Vol. 105 No. 43
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2014
Box 40, 122 Main Street, Biggar, Saskatchewan S0K 0M0
Govt of Sask pleased with ruling on COOL Premier Brad Wall welcomed the World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance panel ruling in favour of Canada and urged the United States to end mandatory Country of Origin Labelling (COOL). “The latest WTO ruling once again confirms that the U.S. mandatory COOL rules unfairly discriminate against Canadian cattle and hog exports,” Wall said. “COOL is a protectionist measure that hurts producers and negatively
affects the entire supply chain on both sides of the border and it should be scrapped.” COOL adds substantial costs to the integrated North American meat and livestock industry while providing no meaningful benefit to consumers. COOL prevents U.S. processors from comingling U.S. beef and pork with meat from Canadian cattle and hogs resulting in the need to segregate livestock. Segregation adds higher costs for companies using livestock born or raised outside of the U.S. along with additional costs for producers. Consumers are also impacted through higher meat prices. “The ruling released today is a positive step for Saskatchewan cattle and hog producers,” Wall said. “While the U.S. may appeal this decision, we strongly urge the U.S. Congress to repeal COOL for beef and pork or make a legislative fix which would remove the arbitrary and unjustifiable discrimination
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Hmmm . . . What can I do with this plastic bag? This curly haired artist is concentrating on forming plastic bags into a pumpkin. Little Scribblers Art Club meets
after school for some fun making crafts, painting and being creative. (Independent photo by Daryl Hasein)
and damages against Canadian cattle and hogs that is in the current legislation.” Saskatchewan supports the federal government in
cattle herd is the second largest in the country at nearly 2.9 million head and the province’s producers supply feedlots and packers
pursuing retaliatory tariffs if necessary. COOL is an important issue for Saskatchewan producers. Saskatchewan’s
in western Canada and the United States. In addition, Saskatchewan markets around 2.1 million hogs every year.
Small biz urges Sask government to scrap costly, confusing new recycling tax The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) released new survey results showing the majority of Saskatchewan small business owners already recycle (76 per cent) and they have serious concerns with the government’s plan to create a new arms-length bureaucracy to administer recycling rules. “The government’s decision to consult with small business owners before proceeding with its plan was smart because basic questions still haven’t been answered,” said Marilyn Braun-Pollon, CFIB’s Vice-President, Prairie and Agri-business. “What is the program trying to accomplish and what recycling problem are they trying to fix? Will it be better than the status quo? What is the environmental benefit? What will be the costs?” she asked. “Good policy demands basic questions like these have good answers.” New rules in Saskatchewan would require businesses that sell packaged goods or supply printed paper to Saskatchewan residents to measure it by weight and pay a still-to-be determined fee to a group called MultiMaterial Stewardship
Western (MMSW). The Saskatchewan Weekly Newspapers Association (SWNA) has been meeting with the previous and present government on this issue. While the meetings have been constructive there are some issues that need to be resolved. One of them is the fact that the Ministry of Environment is unable to provide publishers with a definitive cost. Another concern is the fact that Canada Post will be exempt. In rural Saskatchewan the post office is the largest distributor of paper products, most notably in terms of unaddressed mail. Yet, this corporation will not be subject to the same levies as small businesses. “At a time in which our industry is already under financial pressure, we are naturally concerned about any policy that could result in a new cost for the province’s newspaper publishers. The CFIB survey indicates that Saskatchewan businesses share our concerns about the introduction of a costly and bureaucratic recycling regime. “We have been working with the Government of Saskatchewan to make sure
that they fully understand the likely impact of the proposed policy. “We have appreciated their openness to discuss the concerns of Saskatchewan newspaper publishers and what’s at stake for our communities. We will wait to see if they have been listening. “We have also been reaching out to other stakeholders, including municipalities and local business representatives, to see if we can find a better way to meet the environmental objectives,” s a i d Pe g g y H a s e i n , president of SWNA. One clear message coming from the CFIB survey is that the majority of businesses (70 per cent) do not support shifting the responsibility to collect funds for recycling to a new non-profit agency. Ninety per cent believe creating a new level of bureaucracy (MMSW) will unnecessarily increase the cost of recycling. Only 17 per cent trust MMSW to be fair in creating rules and fees. “Clearly, the whole thing needs to be rethought,” commented BraunPollon. “Giving taxing and regulating powers to
an unaccountable group isn’t consistent with this government’s transparent approach to policy and should be abandoned.” Other highlights of CFIB’s recycling survey: • 92 per cent of Saskatchewan small businesses view these new recycling fees as a recycling tax for Saskatchewan businesses. • 84 per cent are not even aware of the requirements for the new recycling rules. • 77 per cent believe
consumers should pay for the majority of the recycling costs of the paper and packaged goods they buy. MMRP doesn’t work for impacted small biz: • 94 per cent say weighing all packaging and paper sold in their business would be overly burdensome. • 92 per cent say they don’t have much control over the weight of packaging for the products sold in their business. • 90 per cent say their business cannot afford
to pay much more for recycling. • 70 per cent say they are not able to increase the prices of products/services sold in their business to cover the new recycling costs. Instead of creating a new bureaucracy and adding a bunch of new costs into the system, CFIB is urging the Saskatchewan government to help municipalities further improve existing recycling programs.
Gotch ya . . . Rosetown Royals tackle a Biggar Blazer and stopped him in his tracks as he tried to move the football down the field. Rosetown took on Biggar in a game on a warm sunny Friday afternoon. (Independent photo by Daryl Hasein)