After being found guilty of breaking Canadian laws three times in the last 11 months, my prime minister vowed that any opposition to his plans to destroy the Canadian Wheat Board would be “walked over”. No dissent or other opinions are allowed, no room for honest debate about the facts–nothing except his totalitarian approach. This from the prime minister–the person most responsible for safeguarding Canadian law and democracy. In late-2006, at public meetings in Manitoba, I said that I was for the first time in my 50-some years truly frightened for the future of democracy in Canada. I am even more convinced now that my current prime minister is dangerous, not just to my Canadian Wheat Board, but also to my Canada. Why do I call Stephen Harper “dangerous”? Here are the stepping stones to that conclusion: Willfully breaking the law. For the third time in 11 months, a federal court has found that the PM and his government have willfully broken Canadian laws. Is his government even slightly embarrassed or apologetic? No, they are actively considering another appeal. In June of 2007 the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board, led by a group of 12 farmers, challenged the government in federal court. We were successful, and the government was found guilty of breaking the Canadian Wheat Board Act. The government appealed this decision, and a group of three judges ruled against the government in February of 2008. In June of 2008 the government was found by the federal court to have contravened both the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Wheat Board Act by imposing a gag order on the CWB nearly two years ago. Ending the farmers’ right to free speech. In October of 2006, my PM erased the CWB’s right to speak freely to the farmers it serves. Keep in mind that any communication with farmers is paid for by farmers not taxpayers, and the CWB is controlled by farmers. Freedom of expression is not considered a fundamental democratic right by my PM. The PM considers freedom of expression to be a tool that can be turned on or off by his government. Federal court justice Robert T. Hughes was shocked by the government’s actions, and said in part “It is entirely clear…that the (government) directive (was) motivated principally to silencing the wheat board…” Confiscating money from farmers. As this piece is written, my PM is confiscating money from farmers’ CWB pool accounts to pay the severance package for the fired CEO Adrian Measner. Measner was fired by the PM’s Cabinet in December of 2006, without cause and over the objection of the board of directors of the CWB. Although Harper has caused the cost of the severance package (and the subsequent new CEO search), the PM refuses to take responsibility for his actions. The Parliament of Canada, through a vote of the Standing Committee of Agriculture has directed the government to pay, but my PM continues to punish farmers for his actions by using farmers’ property (money) to pay the severance package. Premeditated career assassination. It was revealed in court documents tabled on June 16, 2008, that the PM had planned the firing of Mr. Measner at least four months prior to the actual firing. Most importantly, the planning of Measner’s firing was not related to his performance or the interests of the CWB or farmers; no, it was done in the context of a larger plan to dismantle the CWB. Measner was a barrier to Harper achieving his aims. The firing of Mr. Measner was a premeditated career assassination of a competent and highly respected CEO, and a firing so vitally important to my PM that it was discussed by the entire cabinet. Rewarding ignorance. Throughout the attacks on the CWB, ignorance has been the trump card played by my PM. The shining example of rewarding ignorance is the appointment of Gerry Ritz to act as point man on the CWB file. A June 12, 2008, article by Allan Dawson of the Manitoba Cooperator, headed “Ritz’s colourful quotes not always factual,” lists seven untrue statements made by Ritz to the Senate’s Standing Committee on Agriculture on June 3 of this year. During his presentation, Ritz made false statements regarding CWB sales, pricing, producer cars, voting rules, and CWB legislation. This should not come as a surprise. Before becoming Minister responsible for the CWB, Ritz made false statements in the House regarding CWB operations–statements that showed he did not understand CWB marketing long before the PM rewarded his ignorance with a senior cabinet appointment. Also, in federal court documents tabled in the Friends of the CWB case against the government, the government admitted that it has done absolutely no analysis of the impact on farmers of removing the single desk marketing advantage of the CWB. Celebrating and fostering ignorance is a totalitarian tactic that most Canadians believed only occurred in Third World countries. Breaking the Privacy Act. My PM condones breaking the Canadian Privacy Act. Starting in the fall of 2007 Ritz made repeated attempts to force the CWB to hand over personal and confidential information (including financial information) of farmers selling grain through the CWB. Ritz admitted to pressuring the CWB for private information in the House of Commons but argued that no laws were broken because the CWB refused to comply. Any reprimands from my PM?? Absolutely not. Am I scared by my PM’s behaviour and attitude? You bet. Am I going to be silenced by it? No, for that is exactly what aggressive and totalitarian forces want: to create an atmosphere of fear, to stifle free speech, to “walk over” opposition. I, like tens of thousands of farm families who support a strong, farmer-controlled CWB, will not be walked over by Stephen Harper, Gerry Ritz, and a collection of grain companies intent on destroying farmers’ marketing agency, the CWB.
Farmers and all Canadians have a choice. Harper’s behaviour is dangerous to an open and democratic society. We can be intimidated and “walked over” by a PM who has repeatedly demonstrated that he has no respect for the law, free speech, or property rights–a PM who uses career assassinations and ignorance as the currency of “choice.” Or, we can stand up for our laws and our rights as Canadians, including the right to open and honest discussion and debate based on factual information–the backbone of a democratic Canada and a civil society. The choice is ours.
Stewart Wells
President, National Farmers Union
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