Author: Happydiver

Blair is a personification of a 'Jack of All Trades and Master of None'. He has held several careers and has all the T-shirts. Time to add the title Blogger to the list.
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LIBERTARIAN CANADIAN

Paradoxically, wait times are increasing despite decades of ‘working’ on the problem. WHY?!?
Our Insecurity is Strangling Canadian Prosperity

“We’ve spent all this money, what do we have to show for it?” – Little Mrs. Graham lamenting the state of Canada’s finances many years ago.

These were the sentiments of one of my elementary school teachers some time back when I stopped in for a quick visit. As a note, we had two Mrs. Grahams, one small and one large. But the epitaph is as true today as it was those many years ago, where has all the money gone?

One of the areas of concern starting to rear up again in Canadian social media circles is the issue of waiting times for medical procedures and the general lack of medical availability. People are starting to see their own health, along with their family and friends, suffer due to the chronic inability of the medical system to perform. Have you ever tried to find a new family doctor? We have known for decades that the Boomer generation was going to swamp each sector of society as they moved through. So why the general lack of preparedness despite government assurances that more money is going into the system?

Sure, there was some chattering during last year’s Federal election regarding health care in this country. The Liberals made some vague noise about universal pharmacare and the NDP declared ‘Free for Everyone’ as they are wont to do. Did anyone believe that the Health care debate was getting the attention that a National crisis should normally garner? Even if the panacea of ‘Free Drugs for Everyone’ program is in the offing, it will take forever to work out the details and roll-out. The Liberals still have not fixed the Phoenix system for paying their own employees so the question is how will they not screw this up too?

This is not a swipe at any particular level or brand of government. This incompetence related to getting anything done in Canada crosses the entire political spectrum right down to the municipal level.

But let us get back to a little, old lady’s observation that Canada is bereft of any sort of meaningful accomplishments. The reason for our general lack of paradoxically not being able to get anything done despite mountains of cash being thrown at a problem is our insecurity complex related to being a poor nation.

What? Poor nation you say, that’s not right! Au contraire, we could have been a great nation but ever since WWII, Canada has slid further and further into obsolesce and we are squandering the resources that this country is blessed with.

Here is a pointed example of Canada’s insecurity related to the inconceivably long and expensive process of procuring military equipment, namely the New Shipborne Helicopter. The book, The Politics of Procurement by Aaron Plamondon, goes into exquisite detail over how the venerable Sea King helicopter which was to be replaced in 1975 has still not been fully replaced by the new Cyclone.

Read the book but here is an example of the mission creep which affects all Canadian institutions. The Statement of Requirements (SOR) for the original Sea King was only about four pages. When the military was starting to look for a replacement in 1975, the SOR had already ballooned to four volumes. All that extra time and effort jacks the ultimate cost of anything the military wants to buy. They do not get shiny, new toys very often so they want to get things right. Then because the government waffles over these decisions, it gives new governments time to cancel programmes outright and start their own politically driven agendas. That is how the CAF never gets their equipment. It is also how Canada does not get new pipelines and end up buying foreign oil from dictatorships.

General insecurity stalls out industrious Canadians. There is no point in going into the pipeline debate as those things get hopelessly mired down. But here is an example of something as simple as recovering a log from the bottom of a lake. In BC, when logs are floated across lakes, some become waterlogged and sink. This wood is still incredibly valuable and the diving company I worked for wanted to go after them. We did not bother because you needed an environmental permit to disturb the bottom of the lake, a permit to have the log on the surface, a permit to bring the log to the edge of the lake, a permit to bring a truck down to the edge of the lake, and a permit to take the log away. Now throw in a few more layers of bureaucracy like Indigenous and gender balance, and it is just not worth the effort for a small outfit. Ostensibly, regulations are meant to protect things but in reality, they serve to stifle industry.

All levels of government are bloated with civil servants whose job is to regulate the country to a standstill. Here is an example from what I observed in the military that is just as true of the civil service. An officer would enter a new job. In order to progress and be promoted, they needed to effect ‘change’. They were never in the job for long or had a budget large enough to push through a complex project that would take decades to see through and effect real change. They just fiddled with the system enough to piss off their subordinates. That is where the saying ‘The more things change, the more they stay the same’ comes from. Meanwhile, their budgets got spent mostly spinning wheels.

Here is an example from the Coast Guard. The West Coast fleet, back in the day, had a couple of ladies with Rolodexes looking after everyone’s pay and nary an issue. The system was modernized with a new building in downtown Vancouver with 50 employees and it went to shit. You were happy to get any sort of pay cheque and issues would take up to half a year to fix.

Here is one from the Veterans Hospital in Halifax. The building has rats. Nurses can hear them humping in the walls and ceilings. Veterans Affairs representatives told me to my face that they were aware of the problem and were having meetings to discuss solutions. The solution was to call an exterminator and kill the vermin. Instead, admin types endlessly study the issue as they are reticent over spending money to fix obvious problems. Meetings give the appearance of ‘we are on the job’ when actually nothing is being accomplished.

Suffice to say, Canadians could endlessly bring up examples of why stuff does not get done in this country. Heaven forbid if we cross some politically incorrect line. What if those ‘people’ get offended? Is there anyone left to apologize to yet? Have we sufficiently studied this issue to death with regards to how it will effect the Canadian three-toed hemostar, the Indigenous tribe on the other side of the country, the ever popular Canadian content rules, and just for fun, the new ‘gender’ balance rules we are going to have to follow. To be crass, we are a nation of pussies. Sorry, eh?

Venezuela is listed with having the world’s largest proven oil reserves. Their descent into becoming a ‘shit-hole’ country took less than two decades. Don’t worry Canada will be the Northern Venezuela soon enough the way we are going.

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STUDENT FARMER – PART IV

A droopy ear on a beast can be the first sign of an issue with the animal
An Almanac of Farming – A Series

This is a continuation of a series of notes to myself on farming that I would like to share with those who are interesting in the subject.

  • If an animal can figure out a way to open a gate, get stuck, or just die, it will. Found a calf the other day that had pushed two gates out enough to stick his head in and then get stuck. Then he fought me when I tried to push his head down to let him go as the chains holding the gate were jammed. Cattle and calves will chew on plastic twine which can get in their gut and kill them. We pick up as much twine as we can find to prevent this.
  • If animals are doing something strange, it is for a reason. If calves are drinking from a manure puddle when there is fresh water right next to them in a drinker, then check the drinker for issues. Turns out the wires were grounding out and the water was electrified.
  • Always shut the gate!
  • If you have to pull a large animal, you can use a non-choke chain and pull them by the head. If you pull them by the legs you can hurt them.
  • When feeding silage to cattle make sure they have a good water source. After eating silage, cattle are quite thirsty.
  • Since cattle are not bright enough to go down both sides of a trough, if you stand in the middle of the stream of cattle going by it will split them enough to even things out.
Bored, itchy cattle like to get into mischief and knocked over this section of wind fence
  • When the weather is warm and pleasant, cattle will get up to mischief. They will wander through the whole paddock so make sure the fences are in good shape, fencers are on and sparking, and the gates are secure.
  • On our farm, if a cow is going to slip a calf (have a spontaneous abortion), it seems to happen in the first week of January. Look for an animal that is acting weird. The aborted fetus will attract birds and coyotes. Finding the cow after can be difficult if she is not hanging around the dead calf. Look for obvious signs of birth like a loose vagina, blood, a dirty tail, and signs of the udder starting to bag up.
  • Dipping of an ear is an early warning sign of something awry with an animal. In one case, the young heifer was ovulating. Signs include restlessness, cattle jumping each other, and very noticeable sweating. Also, I usually have a dog with me and his first reaction was to run up and have a good sniff of her hind end.
  • In poor hay years, ranchers have to start scrounging for cattle feed to replace or supplement the usual dry hay rations. Some options are Distillers Dry Grain (DDGs), potatoes, green oat silage, corn silage, ground barley, or grass seed screenings pellets. Ranchers also can feed canola, barley, or wheat straw bales to give the animals some roughage. A few gallons of feed molasses poured or injected into the bales helps to ‘sweeten the pot’ and seems to make the straw more palatable. Some pitfalls come with the different feeds. DDGs are fine like dust and wind will blow it away if they are in an unprotected area. Cattle can choke on whole potatoes. Silage is costly and prone to spoilage before freeze-up. Grass seed screenings can contain ergot which can cause health and reproduction issues in your herd.
  • Before straight cutting became so prevalent, there was not much use for canola straw. When canola is swathed, it needs to sit for a few weeks before combining. There was not much use in trying to keep straw which had been sitting on the ground. But with desiccation and different varieties, the straw has become very useful as a bedding material and feed source. Canola straw actually has a higher feed content than barley or wheat straw. There is a trade-off though by not chopping straw back into the field as the nutrients and fertilizer value is being taken away. Plus there is the extra cost of putting up the straw. But when hay yields are down and round bales are going for $100 plus each, canola straw with a little molasses gets the job done.

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CONCERNED WITH NATIVE VIOLENCE

Image: Cody Mousseau – Manitoba First Nations Police Service
The Violence of Sandy Bay First Nation

*****UPDATE – 30 September 2023*****

Well, there’s still no solving a murder which everyone knows the culprits. It’s the worst kept secret that Cody Mousseau was killed by the Sandy Bay Reserve crime gang. He had gone to retrieve a stolen quad and was getting the upper hand when someone decided to just shoot him. As a side note, his former warden from Stony Mountain Penitentiary didn’t shed too many tears when he heard of Mousseau’s murder. There is no Native ‘Truth and Reconciliation’ until they acknowledge that their Reserves are cesspools of crime, alcohol, and drug abuse which is all of their own making.

*****UPDATE – 13 May 2020****

It seems that members of Mr. Mousseau’s family are incensed with my article and have demanded its removal as they feel it is racist, insensitive, and demeans their murdered relative. If there is something factual which is in error then bring it to my attention. Instead, all I’ve heard is vitriol.

Respectfully, I am sorry for their loss, but the purpose of highlighting this particular tragedy was to speak to the exorbitant levels of violence and drug use at Sandy Bay. In a larger context, these issues are associated with most MB Native communities. The first step in the process of healing is to acknowledge the problem rather than cower from or deny its existence.

Mr. Mousseau was not a saint but he did not deserve to be murdered. From the rumours, he was actually trying to stand up to the extreme criminal elements in his community and was killed for his actions.

Perhaps all of this extra attention will help bring his killers to justice and galvanize the community to action.

*****UPDATE – 13 May 2020*****

If horrific violence associated with First Nations was not so common, the discovery of the body of a Sandy Bay First Nations resident on Christmas Eve would have been more shocking.

The latest Sandy Bay native lost to violent crime, Cody Grayson Mousseau, was found in the RM of Rosedale on December 24. His family had been looking for him as he had been missing from earlier in the month. Now that his body was found, they are calling for justice and asking for people to come forward to police.

Since the mainstream media ‘native’-washes all their stories related to First Nations people, here are some easily googled items you will not find or downplayed in the coverage related to this homicide:

Did Cody Mousseau deserve to be killed and have his body dumped in a remote location? No. Was Cody Mousseau going to end up being killed and have his body dumped in a remote location? Yes.

Sandy Bay First Nation, with an official census count of 2515 (4157 or 6677 if you count the off-reserve natives according to the Dakota Ojibway Police Service), is a rough place. From the DOPS 2016-2017 Annual Report, Sandy Bay had 1862 reported incidents and over 200 assaults for 2016. Interestingly, the report dropped the ‘provided assistance to other Police agencies’ from 2015 which listed another 2427 incidents.

Comparing some of the crime statistics against the StatsCan national average, (being charitable, the 6677 total Sandy Bay population was used) for Sexual assault it is about 6 times higher, Level 1 Assault is 7 times higher, property crime is 2 times higher, but strangely the Drug Offences are only one third the national rate. Considering the Band has repeatedly declared their reserve to be in a ‘Drug Crisis’ since 2017, it does not appear that there has been any headway with dealing with illicit drugs on the reserve.

Here is a small sampling of the violence related to the reserve:

The preceding numbers and incidents are but the tip of the iceberg. Vastly more incidents will have been swept under the rug in the interest of preventing retaliation or retribution.

Members of the reserve and the local police know exactly who the culprits committing these crimes are. There is nowhere to hide in a small community of a few thousand in rural MB. Whatever passes for a law and justice system on this reserve is irreparably broken and this is a community in crisis.

Mousseau’s murder capped off an appalling year of violent crime on the Sandy Bay First Nations Reserve. There appears to be no plan to deter in 2020 what was a lawless 2019.

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PRAIRIE SCRIBBLER – NEEPAWA BANNER, VOL. 124, NO. 22

Korean War veteran, Albert Kingdon (seated), received a rare 70 year Royal Canadian Membership Legion Pin during Kelwood Legion #50’s Remembrance ceremonies’ – Photo Courtesy of Kelwood Legion #50

***Originally published in Neepawa Banner, December 27, 2019***

2019 Round-up for Kelwood Legion #50

As another year comes to a close, it is good to remember all of the events, big and small, that were held during 2019 at the Kelwood Legion #50.

Legion President, Larry Henton, was grateful for all of the support the Legion received throughout 2019. “Looking back, we had an incredible year. There were plenty of outstanding band nights and functions that brought our community together. Looking forward to 2020, we have ambitious plans to update and repair the infrastructure of the building. Thanks to the tireless help of our many volunteers and some major donations of material we will be able to give the building a facelift that will keep it in good shape for years to come.”

One of the primary goals of keeping the village’s Legion open is to provide a gathering place for people to come together and enjoy each other’s company. To that end, the Entertainment Committee put on several memorable shows that packed the house. One Night Stand and Generation Gap played to capacity crowds during Kelwood’s Agricultural Fair weekend in August.

Back in June, The Ring of Fire, Johnny Cash Experience came to town as part of their Canada wide tour to support Royal Canadian Legions. Billed as ‘Canada’s most critically acclaimed tribute to Johnny Cash’, Johnny and his band treated patrons to a rare musical evening that would normally be reserved for big city venues.

Then as part of the Legion’s Hallowe’en celebrations, the building was rocking to the stylings of a Creedence Clearwater Revival tribute band, The CCR Band. Many of the patrons dressed in imaginative costumes for the occasion and the band was appreciative of our small town Manitoba hospitality.

Another main function of all Legions is to promote, support, and honour the sacrifice of Canadian veterans. This year’s Remembrance ceremonies were well attended and several veterans and a serving member of the Canadian Armed Forces were present.

Along with the usual ceremonies, a select group of Legion members were recognized for their continued support of the village’s institution. Cindy Hafner was presented with the ‘Legionnaire of the Year’ Plaque in appreciation of her industrious dedication and effort to help keep the Legion operating.

Many Legion members were also acknowledged with presentations of their Royal Canadian Legion Membership pins:

5 year: Neil Fraser & Will Wetherill; 10 year: Jackie Aucoin & Kim Boxall; 15 year: Lynn Wetherill; 20 year: Douglas Chripps, Russell Newton, Norma Somers & Irene Sulik; 25 year: Earl Burton & Victoria Kein; 30 year: Judi Burton, Pat Gilmore, Karol Onyschak & Kathy Therrien; 40 year: Brent Smith.

A rare, coveted 70 year Legionnaire pin was presented to long time Kelwood resident and veteran of the Korean War, Albert Kingdon.

Fund raising and support for various causes also kept the Legion busy this past year. In February, the community and the Legion rallied to support a Riding Mountain couple whose home was badly damaged due to fire. The Legion helped with the Kelwood Snowmobile Derby in March. There have been raffle draws to help raise money for the community’s goal of opening a new skating rink. Then there is the weekly Saturday night ‘Chase the Ace’ which paid out $10,836 in June and is already climbing over $7,000 for the New Year.

Of course, to round out the year, the Legion plays host to Santa on December 21st. This annual tradition has been running in Kelwood for many decades and the kids are delighted when the Jolly Man comes to town.

The Kelwood Legion #50, President, Executive Committee and staff, are appreciative of all the support, volunteering, and patronage received from the many community members who helped keep the Legion thriving during 2019. Well wishes and the doors will be wide open for a fantastic 2020

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CANADIAN GUN ENTHUSIAST

The literal effect of firing an AR-15 according to the anti-gun Liberals and their supporters. Photo Credit: Tony Chand Formation Imaging Services © Crown Copyright DND/MDN
The Bigotry of the Canadian Anti-Gun Movement

There is an ancient philosophy which states, ‘Live and let live.’ The estimated 7% of Canadian men and women who are legally allowed to own firearms wish that the rabid anti-gun rabble would abide by that statement.

In the interest of declaring why I have a ‘pony in the race’, here is my relationship with firearms. Growing up on a farm, I started hunting by myself with a .22 rifle at about the age of 12. Through school, I obtained my Hunter Safety certification, something I highly recommend to everyone starting out with firearms. Through the military, I have trained with and shot submachine guns, different types of rifles and handguns, .50 cal Heavy Machine Guns, and ran main gun shoots with Royal Canadian Navy ships. Presently, I do not have a Possession and Acquisition Licence (PAL) or own any firearms. This RCMP website details the steps involved regarding obtaining a PAL and storing/using firearms in Canada.

As for my attraction to firearms, I enjoy hunting and eating wild game, I enjoy the satisfaction of being able to hit what I was aiming at, and while I was with the RCN, I really enjoyed watching the large shells obliterate the targets. I would say that gun enthusiasts would consider possessing and using firearms as mostly a lifestyle choice be it for whatever myriad of reasons. We live in a free and open society where as long as its citizens follow prudent and safe practices consistent with public safety, there should be no issue with one’s choice of pursuits or hobbies.

Getting back to the thesis of my argument regarding the virulent anti-gun crowd: the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines bigotry as the ‘obstinate or intolerant devotion to one’s own opinions and prejudices.’

Just as a thought exercise, replace ‘gun ownership’ with ‘gay marriage’ in the statements below. Looking through that lens, compare the arguments for and against either concept:

  • Why does a Canadian need to have ‘gay marriage’? The typical argument goes along the lines of ‘I don’t believe in ‘gay marriage’ so why should it be tolerated in Canadian society?’ Ban it!
  • ‘Gay marriage’ is dangerous to Canadian society! Despite mountains of statistics detailing that law-abiding ‘gay marriage’ Canadians are not the issue regarding violent crime and the breakdown of society, the anti-‘gay marriage’ advocates want more and more restrictions. Ban it!
  • The government needs to enact more regulation and outright bans against ‘gay marriage‘! Despite the government’s position on ‘gay marriage’ and pandering to powerful political voices opposed to the concept, even law enforcement does not endorse legal ‘gay marriage’ bans. Ban it!

Heaven help the hunters who pose with their kills when the SJWs decide to start ‘bashing’ them. The viciousness of the attacks display an unreasoning hatred reminiscent of a lynch mob. If a person is poaching, there are stringent penalties in place to punish them. But if a person is legally hunting with a legal firearm, then where is the justification for the vitriolic bile and hatred?

As with any prejudicial stance, there is no reasoning which will persuade people of the anti-gun movement that firearms should remain in the possession of legal owners. Their arguments are riddled with hyperbolic ‘facts’. If one shooting occurs because of a firearm, that is one too many. If one legal gun is stolen, they should have been banned. (That’s actually called victim shaming along the lines of blaming a provocatively dress woman for being raped.) Guns are just plain scary, especially the black ones that are termed ‘Assault Rifles’ (a made-up designation).

The crux of the argument, is the opposite side does not understand the ethos of using or owning an instrument to which they only equate with the sole purpose of killing. As society moves further and further away from original sourcing of their food, relying more on the state for their protection, and being subjected to horrifying mass shooting media imagery, it is understandable as to where these attitudes originate from. But just because you do not understand someone’s desire for responsibly keeping and using firearms does not justify society’s attempts to ban them. That is when bigotry edges towards facism.

Returning to my original statement, if I am doing my own thing and not bothering you, then I would kindly ask you to return the favour. Once I cross that line, especially while employing a firearm, then there are strict, severe punishments under the law for doing so. But instead of going after the thankfully small amount of ne’er-do-wells here in Canada, the idea is to blanket punish the law abiding majority. At that point, if you can neither justify or explain your position using logic or facts and only using your feelings on the matter, then you are by definition, a bigot.

To paraphrase a saying coined by The Globe and Mail’s Martin O’Malley and made famous by the elder Trudeau, “there’s no place for the state in the gun cabinets of the nation.”

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BEAN-COUNTING FARMER

Input Costs Associated with Growing a Commercial Grain Crop

The social media feeds were buzzing over a large Federal Carbon Tax levy on a propane bill from a Saskatchewan grain drying company. Angry commenters were concerned that the cost was going to be transferred to the consumers. Not to worry, grain is sold on the open market and it is the farmer who has to eat this cost. They do not have the luxury of passing their input costs along to the consumer.

Here’s a quick exercise in cost comparisons for the consumer versus the farmer. In 1920, adjusted for inflation a dollar was worth about $11.91. White bread was about 10¢/loaf (1lb) or $1.19/loaf in 2019 dollars. Compare that to about $1.88/one pound loaf today. For the farmer, their wheat/bushel has dropped in value over the last 100 years from about $17/bushel to today’s value of $7.

That increase per loaf has not been going to the farmer. The middle men have been passing along their increasing costs along to the consumer. Meanwhile, the farmer’s input costs have been steadily rising and they have been forced to become more and more efficient or just simply go under.

In order to better understand the costs to farmers associated with growing cereal, pulses, or oil seed crops, presented here is a list of all the major inputs. The Manitoba government releases a very detailed guide each year to help farmers estimate their upcoming costs. As a rough guide, in order to be profitable a crop of wheat needs to produce in the range of 30 bushels/acre. Again, the farmer is unable to pass any of these costs along to anyone else. They only receive what the market will pay when it is time to sell their crop.

Also, as a note, although farm fuel (known as marked or purple gas & diesel) was exempted from the Federal Carbon tax (only after concerns were raised), it does not mean that farmers are not paying significant extra costs due to this draconian tax.

  • Land Costs – for older farmers, their land is no longer mortgaged. For younger farmers or for a farm to expand, agricultural land is becoming prohibitively expensive and harder to carry mortgages on. Farmers from Europe, BC, Alberta are selling their land and coming to Manitoba to buy our relatively cheap land and driving up the cost. Here is an article illustrating the climbing value of SK farmland. Many farmers also rent land which in Manitoba can run at $60/acre and up.
  • Crown Land Costs – Many farmers lease Crown land from the government as a method of using land at a relatively low cost. In Manitoba, the long leases are being dropped to 15 years and changes are coming where highest bidders may be able to snap up leases. Farmers are concerned about being squeezed out of the market if they cannot compete against these increased costs.
  • Land Taxes – As land becomes more valuable, the assessed value for taxes increase. Municipalities are receiving windfalls from large landowners and see them as cash cows when applying special levies. The mantra is ‘if you can afford to have land, you can afford to pay more tax.’
  • Land Improvement Costs – Although there is sometimes some assistance from the Municipality or Watershed organizations, if a farmer wants to improve drainage, plant trees, or improve their land, the costs and paperwork are borne by the farmer.
  • Fertilizer Costs – This is one of the highest input costs and is most subject to Carbon Tax pressures. Farmers spread or inject a variety of fertilizers onto their fields depending on soil need, crop grown, or time of year. A main component of most fertilizer blends is nitrogen. Nitrogen fertilizer in MB is made with natural gas at the Koch Fertilizer plant in Brandon. This plant is the highest CO2 emitter in MB and is firmly in the government’s crosshairs regarding emissions. Due to it being a large emitter, private sweetheart deals were being negotiated with companies like these regarding the Carbon Tax. Fertilizer prices themselves fluctuate regularly due to a number of factors, so it has been difficult to determine what increases have been passed down to the farmers. Koch is a private company and is reticent regarding this issue.
  • Seed Costs – Farmers source their seeds from a wide variety of outlets. Our farm happens to plant our own wheat seed and buy canola and soybeans. But even with our own seed, we pay a mobile seed cleaning company to clean it in order to remove poor seeds and weeds. Canola and soybeans are bought as treated seed. A 50lb bag of canola seed will cost $600-$700 and is sown at about a 4-5lb/acre rate.
  • Planting Costs – most farmers plant their own fields with their own equipment. But in certain cases, such as corn which needs a special seeder, it may not be worth it for the farmer to have their own machinery. In these cases, a custom outfit would be hired.
  • Machinery Costs – most major pieces of farm equipment for preparing the field, seeding, maintaining, harvesting, and transporting grain to the buyers cost hundreds of thousands of dollars each. Farmers cannot share too much equipment as everyone’s fields and crops need attention at the same time, so each farmer needs their own machines. In addition, farms need to replace and upgrade machinery on a timely basis or the cost of the upgrades becomes prohibitive.
  • Maintenance Costs – farm machinery needs regular maintenance and is prone to breakdowns due to the adverse conditions they are run in. Filters can be $100 a piece. Oil and lubrication has to be constantly monitored. Bearings burn out and have to be replaced. The list can be endless. Plus, back when machinery was less sophisticated, a farmer could fix most of their own gear. Now, technicians from the dealerships frequently visit the farms to set sensors, conduct mobile tire repairs, update GPS monitors, etc. Also, in many cases, the machine must be transported to the shop for major repairs.
  • Fuel Costs – this is a major bill on any farm. Thankfully, marked fuel or purple has a cost discount plus it was exempted from the Carbon Tax. Originally, the Liberals were going to include it but an uproar helped change their minds. But added into the fuel bill category, is a liquid called Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF). Many newer engine equipped machines come with DEF tanks which are designed to reduce the pollution created by diesel engines. Some machines such as our combine are unable to run if the DEF tank goes empty. Unfortunately, DEF freezes at zero degrees and it creates obvious problems during Prairie winters. It’s just another cost built into the system.
  • Spraying costs – without the use of herbicides/pesticides there would be no use in even planting a crop. As a side note, organic operations also use these products which are typically more toxic than synthetic products. Mother Nature throws everything she’s got at the farmer to knock down his crop from pests, to fungus, to weeds, etc. Sometimes the farmer can spray their own fields, sometimes they may need to contract aerial spraying, and sometimes they may need to contract high clearance sprayers all for various needs.
  • Harvesting and Storage costs – special equipment in the form of combines, grain carts, grain trucks, augers, and grain bins are needed to bring the crop in. None of these items are cheap and when the crop is ready, it is taken. Also, with certain crops such as corn, again the farmer may hire a custom outfit due to the specialized machinery. A very handy invention are the grain drying systems that run on forced air (with some systems, heated by propane or natural gas) are available. This allows the farmer to harvest damper crops and dry them as opposed to being caught by the weather and unable to get the crop off. Mother Nature can be a bitch, so technology can aid the farmer greatly. The Liberals are also bitches and did not exempt those fuels from the Carbon tax.
  • Labour costs – during busy times of the grain cycle, the farmer may hire temporary help. When it’s time to go, the farmer can’t dilly dally as prime conditions do not last long and there are only so many hours in the day.
  • Transport costs – when the Prairies started producing grain in earnest and the rail systems started to crisscross the land, little towns with elevators were placed every 5 to 10 miles along the tracks. This was to accommodate the farmer’s horse drawn grain carts. With large scale mechanization after WWII, trucks became more common and elevators spread out to every 10 to 20 miles. With time, the trucks are larger, rail tracks were torn up, the grain companies consolidated, and the little elevators have all disappeared to be replaced by centralized inland grain terminals which are 100 to 200 miles apart. Some farmers transport their own grain still but many hire trucking companies with B-trains to custom haul. The fuel for those haulers is not Carbon Tax exempt and that extra cost is passed to the farmer.
  • Subscription & Advisor Service costs – long gone are the days when I was a kid running across the field with a  string acting as a reference point for Dad as he tried to run me over with the sprayer. GPS and auto-steer functions run the larger equipment now. The precision needed is a service that needs to be paid for. Also, farmers keep up with the torrent of farm information available and subscribe to periodicals and crop advisor services. Crop advisors can cost $3-4/acre and will constantly monitor the farmer’s crops.
  • Insurance costs – Again, Mother Nature is frequently a stone, cold bitch and frequently attempts to wipe out a farmer’s crops. Crop and hail insurance is a vital component required by farmers otherwise a bad year or two in a row would wipe them out. Insurance claims do not replace the entire amount of your losses but take the sting out of them.
  • Banking costs – the banks and other loan companies make sure to take their little slices of the farmer’s bottom line for the privilege of using their services.
  • Hopes & Prayers costs – Thankfully, these are free! To be a farmer, you have to be an eternal optimist, ready to bounce back from constant adversity from all corners be it Mother Nature, costly government regulations, or meddling townies who feel they know better.

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DISGRUNTLED FARMER

The Canadian family farm is in its sunset years unless action is taken soon

Canadian Farmers in Crisis and No One Cares

*** Trigger Warning ***

If you are a farmer you might be triggered if you read this and may need to seek a safe space in the Back 40.

*** Trigger Warning ***

As Canadians prepare for their Christmas feasts of turkey, ham, potatoes, and all the trimmings, it would be nice if they would give a thought to all the hard working farmers who make it possible for them to be enjoying all of their food abundance. It would also be nice for Canadians to wake up to the fact that Canada’s family farm is headed towards extinction.

Once in a while, I get into a circular farm related discussion on social media with some townie who think they are farming experts and don’t need to listen to someone who actually farms. The easy way to shut them down is to challenge them to go without any farm produced products for six months and I will go without whatever they produce for the same period. Townies would be eating grass to stay alive and most of the population would be dead in a month without a regular food supply. So, maybe farmers are perhaps a vital industry and maybe they should be treated as such.

As you are loosening your belt after too much holiday eating, many Prairie farmers are selling grain and livestock to generate some year-end income in order to pay the bills. Farmers sell their produce on the open market and get paid according to whatever the going rate is. The problem is that over the years, their input costs keep increasing and unlike other industries they cannot recoup their losses by passing increased costs along to the consumer.

Here are a few examples. Adjusted for inflation, the $7/bushel wheat that our farm has been selling this week was worth $34/bushel back in 1870. The feeder calves we sold at market the other day are fetching about the same price per pound as my great-grandfather was getting back in 1918. The value of farm receipts wildly fluctuate year to year with StatsCan reporting that farmer’s net income across Canada took a 45% drop in 2018 compared to 2017.

Imagine for one second if a union or civil servant was asked to take a 45% pay cut for the coming year.

So what’s to be done in order to bring this crisis to the forefront of Canadian politics? Here are a few thoughts:

  • Canadian farmers need to take a page from their EU counterparts and stage large protests. At less than 2% of the population, farmers do not wield much political power except in specific pockets such as the dairy industry in Quebec. Shut down Ottawa for six months or as long as it takes until the politicians start paying attention. Going on strike would not be practical as Canada produces such a surplus of food, most of it gets exported. But if there were food shortages, that would get the public’s attention pretty quick.
  • Farm groups need to mount massive advertising campaigns to educate the public on the importance of farmers to Canada and the World’s food supply. The Dairy Farmers of Canada are on the right track with their recent ad series. Like it or not, marketing ads work.
  • Farm groups need to pressure politicians to shut down NGOs and activists who are spewing absolute nonsense about farm practices. Alberta is on the right track with beefed up laws to crack down on nuisance farm protesters. The anti-farm crowd uses constant fear-mongering, hyperbole, and outright lies to demonize farming. This has led to burdensome and costly regulations enacted by legislators who have little to no understanding of farming and its benefits.
  • Food security should be a national interest. Government programs need to be set up to halt and reverse the hemorrhaging being experiences by Canadian farmers. Very few young people are staying with or entering the field of farming. Incomes need to rise and farmers need to be paid a fair price for their produce. But none of this is new as farmers have been dealing with this crisis since the mid-80’s and have been proposing the same solutions to deaf ears.

It is unfortunate that our country is so vast and our farmers are so independent. Otherwise serious action probably would have taken place much earlier to halt this farming crisis.

So have a thought this Christmas season regarding who made it possible for you to set your table.

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SAFETY OFFICER EXPERT

The Tyranny of Safetyism

“If it’s not 100% safe, then ban it!”

This is the mantra of a growing section of society where even if the risk of harm is miniscule and virtually non-existent, if even one person is hurt or killed, the practice or product must be banned. Personal liberties and freedoms need some curtailing even in democracies, but where is the point where the Nanny State goes too far?

The premise is termed ‘Concept Creep’. As quipped during a Big Bang Theory episode where Penny and Leonard’s mother were doing shots at the Cheesecake Factory, ‘If one is good, then more must be better!’ You could re-word this quote to say, ‘If less is better, than none is the best!’

To illustrate some of the safetyism prevalent in Canada, let us start with the food we feed our children. Of course, ‘good’ parents want what’s best for little Timmy and Jane. Hence, the explosion of organic foods and the drive by advocacy groups to drive containments that may only be in the parts per billion down to absolute zero.

Instead of rehashing the arguments of why paying three times the cost for organics is a rip-off and why ‘the dose makes the poison’, let us examine a common food item, honey.

If you have an infant under the age of one, Health Canada recommends that you do not feed them honey as it may cause infant botulism. The younglings are unable to process botulism spores until they are a little older and at the age of one year, it is deemed safe for healthy infants to finally taste bee juice.

There seems to be some merit to these honey recommendations as some studies have shown C.botulinum to be present up to 25% of honey batches tested. But according to Health Canada, since 1979 of the 42 cases of infant botulism reported, only 3 were linked to ingestion of honey. Although life threatening, when caught early and treated fatalities are only 2%. These stats come from the States where they credit physician education for mitigating the mortality of infant botulism cases.

Heck, but most parents would agree, my kid isn’t starving for food so why take the chance with honey even though the risk by the numbers is very, very low. But botulism still will occur and it’s more than likely going to come from one of the many other vectors that are all around us. Besides, according to Canadian Traffic Collision Statistics, these same parents are many more times likely to hurt their infant in a vehicle accident driving to the store to buy the honey.

Moving on from innocuous and vague threats in our food supply, there is another hot button safety item that is burning up the social media feeds as the Liberals get set for another round of gun banning.

In general, the anti-gun side which has no clue as to what is involved regarding the legal purchase, use, and storage of guns let alone hand guns, wants to outright ban all guns. They are ‘scary’, why do you need an AK-47 to hunt deer, they’re used to kill women, etc. They just want guns to disappear off the face of the Earth and we’ll all be happier.

The 2 million legal Canadian gun owners have taken some umbrage to these broad sweeping statements which would eventually see a general disarmament of the population. First off, are there not more pressing issues? Violent crime in Canada, especially with a firearm, is an anomaly. According to 2016 figures, violent crime committed with a firearm only occurs .6% of the time.

A Canadian is just as likely to die from stabbing and beating as compared to being intentionally shot by someone but again those numbers are only about .6/100,000 people. The vast amount of people dying from guns, at 75%, are those committing suicide. Banning guns will not prevent suicides as they will just find some other method.

It begs the question, why are leftist governments so intent on banning guns and does it not seem that their end goal is to legislate them out of existence? It won’t reduce the incidence of illegal guns or crime on Canadian streets as the US is flush with weapons already making their way North.

Moving along, the Manitoba Government would like to wish all those merry makers a joyful party season where officers will be impounding your vehicle, confiscating your driver’s license, and levying stiff fines starting at $400 for the penalty of having one drink. Despite the fact that impaired driving rates have dropped by 2/3rds in the last 3 decades and Manitoba already had good numbers, it’s not enough if only one person dies due to drinking and driving.

Of course, if a person is physically impaired and hits the .08 BAC or higher, they should not be operating a motor vehicle. This .08 BAC was actually researched and was not a number pulled from a hat. But this is where concept creep insidiously makes its way into legislation. Some evidence from BC’s dropping of the limit was given as proof that these new measures were going to save more lives. The BC numbers seem to indicate an extra 50 people are alive each year since they have dropped the BAC limit to .05. Just for comparison’s sake, BC’s overdose deaths for 2018 were greater than 1500. There seems to be a disconnect as to priorities.

But the new, arbitrary limit can easily be reached by having one drink. Are you actually impaired with one drink, compared to maybe not getting enough sleep the night before? How soon will it be before the government decides that zero drinks will be the new limit? Shouldn’t the government be removing sleepy drivers off of the road also? Maybe we should just shut down all the highways and keep people in their houses and confiscate all vehicles.

Canadians seem to be becoming timid creatures, afraid of their own shadows, and willing to accede to the State when it comes to what’s good for them. Concept creep is inexorably strangling our personal liberties and freedoms. When did we cede all personal responsibility to government as to what risks we as individuals were willing to take?

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CANADIAN POLITICAL PUNDIT

Canada’s Parliment Buildings in Ottawa, Ontario

Thoughts on Canadian Political Reformation

If the trend in Canadian politics keeps moving along its present course, the country is destined for a seismic shake-up. Most places in the world would move to an outright civil war or coup d’état but as Canadians are so ‘polite’, we will probably talk things to death.

Here are a few political ideas that should be studied for their validity and worth in order to re-engage voters and to heal the divides that are threatening our country:

  • The concept of fairness within Canadian society needs to be reasserted.

Canada has always been a country of disparate regions, religions, and cultures. What used to hold us together as a nation was equality, hence the concept of Equalization payments to help the ‘have-not’ provinces. Instead we have become a fractured nation split off into this camp or another.

Representation by population is not working. Pierre Elliot Trudeau remarked during his 1982 Constitution Speech, ‘For if individuals and minorities do not feel protected against the possibility of the tyranny of the majority, if French-speaking Canadians or native peoples or new Canadians do not feel they will be treated with justice, it is useless to ask them to open their hearts and minds to their fellow Canadians.’ You might as well add Western Canadians and anyone who lives outside of a major urban center to that list in order to bring it up to date.

Canada needs a system of government where the ‘forgotten’ Canadians feel they have a voice and are not ruled by the population of the Greater Toronto Area.

  • The election cycle is too short.

The terms for a sitting representative should be lengthened to at least 10 years. As it stands, a government hardly gets going before they have to start electioneering for another term. If businesses and individuals could be certain that policies would be stable and government decisions would stand for a reasonable period of time, then everyone could plan accordingly.

As a check and balance, once the representative was elected to office, they would be limited to one or maybe two terms. My leaning is towards one term only, then the elected official could put their head down and just work towards what was best for their electorate.

  • Voters at all levels of governance need to be reengaged.

Turnout for Municipal elections barely reach 30%. Numbers for younger voters are low. If terms were lengthened, then the opportunity to vote would not come around that often and people would naturally want to have their say.

There could be a carrot and stick approach. All levels of government could be elected on the same day and it could easily be deemed a National Voters Day and a Stat day off. The stick would be severe penalties for eligible voters who did not at least attend a polling station. You would not be forced to vote but you would be strongly encouraged to at least show up.

Voting would at least mean something again and people would not feel as disenfranchised.

  • Politicians need to be held accountable.

The reason people do not vote and feel disenfranchised is because they feel they are not listened to. ‘So what, I voted, those bastards are just going to do what they want anyways,’ is the general sentiment. It seems that politicians, regardless of party affiliation, will say and do whatever it takes to get into power. Then their hope is their foibles, missteps, or outright corruption is forgotten by an absent-minded electorate during the next campaign cycle.

Here is an example of where a politician should have been locked up instead of being lauded for having her picture hung up in the Ontario Legislature. During a recent lecture in Madrid, Tom Harris of the International Climate Science Coalition, detailed the debacle of Ontario’s wind and solar power generation. It is becoming increasingly clear that wind and solar are becoming expensive boondoggles. Even Kathleen Wynne acknowledged the fact that Ontario electricity prices were going to hurt her election chances. She was right and she and her party were spectacularly tossed out.

The consequences for incompetence are literally just, ‘Ah, if they don’t like me, they can just vote me out.’ But a wily politician knows how to buy the population off or misdirect them just long enough to sneak back into power.  Again, most of them seem to be untouchable.

To borrow a Navy model, in order to prevent witch hunts against politicians who were acting in good faith, Boards of Inquiry with actual teeth should be set up to police major political decisions that go sideways. Typically, with the present system, some underling falls on their sword and their sacrifice is held up as an appeasement to the masses to show that justice was done. In actual fact, the ‘sacrificial lamb’ usually just goes into purgatory for a few months then is soft parachuted to another cushy position, eg. Gerald Butts.

When a government policy goes sideways, the inquiry process needs to start at the top right at the Prime Minister if need be. Jail time and real consequences need to be on the table so that these officials are motivated to perform their best for Canadians.

There will of course have to be some checks and balances in order to not stall all government work due to a fear of making a mistake. But this type of system of accountability has worked for hundreds of years in the Royal Navy so it should be adaptable to government.

  • Elected government officials should meet minimum qualifications.

Rule One should be, just because you have a famous name or celebrity status does not make you eligible for political office. Depending on the level of government you are running for, you should already have a certain amount of leadership experience.

As examples, a captain of industry, military personnel with command experience, or leaders of their fields of interest should be the ones holding the reins of Canadian political power. Looking good in selfies and a penchant for showing off designer socks are not qualifications. Even a string of educational letters behind your name should not carry much weight if you have no experience in the real world. Canada deserves the best and the brightest to lead the country and represent our positions on the world stage.

The position of being a politician should be one that a person aspires to become not one which people view with derision.

  • Electoral platforms should be set at least one year in advance of the election.

Too often, such as with the last Federal Election, policies and their implications are swept aside as the narrative gets side-tracked over some inconsequential issue. It just shows our collective disdain for the political elite who are just going to do what they feel like anyways.

Instead, for the upcoming 10 year term, the proposed policies and their respective pros and cons need to be firmly and openly laid before the populace. Priorities need to be discussed, plans need to be drawn up, and deadlines need to be set. Failure to adhere to the plan will be met with consequences. As part of the consultation process, the population would have a strong say in what direction they would like the country to move in. But actual experts would also be given a say in order to blunt any populist movement that was based on misinformation, deceit, or foreign interference.

As an example, a solutions to the woes of Canadian Natives have been kicked down the road by successive Federal governments since the start of Confederation. Frankly, if real deadlines were imposed, it would deliver some motivation for some actual progress. People would have hope that they would have some real progress to look forward to.

This is not an exhaustive or perhaps even a practical list of political Canadian reforms. But if Canada does not do something soon to ease the political convulsions shaking our regions, it will possibly irreparably fracture our great country.

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Card Carrying Conservative

Winston Churchill and Neville Chamberlain

My Advice to the Honourable Andrew Scheer

Shortly after being elected as leader of the Conservative Party, Andrew Scheer took his family out on the summer BBQ circuit in order to meet the grassroots party members who had elected him to the position. One of the first areas of the country they came to visit was Atlantic Canada and as I was still living in Halifax, I took the opportunity to size up one of the main candidates I had voted for.

So in early July, 2017, I drove out to Brookfield, NS to meet the new leader in person. My first impression, besides the fact that he is a large man, was that he was very personable, articulate, and energetic. His wife and five children had accompanied Andrew and I was also impressed by Jill and the kids. In fact, I had a good, little chat with their 12 year old son while everyone was lining up to shake hands and take selfies with his Dad.

After the crowd calmed somewhat, I took my brief moment with the new Leader of the Opposition and came away with the following assessment: Andrew Scheer is a good, solid, honourable man who is married to a fantastic lady and has raised a wonderful family. I even got to see a little steel in his backbone when I joked a bit about ‘my’ Blue Bombers versus ‘his’ Roughriders. All in all, I was content with the new leader of the Party.

Looking back through history, do you know who else was a solid, stand-up, sincere sort of fellow who wanted to do the right thing? Neville Chamberlain.

After Chamberlain’s death in late 1940 due to bowel cancer, Winston Churchill eulogized the man with kind words and lamented the fact that he did not have a right hand man to take care of the Home Front. History unfavourably will look upon Chamberlain as the man who tried and failed to appease Hitler in order to stave off World War II. But after the Great War, who would blame an honourable man for wanting to head off another multi-million man, meat grinder conflict with Germany?

The take-away, cautionary tale of Neville Chamberlain is that the policy of appeasement does not work, not now and not ever.

Thankfully Canada is not in such dire straits compared to the lead up to World War II. But our country is headed for a cliff.

Politically, the schism between Canada’s regions has never been so pronounced. The Bloc Quebecois surged from 10 seats to 32 and ahead of the NDP for third place in the House. Not a single Liberal was elected in Saskatchewan or Alberta and outside of Vancouver and the far North, no Liberals were elected West of Winnipeg. Despite the poo-pooing from CBC pundits in their Toronto ivory towers, WEXIT is destined to become a powerful political voice for the four western provinces. Then of course there are several Premiers who are not onboard and may go into open revolt with regards to Prime Minister Trudeau’s plans for the country.

Economically, the Conference Board of Canada is predicting a slow-down for the economy in 2020 to under 2% growth. Energy products will continue to be unable to make their way efficiently to tide water or even across to Eastern Canada. (Anyone believing that Trudeau will get a pipeline built anytime soon should really lay off all the cannabis that they are smoking.) Deficits and the country’s debt is ballooning due to Trudeau’s out of control spending which is at levels only seen during war or severe recessions. The USMCA trade deal ratification process is taking an interminable length of time. Plus, Canadian producers are still highly vulnerable to arbitrary, punitive trade measures from foreign powers such as China.

Militarily, Canada continues to ride the coattails of our cousins to the South and in terms of absolute capability, we are a joke and the Americans are calling us on it. An Arctic base, as proposed by Stephen Harper, has been consigned to the dustbin. The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) has zero year-round military capability in the Far North other than a few Rangers armed with their new C19 rifles and their yearly allotment of 200 rounds of .308 ammunition. The new Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) Harry DeWolf Class ships are not designed for heavy sea ice conditions and our limited submarine fleet cannot operate under the ice. Literally, the Americans, Russians, and soon the Chinese can and do operate with impunity in the waters of Canada’s Far North. How soon before they operate with impunity on the rest of our claimed territory?

This is by no stretch of the imagination an exhaustive list of the severe challenges facing our great Nation. So here’s my advice to the Honourable Andrew Scheer: during these troubled times, Canada needs you to be a Churchill not a Chamberlain. If you cannot take on the mantle of the warrior politician, then step aside for someone who will.

Specifically, Mr. Scheer or his successor, needs to act like the country is at stake. (Which if you are outside of the so-called known universe of Toronto, it is.) Sort out and call out the enemies of Canada. The big ones are the countries and organizations who are trying to shut down our resource based economy. As an example, China has been actively committing economic espionage and information hacking against Canada for decades. If Huawei gets their 5G tentacles too deep into Canadian information systems, the CAF could be shut out of the Five Eyes intelligence system. There are many bad faith countries in the World eager to screw Canada over and we need a robust defence that has been lacking for decades.

Another main area that needs immediate addressing is the attempt of foreign and domestic organizations whose aim is to stifle, degrade, and halt our resource based economy under the guise of ‘Saving the Planet’. Debate the role of CO2 all you want regarding apocalyptic climate predictions but Canada’s role is miniscule. Frankly, when a young, foreign, self-appointed climate saint shows up and is able to convince millions of Canadians that the world is going to end in a little over a decade if we do not shut down Alberta’s oil industry, then we deserve what we get.

Shut these snake oil peddlers down! Only the most deluded, naïve, environmental zealots believe that shutting down Canada’s oil and gas sector is advisable, wise, possible, or even necessary. It is the single largest section of Canada’s economy and the entities, within and without, trying to shut it down should be treated as enemies of the state. If we continue to act as the Boy Scouts of the World, we will continue to lose all influence and power. No one listens or cares about our ‘Green’ policies except for those who gain from our losses. Drop the ‘renewables’ fantasy schemes, denounce apocalyptic climate hysteria, and focus on the real challenges Canadians face today!

Another main antagonistic entity impeding the prosperity of Canada, is the leftist leaning mainstream media, headed by none other than the publicly funded CBC. Most of today’s journalist’s operate as the antithesis of Conservative values. If you are working for CTV, Global, or any of the Toronto papers, then fine, operate as you please as you are private companies. CBC does not deserve that latitude. They should be apolitical and not a propaganda arm of whoever comes to power.

A Conservative leader needs to call out the hypocritical, lopsided reporting which favours the Liberals. Shut down the nonsensical questions like ‘Why don’t you march in a Pride Parade’ or ‘Will you open the Abortion Debate?’ Call those provocateurs on the yellow journalism they are practicing. Get mean and stop taking the high road and basically grow a spine. The stakes are too high and the silent majority will back a true leader.

This is not a call for Andrew Scheer to step down unlike the present foment stirred up by the media calling his leadership into question. For the politically astute, the hullaballoo is a ploy to have the Conservatives in disarray while the Liberals try to maintain a minority government.

This is a call for Mr. Scheer to step up or step aside.

For Canada’s sake, we need a Churchill or possibly a Margaret Thatcher, to step up and move Canada away from the abyss and back towards prosperity and the influence of a World middle power.

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