(Posted February 18, 2008)

The National Office has quietly been building-out our already-comprehensive Web site, adding a number of features we believe will be of great use to our activists and members.  We’ll be pointing them out in a series of Web articles over the next several weeks.

First up, given our present campaign against the Conservative government’s attacks on our Canadian Grain Commission members, it seems appropriate to draw attention to a new Web site section entitled ‘Current Issues’.

This new ‘Current Issues’ section can be found under the ‘News’ category on the main menu at the top of each Web page.  Once there, you’ll be able to choose from a series of Agriculture Union issues or campaigns, and then be directed to a page with a chronological listing of all articles and information posted about that specific topic.

As an example, click HERE to see the ‘issues’ Web page on our current CGC campaign, which contains Web articles and news releases.

Stay tuned as we go on to highlight other Web site enhancements in the near future!

(Posted February 8, 2008)

The Agriculture Union has been gaining some important media traction in our efforts to protect the jobs and services of our members at the Canadian Gain Commission.

A recent Canadian Press news story that was widely published across the country is reproduced below.

Those interested in viewing our CGC Campaign news releases can find them HERE.

Grain Commission union says scrapping inspection, weighing would hurt farmers

February 6, 2008

          OTTAWA - The union for the federal agency responsible for maintaining grain quality standards says legislation proposed by the Conservative government will hinder Canada's ability to market high-quality product overseas.
           The Agriculture Union for the Public Service Alliance of Canada, which represents most Canadian Grain Commission workers, said proposed changes to the Grain Act will eliminate mandatory weighing and inspection.
           That means high-quality grain will be mixed with lower-quality product, the union said.
           Weighing and inspection ensures different grades of grain are sorted, it said, and scrapping it would eliminate the premium paid for top-quality grain by international buyers.
           Bob Kingston, the union's executive director, said some farmers are calling the proposed amendments the "back-door, wheat board destruction bill" because it eliminates the Canadian Wheat Board's ability to sell high-quality grain abroad.
          "It takes away some of the underpinnings of the wheat board's ability to do their really successful international marketing," he said.
           Remi Gosselin, a spokesman for the grain commission, said the proposed amendments have "nothing" to do with the wheat board, since it markets only wheat and barley and not 21 other types of grains.
           He wouldn't comment on the union's position other than to say "it's not as cut and dry as some people would believe."
           In a release last December, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said the government is "making sure the CGC continues to meet the needs of farmers and the entire industry."
           But the changes - proposed by the Conservatives last December - are based on ideology and not what's in the best interests of farmers, Kingston said.
           The amendments are the latest in a growing rift between the Conservatives and supporters of the wheat board.
           The board has been embroiled in controversy for more than a year over the government's plan to give western barley farmers the option to sell their crops privately.
Currently, they must sell through the wheat board.
           Ritz said this week he wants to introduce legislation in the next few weeks to change the Canadian Wheat Board Act.
           A plebiscite last year seemed to support the change, but some say it was a rigged vote with badly worded questions.
           n 2006, the government fired board president Adrian Measner over his opposition to the barley plan. This week, it named Ian White as the new president of the wheat board.
           The government tried last year to impose the change through regulation, but was stymied when the Federal Court ruled that legislation was required to allow for private sales of barley. The case is under appeal.

(Posted February 1, 2008)

The Agriculture Union and our bargaining agent, the Public Service Allinace of Canada, are calling on the Conservative government to withdraw its ill-conceived attack on the Canadian Grain Commission: Bill C-39, An Act to Amend the Canada Grain Act.

The text of the jointly-issued news release can be viewed and downloaded by clicking on your choice of RTF or PDF file formats below:

(Posted February 1, 2008)

The Agriculture Union is working closely with a number of organizations representing farmers who are opposed to the Conservative government’s attacks on both the Canadian Grain Commission and the Canadian Wheat Board.

The photo above shows First National Vice-President Bob Kingston (second from left) with representatives of ‘Save My Canadian Wheat Board’ at the Agriculture Union National Office. Bruce Dodds, Ken Sigurdson and Brendan Sigurdson can be seen sporting our campaign stickers against Bill C-39, An Act to Amend the Canada Grain Act.

The National Farmers Union is another key ally in our common battle against the Harper government’s undermining of the roles of both the CGC and the CWB.

The photo below shows the above group meeting later that day in the offices of Michael Wing, National President of the Union of Canadian Transport Employees. UCTE, a brother PSAC Component union, represents workers at the Port of Churchill, Manitoba.