Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Bad Ruling For Freedom

The Harper government has done very little since coming to power to reduce the power of big government.

One notable exception, however, has been its efforts to undermine the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly.

Simply put, this monopoly is an archaic, Soviet-style regulation that denies economic freedom to Western grain farmers.

It should have been abolished long ago.

And the Harper government was definitely moving in that direction, through referendums and orders in council --- but now a Judge in Alberta has slammed the breaks on the whole process.

Yesterday, Justice Dolores Hansen ruled that only Parliament could dismantle the Wheat Board monopoly.

And so Canada's "Little Kremlin on the Prairie" will continue to lumber on, like some sort of dinosaur.

Of course, one day the power of the markets will wear away this abomination, but until then Western grain farmers will be unfree.

Thanks Justice Hansen.

4 comments:

Iain G. Foulds said...

... Nibbling away at individual marketing boards, grain by grain, will not give farmers the respect of being allowed to sell their products freely. Neither will the inevitable stalemate of endlessly debating numbers, percentages, and statistics.
... We will only be free of all agricultural marketing boards when we decide that, unless an issue of safety or security, it is wrong for the government to intervene in the commerce of the nation.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of "Bad Rulings for Freedom."

Kicking those two journalists out of the Conservative meeting in PEI should look really good for Harper and co.

That's a great way to start mending fences in Atlantic Canada.

I guess that those two were not members of the Civitas Society?

The rest of Canada really needs to wisen up re. Harper!

Iain G. Foulds said...

... Seeing the farmers unable to free themselves from the chains of marketing boards, I was thinking that it would be interesting to see what would happen if someone publicly offered a job paying $1/hr... refusing to recognise the right of government to force a minimum wage, and refusing to submit government insurance and pension payments. It would not be a concealed "under the table" job, but an open, honest agreement between two individuals to exchange labour for wages- independent of state intervention.
... When gardening, it is futile to pull out one weed, and then wait a year before pulling out another.. It is more effective to pull out all the weeds at once...

Anonymous said...

Iain's comments are bung. If he knew anything about farming he would have chosen different words. Who is this? Finish a complete thought and sentence, man. Don't side with something you really are clueless about.. walk in their shoes and get to know the real issues!