NEWS RELEASE

February 18, 1998   For Immediate Delivery

A Very Dark Day for Democracy Under the Liberal Politburo

Prairie farmers are told, "Ottawa knows best."

Ottawa-- Garry Breitkreuz, M.P. for Yorkton-Melville summed up the events of Tuesday, February 17, 1998 this way. "It’s very depressing to see what’s going on here in Ottawa. Mr. Goodale rammed Bill C-4 through against the wishes of most farmers. This is truly a dark day for democracy," said Breitkreuz. "We all put a lot of work into consulting producers but we might as well have been in Mexico with Senator Thompson for all the good it has done." The Liberal government voted down all 48 amendments proposed by the Opposition parties and invoked "time allocation" shutting down debate of Bill C-4, An Act to amend the Canadian Wheat Board Act. "Prairie farmers don’t own the wheat and barley they grow and despite their protests weren’t able to change one word of the bill since it left the Chretien Cabinet.

"If the wheat or barley is grown in Saskatchewan, Alberta or Manitoba they do not own the grain," explained Breitkreuz. "Farmers take all the risks. They grow the grain, they have all the input costs and when they harvest their grain they do not own it. They have no choice but to sell it to the CWB or let it rot in the bins. If they want their own grain, they have to buy it back from the board. Of course, they cannot buy it back for the same price. They have to pay a much higher price because the board does not want them to make a profit."

Breitkreuz continued, "Section 1(a) of the Canadian Bill of Rights says every individual (including prairie farmers) has the right to ‘life, liberty, security of the person and the enjoyment of property and the right not to be deprived thereof except by due process of law.’ The government is breaking that right. It is depriving prairie farmers of the enjoyment of their property. The Liberal government says the Bill of Rights doesn’t apply to farmers. They say there is no right to be compensated for property the government takes from its citizens and no right to due process of law in Canada. Sounds more like the old Soviet Union than Canada, doesn’t it?

Breitkreuz used this last opportunity for debate of the Wheat Board bill to make a pitch for his Private Members Bill (C-304) which would strengthen property rights in federal law. "The government is taking their wheat and barely at a lower price than farmers can get in the free market system, thereby, reducing the value of the productivity of the farmer’s land and reducing the value of the farmer’s labour to grow the grain," commented Breitkreuz. "If western farmers don’t even own their own grain, is there anything the government can’t take from us without compensation and due process?"

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For a copy of Garry’s Property Rights Bill (C-304) and Petition, please contact:

Garry Breitkreuz, M.P.