Oh No Dave!

A little while back, I posted an entry complimenting Dave Angus. Today, I am here to do the opposite.

In yesterday’s Free Press, Angus and the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce critique the CWB task force report because it “doesn't address the impact its recommendations would have on Winnipeg's economy.”

Forgive me for thinking that the only important issue in this matter is the farmers themselves. While it would be nice if the farmers decided that the CWB remains intact and gainfully generating economic spin-offs for Winnipeg, the benefits to the ‘Peg should NOT be a deciding factor in the CWB’s future.

I prefer that the economy of my beloved city be predicated on viable corporations, government agencies that serve a useful purpose and citizens that push themselves to the best of their abilities. Keeping a government entity just because it creates “spinoffs” strikes me as anything but a sound business decision. If the farmers decide that the CWB (or some version thereof) is the best way to represent their interests THEN we should go on to make a compelling case for why the CWB belongs right here at home.

Surely the Chamber of Commerce sees Winnipeg as more than just a Potemkin village of government agencies that are kept with a view to maintaining jobs and economic benefits without actually having a mandate to address the needs of people said agencies are supposed to represent...