OPINION Pulse Canada moving to Saskatchewan will increase accountability with readily available face-to-face meetings between the two organizations. Shawn Buhr, Jim Moen and Dr. Bert Vandenberg were asked to run for election to the SPG board. Shawn and Jim bring a wealth of knowledge as past SPG chairmen. Dr. Bert Vandenberg, the world-renowned lentil breeder at the Crop Development Centre, will help the SPG board to make well-informed decisions to continue a profitable and sustainable pulse industry in Saskatchewan. This election will hopefully result in no further losses of staff at SPG and will continue a strong and professional relationship between SPG and the CDC. The strong connection between the CDC and SPG and a more accountable Pulse Canada in Saskatchewan must be our industry’s primary
objectives. These three individuals, along with like-minded current SPG directors, will help move our industry in the required direction. Dean Corbett, Macrorie, Sask.
LOW CEILING To the Editor: On Nov. 28, 2011, an act to end the Canadian Wheat Board was passed in the Commons. The CWB is done for. An announcement made by the federal government was all it took to end a world-renowned marketing agency. The heavy hand of a majority government has had their way. Those who have been calling for the demise of the board can now proceed to make their fortune that has been
THE WESTERN PRODUCER | WWW.PRODUCER.COM | JANUARY 5, 2012
western Canadian wheat industry, be aware that there is a fairly low cloud ceiling.” Also in the Producer (Nov. 24 oped), Murray Fulton warned producers they should be aware that with the end of the CWB, railroads and grain companies will have much greater latitude to raise prices. There looks to be some interesting times ahead. I expect there will be a considerable dust up before everything is settled.
promised by (prime minister Stephen) Harper and (agriculture minster Gerry) Ritz. However, farmers down through the ages have been promised many things by governments, only to find to their dismay that many of these promises were of the empty kind. Consider one Otto Lang, then minister of transport in the (Trudeau) government who promised great things for the prairie regions if only we could get rid of the Crow’s Nest rate on shipping grain. We would see great increases in industrial operations; businesses of all kinds would establish themselves along the railroad. In small towns, what we really got was the demolition of the railroad system and the end of most of the elevator system. D’Arce McMillan, columnist in The Western Producer, writes (Nov. 24 WP): “When the Conservative politicians say the sky is the limit for the
R. J. (Bud) Thomson, Alsask, Sask.
BACKLASH WAITING To the Editor: Mr. (Stephen) Harper is so eager to end the (Canadian Wheat Board), he is deep-sixing his reputation as a
business savvy diplomat. He is sacrificing our farmer elected marketing agency and is gaining nothing in return. Could he not negotiate a reduction in U.S. agricultural subsidies at a time when the U.S. administration is desperate to cut spending? As a Canadian producer who appreciates fiscal prudence in one’s elected officials, I am embarrassed in our prime minister’s ideological focus and irrational time line. The American government and international grain merchants must collectively consider Mr. Harper not as a staunch ally but a diplomatic chump. Hopefully he is not such a rube that he has no plan to deal with the backlash from U.S. producers when our trains and trucks start rolling south. J. Ross Murray, Young, Sask.
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Joyce Sasse writes for the Canadian Rural Church Network at www.canadian ruralchurch.net.
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© 2011 Novozymes. 2011-22927-01
t our recent Blue Christmas service, one speaker wanted to address the feelings of grief and loss experienced by children. Whether a pet cat or a loved grandparent, the question is always what others can do to help the kids work through their pain. Their questions often come out concerning basic needs: who’s going to take care of Ronnie? Will Allison be lonely? I know of one family who witnessed their favourite farm dog attacking a new pet cat. The children, who were not from a church-attending family, knew there had to be a funeral for their little friend — and not just any funeral. Grandma and the kids had to dress up, with hats and gloves. The kitten was placed in a tea-towel lined shoe box, and they all went out to the farm’s pet cemetery in the trees. Each found a few words to say. Rituals are important. It was also important to find a way to forgive old Ruff. At the Blue Christmas service, the speaker brought out a box. It was to be used as a memory box. What were some things they remembered about Grandpa? He took them on fishing trips. He read stories to them. He liked his big cup of coffee. With each memory, they thought of something they could put in the box that would help them remember — a battered lure, a pair of eye glasses, a story book. The kids even got excited about how to decorate the box. Enthusiasm about the project grew. Each time they felt the need to be near Grandpa, they could chose something from the box that would help them give voice to their feelings. Stories connected with these memories brought warmth and comfort.
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