war in Kandahar and its region, Mr. Harper and his government are likely making Canadian soldiers more likely to be targets of terrorism in Afghanistan and, indeed, all Canadians world-wide.
Ultimately soldiers go to war to save and protect the lives of civilians. But wise leaders take their soldiers into battles that will have an effect. In past wars, for example WWII, there were many strategic withdrawals, because it was better to withdraw so as to be able to fight more effectively at other times and places. The citizens of Dunkirk would have perhaps preferred that British and Canadian troops had stayed behind to protect them from the Nazis, but, at that time, it would have been futile. The Americans finally decided that Viet Nam was not winnable.
Is it time that Stephen Harper needs to decide that it’s futile fighting a war just to please George Bush?
Mark Sandilands Lethbridge, Alberta
Editor:
Albertans should get used to hearing this: “It will be quite a few months before we can treat you in the public system, but, if you’d like to visit me in my private office on Friday, we can start treatment the following week.” What the doctor may not say is that this option will cost you a few thousand dollars.
The Third Way plan says doctors can work in both the public and private systems. The Canada Health Act prohibits this. Why? Because that would put them into a conflict of interest. On the one hand they have a duty to do their best to make the ill healthy. But, if they also are part of a fee-charging private medical clinic, they have a duty to maximize its profits. There may even be shareholders who demand a profit of 10% to 15% on their investment in the clinic’s facilities, equipment, and expenses (think heating and property taxes). This is why medical journals such as the Canadian Medical Association Journal, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and the New England Journal of Medicine have all published research showing that privately provided medicine costs more and does not give better results.
Supposedly Klein and company want to reduce wait times. But Alberta has found a way to reduce waiting times: The Alberta Hip and Knee Replacement project (http://www.albertaboneandjoint.com/) decreased wait time from first orthopaedic consult to surgery from 47 weeks to just 4.7 weeks. The amount spent was minuscule compared to the province’s budget for health spending. I can just hear Iris Evan’s teeth grinding when she heard that result—it blew away the justification for the “Third Way.” (Yes, some of the procedures in Calgary were done in a private clinic, but that was because the government had blown up or sold hospital facilities in Calgary. All procedures in Edmonton were done in the public system.)
Ralph Klein and his Tories are showing that their true masters are the rich and influential who’ll be able to afford private health care. Average Albertans need to tell them they’re mad as hell and won’t take this. Call 310-0000, ask for the Premier’s office, and tell him what you think.
Mark Sandilands Lethbridge, Alberta