Archive for August, 2007

Over the summer I’ve attended numerous events in the riding, and talked to a variety of people on quite a range of topics. As a wrap up of these constituency events, I thought it would be a good idea to let people know what I was told by your friends and neighbors this summer.

The state of highways came up more this summer than any other single issue. While this is not an issue the federal government can do anything about directly, it was the number one concern that was brought to my attention, particularly in some towns. (Those of you who brought this up to me, call your provincial politicians, there is no better time than with the provincial election this fall.)

In August, I received more comments on the Wheat Board than I had received in the previous few months combined. Several farmers who had contracted to sell malt barley off Board were quite upset that they would have to market through the Board now. They were anticipating that the Wheat Board would cost them a significant amount of money on their contracts.

Other issues that came up were: the flooding at Waldesea; increased support for parents; questions about the government’s attempts to eliminate the long gun registry; and what I thought about the cabinet shuffle. (Personally, I think putting Gerry Ritz, a Saskatchewan farmer, in as Agriculture Minister is the best thing that could have happened for Saskatchewan, politically.)

Anyway, most people seemed to be having a good summer and politics seems to be the least of everyone’s concerns.

I’m Brad Trost your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. You can call my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133. I always appreciate your feedback.

One of the least reported stories by the national press has been the Conservative government’s attempt to clean up the Senate. As everyone in Canada knows, our Senate is mostly an institution of party hacks, who are rewarded with a seat in the Upper Chamber. Although there are some exceptions, most senators are drawn from the political elite. In a practical sense, the Senate does not have democratic representation.

Prime Minister Harper has been trying hard to reform the Senate, precisely because of its undemocratic nature. The Senate needs to be more democratic and regionally representative. (For example, the long gun registry would likely have never become law with a reformed Senate in place.)

The Prime Minister is trying to change the Senate one step at a time. First, we have put forward a bill that would limit the term of a senator to eight years. Secondly, we tabled legislation which requires the Prime Minister to choose his Senate appointments from a list of people who ran in an election in the province where the Senate has a vacancy. Presumably the Prime Minister would appoint the winner of the election. It would take an exceptionally arrogant Prime Minister to appoint a person who lost a Senate election over the winner.

For right now, this is as far as we can go without major constitutional change. We are hoping the provinces will coordinate their provincial elections with Senate elections. This is particularly important for Saskatchewan, since one of our Senate seats will be vacant in 2008 when Senator Len Gustafson turns 75, the mandatory age of retirement.. We need the provincial government to pass legislation requiring Senate elections in Saskatchewan.

Therefore, I’m challenging Saskatchewan Party leader Brad Wall, Liberal Party leader David Karwacki and NDP Premier Lorne Calvert to publicly declare that they will hold a Senate election during the next provincial election. To prevent disasters like the long gun registry from happening again, we need strong regional representation. We need the three party leaders to take a stand and join the federal government in pushing for Senate reform.

I’m asking the provincial party leaders to be accountable in the next provincial election. I hope you will join me and stand up for Saskatchewan by supporting Senate reform.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. You can call my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133. I always appreciate your feedback.

Like many farmers I was looking forward to the total freeing of the barley market from Wheat Board control on August 1st. When the decision to make all forms of barley a dual market crop was announced, prices went up, which was good news for farmers. When the judge ruled that the Wheat Board would retain its malt barley monopoly for one more year, prices went down, bad news for farmers.

While the technical reasons for the price plunge may vary (one analyst I read said the buyers no longer had to worry about competing for barley to sell to the lucrative offshore market) the core reason is quite simple. Barley buyers no longer have to compete directly to get the barley from farmers. This is something that should concern everyone who wants a prosperous agriculture sector.

Now I understand why the overpaid bureaucrats and directors of the Wheat Board don’t want higher prices. (I mean lets face it, for many of them, their real goal is to protect their jobs, not to get farmers higher prices. Considering a director can make over $100,000/year, one has to wonder at some of the directors’ objectivity.) I do however have a problem grasping why any farmer would object to the higher prices which the market was obviously willing to pay.

The other problem I have with the critics of higher prices and freer markets is their willingness to ignore farmers’ votes. Now while critics of the CWB have always said the issue was freedom and freedom should not be voted on, the so called friends of the CWB always said they supported farmers having their say. Well, farmers voted, and they voted for a dual market in barley, so now it is time for the CWB cheerleaders to put their money where their mouth is and back a dual market for barley.

Unlike the CWB directors I don’t have a financial stake in the CWB. I do come from a farm background and I do want my family, friends and constituents who farm to make as good a living as possible from the farm. I’m tired of farmers getting the cheated of their livelihood by people who only care about themselves.

I’m Brad Trost your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. Please call my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133. I always appreciate your feedback.