Sufficient Grounds for Self-Congratulations?
The Prairie Centre Policy Institute has received a copy of a
congratulatory letter written by the Deputy Minister for Canada Customs
and Revenue Canada which reads as follows:
On behalf of our Minister and myself, I would like to express our
sincere appreciations to all of you for your exemplary efforts with
respect to the ongoing wheat and barley investigations... Successful
prosecutions, the effective control of unlawful exports at the border,
and exceptional two-way communications between Headquarters and regional
personnel are measures of your success... Your efforts are greatly
appreciated by the Minister and myself and we applaud your
accomplishments to date.
The job that Canada Customs is congratulating itself for may just be
the final act that contributes to the demise of the Canadian Wheat Board.
Revenue Canada is the agency responsible for the persecution of prairie
grain producers. To date there have been 211 civil cases and 216
criminal cases, either completed or winding their way through the
courts. That is 427 farmers who have openly opposed the CWB
monopoly. Behind the scenes are the many who quietly express their
opposition. Dissatisfaction with the CWB control combined with low
commodity prices for wheat and barley have attributed to many farmers changing
their production to crops that either eliminate or decrease the acres of
cereal grains gown. It's quite easy to see why the CWB is rationing
grain to foreign customers.
Recent reports conclude that the CWB is having difficulty filling
orders. Analysts who trace patters in agriculture confirm that the
greatest switch in agriculture has been from cereals to forage. On a
somewhat smaller scale, organic crops are gaining in popularity.
Land that once produced wheat and barley for the CWB is now grazing land
for cattle, elk, deer and bison. Immense areas have been converted
to forage to support the thousands of horses who produce pregnant mare
urine for the pharmaceutical industry. Where wheat and barley once
grew the land is now producing pulses, oilseed, flax, rye, oats, canola,
sunflowers and lentils.
While Revenue Canada is congratulating itself for its "exemplary
efforts", the Saskatchewan economy continues a rapid downward
spiral. In 2001 it had a total of 136,295 net taxpayers supporting
just over a million people and had a 7 to 1 dependency ration (one
positive net tax contributor for every seven people). Without
positive policy changes, the dependency ratio is expected to become 17 to
1 by the year 2026.
In a free and democratic country, the free market is the basic pillar
of a free and prosperous society. The government's role should be to
protect individual liberties, primarily by setting and enforcing the rules
of the free market for the delivery of high quality service, rather than participating
in the delivery. How can accountability be maintained if the
government is both the delivery and regulatory agent? The evidence
is clear that it cannot.
This is hardly sufficient grounds for a congratulatory letter.
Ken Dillen
September 30, 2002 |
