To the Editor:
Embarrassing himself once again with his recent letter, David Anderson (MP) says nothing factual in his recent attacks against me and other farmer-elected Directors of the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB).
For instance, in his race to expropriate (without compensation) the contingency fund from farmers Anderson doesn't even seem to know that in the past some of the monies eligible for the contingency fund were paid out to farmers through the pooling accounts.
All contingency fund money was created by CWB employees paid by and working for farmers; without the sales of farmers' grain there would not have been any contingency funds created at all. The Conservative government's move to expropriate more contingency fund money by doubling the cap to $200 million has resulted in farmers receiving lower final payments for the 2010/11 crop year.
And such is the bunker mentality adopted by Anderson that he doesn't seem to realize that a federal court ruling that he portrayed in his letter as "unwinnable" has actually been decided in favour of the farmers. Yes, the court ruling is that he and his power-drunk friends have broken the law once again. Being too afraid to follow the law and let the farmers vote has put the Conservatives in the position of first saying "to hell with the farmers". And now they are saying "to hell with the courts".
Canadian constitutional experts are writing reports expressing the Conservative attack on the court system and Canadian laws using the following language: "Canadians are no longer governed by the "rule OF law" - Canadians are now governed by the "rule BY law" - the same system that China has".
It is a sad day when the Canadian courts and government can be so degraded by a single political party. That's why I'm encouraging everyone to stand up for Canada and contribute to the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board (www.friendsofcwb.ca). For the sake of past and future Canadians, please join us in moving our country back to the "rule OF law".
Stewart Wells, Swift Current, SK.
