Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 21, 1994, Winnipeg, Manitoba Editor David 6977042 focus Winnipeg free press a 7 september wheat Board supported the Lead Story on Page one of your 15 wheat Board in presents an incomplete and fundamentally mis leading analysis of the role of the Ca Nadian wheat Board in marketing wheat and Barley to the and internationally and the level of pro Ducer support for Manitoba Pool elevators is a farm crowned cooperative with Active members and a democratic policy development the delegates of Manitoba Pool elevators have repeatedly expressed Strong support for the maintenance of the Canadian wheat Board with its current including an Export monopoly for wheat and it is their View that the wheat Board system is the Best Way of maximizing revenues for All farm ers from the and other Export the members of me accept and in fact promote change that will Benefit All the attractiveness of the Market is Well known and the Rea sons for it Are Well at present the and the european Union Are engaged in a ruinous and illogical Trade the weapon of Choice in this Trade War is the Export subsidy which drives the Price of wheat obtainable in world markets Down by amounts roughly corresponding to the level of the Export this Means that other non subs dining such As Are required to reduce their Selling prices into those markets so that they can be competitive and make at the same time the mar Ket is shielded from this Export sub Sidy War and producers Benefit from the substantial Price support mechanisms which the govern ment and taxpayers this is Why prices for wheat and Barley tend to be higher in the than in subsidized the Cwb and its accredited agents have in recent years made very substantial sales into the Premium in fact they have been so successful at doing this that pressure has resulted in a temporary oneyear Cap on Canadian exports which is expected to amount to around two million it is fundamental to the Ness of a wheat Board system that All Prairie producers have equal a Cess to Premium markets such As the Japan and the United King the wheat boards pooling system can function effectively and be accepted by the Large majority of producers Only if All producers can Benefit from the existence of the Premium Market in the through the wheat boards Pool individuals who Are Able to circumvent the wheat Board system under current circumstances do so at the expense of All Western Cana Dian the real question is one of whether or not the Premium Market should be accessed for the Benefit of All Prairie producers Shar ing equally in that Opportunity through the wheat this is the Issue at the Centre of this debate and your Story has overlooked this in Manitoba Pool elevators article left wrong impression i would like to take Issue with the impression left in the article wheat Board in crisis free the suggestion by your reporters that i was saying Keystone agricultural producers Kap was considering withdrawing its support for the Canadian wheat Board at an inaccurate interpretation of a conversation i had with one of them the Day in attempting to give him a balanced View regarding Why producers were attempting to move Grain into the United i clearly de scribed to him Kaps current policy which supports the Canadian wheat Board As the sole exporter of West Ern Canadian i did suggest to him that Many producers Felt that the world Grain marketing situation was and that they Felt the Canadian wheat Board would have to adapt to accommodate those in order to remain an effective marketing vehicle for 1 indicated to him that while Kap delegates at their 1994 annual meet ing had tabled a Resolution suggest ing that Kap express support for the establishment of a Continental Barley marketing they did pass a Resolution directing Kap to investigate the advantages or disadvantages of making provision for the marketing of Grain into the North american either by individuals or by a More letters to the editor the free press welcomes letters from letters must be signed and should include a clearly printed address and Telephone names will be published but not All letters maybe edited for style and Short letters Are less Likely to be please address letters to letters to the Winnipeg free 1355 Mountain Winnipeg r2x letters can be sent to our fax number letter maybe submitted through the internet at . Letters sent via the internet obviously cannot be but must include Home address and Telephone single desk i was pleased to see this information included in an article the follow ing and feel that this Story was much More balanced in presenting the facts and the 1 attempted to describe to your re Porter the current situation ii Mani Toba regarding wheat and Barley moving South into the i suggested that the current situation Farmers hauling undocumented and making an extra profit Over and above those producers who Are following the should not be allowed to continue and if it did it would Lead to a Situa Tion in which the system would be Gin to break and possibly might mean the beginning of the end of the wheat Craig Douglas general Keystone agricultural producers Winnipeg bicycle path for bikes Wilf Agar states in his letter to the editor on september 17 that the Assiniboine Park path is not big enough for and roller Blades and that a separate path for bikes should be please Correct me if i am Mistak but the Park path is formally called the bicycle which is perhaps indicated by the numerous signs along this path with Little peo ple Riding As a cyclist and a i re Alize the danger of the path in its current form but i fail to realize Why it is the fault of those on pedestrians and joggers alike Are using the bicycle not the other Way around and if pedestrians have a problem they should walk on the grass or somewhere i am tired of giving up my space to people and cannot understand Why they think that cyclists Are not rid ing for the same enjoyment As peo ple Are 1 love to Cycle in the Park and my ride is no More relaxing and pleasant than the pedestrians who have to guard against me and my vicious Bike As i have to hassle with trying to guide my Way around peo ple who usually dont even step aside when they see me i am tired of moving for people who do not realize that i have the right of i do believe that this situation should be changed and would Wel come the Opportunity to get every one who is not on a Bike off the Bike Rachel Stone Winnipeg Strong Leader watching Over us i was pleased to hear the response of Premier Gary Filmon to the re sults of the Quebec at a time when the future of this country is it is Comfort ing to know we have a Strong Leader looking out for our 1 am sure the separatist pm will want to turn up the heat now and dig out their wish list of what they want from the rest of i feel much better about the negotiations which will follow knowing Premier Filmon is there to defend us against Quebec Campbell Alexander Winnipeg where Are the spartans Rumor has it that there Are youth gangs in the i would tend to believe this due to some of the Graffiti strewn Walls what Are the spartans doing this weekend Baba Lahache different messages Are coming out of Ottawa about the state of our country Canadas fiscal sky clouded by Norman Cameron sped Alto the free press consider these two state ments of the last two weeks from the department of finances fiscal Monitor of sep reporting on the fiscal re sults of april through july of 1994 the improvement in the deficit results to coupled with the ongoing Impact of the expenditure restraint measures and the fact that increased reserves for contingencies were established for 199495 in the february 1994 Bud should ensure that the 199495 budget target is despite the Rise in interest from the Globe and mail Story of september by its parliamentary Bureau in the Lull right after the Quebec election finance minister Paul Martin is seeking support for huge spending cuts to bring him Back in line with a deficit target that has gone badly off track in recent plans to make Public his predicament in an economic update next depending on who is doing the Ottawa is anywhere from billion to More than billion off target with its Promise to bring the deficit Down to three per cent of Gross Domestic product about billion in the 199697 fiscal gains from better than expected economic growth have been More than offset by the costs of higher interest statements what gives Here both sets of statements cannot be if one of them is a pack of then which and and what does it Tell us about our elected government lets reject the idea that the parliamentary Bureau reporter just made up his that would be too obviously against his self in Terest As Well As that leaves two stories coming from official sources in the fiscal Monitor Story is based on numbers from the receiver general for the parliamentary Bureau Story appears to have come from sources involved in the program review exercise being commanded by intergovernmental affairs minister Marcel besides being on Glossy paper with the politically Correct Recy cling Symbol prominently Dis the fiscal Monitor Story is backed up by reasonably hard Fig ures this is a govern ment budget we Are talking the Story it tells is consistent with All the other evidence we Are getting from the rest of the the fiscal Monitor reports that Over the first third of this fiscal april to the deficit was billion lower than Over the first third of the improvement in the deficit was due to billion of higher plus billion of lower program less billion of higher Public debt the explanation for this surge of sobriety in the Public accounts is what one would expect from an Economy in its cyclical expansion brisk economic recovery in the first Quarter of the fiscal year has buoyed the governments tax take both from individuals and from total income tax Revenue is up about 16 per cent Over last Pic Benefit payments Are Down and the other items except debt interest that we have already mentioned Are not much if the fiscal Monitor Story is Cor then what is the Point of spreading the opposite Story through the parliamentary Bureau it would seem to undermine the governments and therefore to be my theory is that the program review strategists have no Choice but to spread the even though it is not like the scottish clans running Barefoot to the Cannon at the Battle of most including my would find the parliamentary Bureau Story compelling if it were told about a much longer time Frame than just the 199495 Bud even if the deficit is falling so far As the receiver generals Fig ures that will not be enough to solve the Federal fiscal crisis even until the next election in the reason is that the cyclical expansion of 1994 is just cyclical and therefore it would be followed normally by a slowdown and then another races and another and so Only if our expansion continues at its current Pace to 1998 will the current deficit improvements continue at their current Pace and the deficit prob Lem be most including do not believe such a Long expansion at All our economic growth will slow Down As soon As economic growth economic growth will slow Martin is said to be seeking support for huge spending Down shortly after the Federal re serve Board the fed is the Central Bank starts to fear rising that will be if the feds behaviour so far this year is any if we have to fight separatism All the the Story is Only so if the liberals want a Chance to win in and if that Chance requires the budget to be under then they cannot just rely on continuing rapid economic growth As they have done so they must raise tax rates fur ther or Cut some programs signify if that is to be it must be done Early in the term while there is still some political spine that Means but How does the finance minis or the intergovernmental affairs and program review minis convince Cabinet and the prime minister to enact Savage cuts at a time of vigorous eco nomic when tax revenues Are pouring in at record rates this is like taking the punch bowl away from a cocktail party just As the party is getting not an easy task even for Independent Central Bankers and much More difficult for professional pol punch bowl removing the punch bowl is much easier if the part goers can be made to believe that the House is on that is a and nor Mal rules Are suspended in so the finance department or the program reviewers May be trying to claim that a crisis is upon a crisis sufficient to put aside All the usual politics of never Cross ing a special interest since cabinets typically use any breathing room to do Only that breathe the crisis must be upon us now rather than in that logic would explain Why Federal sources Are trying to spread the Story that the fiscal sky is even while the receiver generals figures show it is my heart goes out to de spite their indexed i Hope program review is supported by Cabinet and the fiscal problem at least seriously grappled i wish they would come up with More credible this one is not doing their credibility any and they will Likely need some credibility later Norman Cameron teaches economics at the University of Manito doonesbury by Garry Trudeau widow Coulp no Long Cowain or Irwim Matofa wiwn6 50mzthm6 magical Herp a special tract italic tonight wont Oij come am dont Wor Rwm no from ;