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10 THE RURAL VOICE
John Beardsley
The price of freedom of the press
John
Beardsley is
a freelance
journalist
and crop
specialist
with Huron
Bay
Cooperative.
What do you think of my
columns? Do they make you mad; do
they make you think?
If either of these reactions is true,
then I have done my job as an
opinion columnist. But if you
confused my opinions with the
opinions of The Rural Voice, or any
of its staff, you would be horribly
wrong. Unfortunately people who are
trying to set public policy seem to
have an extremely thin skin and a bad
attitude to opposition or anyone
questioning their wisdom.
A case in point is the recent
dismissal of Wendy Holm as a
columnist for The Western Producer.
The Western Producer is one of those
"must -read" publications in Western
Canada, comparable to The Rural
Voice or the Ontario Farmer in
eastern Canada.
Not long ago, Wendy Holm used
her column to shed some light on the
way in which the new Conservative
federal government is trying to get rid
of the Canadian Wheat Board. Her
latest column was written after her
participation in a July 27 farmer -led
rally in Saskatoon to protest Strahl's
same day, closed -door meetings to
eliminate the single desk selling
authority of the Canadian Wheat
Board. Wendy had traveled back to
Saskatoon at her own expense
because she felt, as an agrologist, it
was important to be there in support
of Canada's farmers.
This apparently resulted in a
complaint from the Minister's office
that her support for the farmers
demonstrated a lack of objectivity
and impartiality on the part of The
Western Producer. At least one
farmer also called to express the same
concern. Had she been an actual
Western Producer staff reporter sent
to cover the rally, the allegation of
bias would be valid. Reporters must
— for good reason — exhibit
objectivity and balance. But she is a
columnist, not a reporter, and a
freelance columnist to boot. I believe
she is being unfairly treated by the
anti-CWB forces out west. •
Not everyone reading this will
know who she is, but several hundred
people came out to hear Wendy Holm
at the Huron County Federation of
Agriculture annual meeting a couple
of years ago. Her well -researched
analysis of how the Canadian Liberal
government (and most provincial
governments) had fallen so far short
of all the OECD countries (with the
'exception of New Zealand) in support
of farmers was well received and
inspirational. It was also, may I point
out, the most well attended HCFA
annual meeting in some time.
The issue is not whether one is
pro -wheat board or anti -wheat board,
but rather freedom of speech, and
coercion by people who disagree, in
order to silence dissent. This is an
outrageous state of affairs.
The point is not that Wendy
supports one side of the CWB debate
or the other, but that The Western
Producer has bowed to political
pressure directly from Chuck Strahl's
office. They apparently did not like
her informed defense of the wheat
board, which she gave as an
interested citizen trained in agrology.
There are no doubt many farmers
who want to see the board give up its
monopoly powers, just as there are
fanners in Ontario opposed to supply
management. Freedom of speech and
freedom of the press should be fought
for, tooth and nail, or you will never
be free. Free debate must be allowed
on issues so hugely important to our
future
Wendy is fighting for Ontario
fanners too, and we need all the
friends we can get ttIII!
What happened to Wendy is the
equivalent of the financial institution
calling the loan that it holds on a