Politicians love to crow about regulations they enact. They take out advertisements bragging about how tough they are on industries and how they are protecting us. Protecting us? From innovation, productivity, competitiveness, investment, more money in our pockets, a longer life and a cleaner environment? They have got to be kidding.
Rolf Penner
Barley, Free at Last
Except for a few sticks-in-the-mud, no one doubts any longer that Prairie farmers want choices in how they market their barley. By restoring dignity and property rights to growers, the new policy will bring clear benefits, not least a declaration that, when it comes...
Wheat Board Wants Ports, Elevators if Told to go it Alone in Barley Market
The Canadian Wheat Board says the federal government will have to help it buy port facilities and grain elevators - or let it abandon the barley market altogether - if farmers vote to eliminate the board's monopoly. Chairman Ken Ritter said the board of directors has...
Rolf Penner Vs. The CWB On Marketing Choice
The federal Minister of Agriculture told the Canadian Wheat Board to stick to its job and stay out of grain politics. If the Board chooses to interfere anyway, couldn’t it at least get its facts straight?
Featured News
Weaponizing the Law
The indictment of former U.S. president Donald Trump for crimes invented by his political opponents is the most egregious example yet seen of the weaponizing of the law. The United States is now full of examples. However, in Canada, we also see the law being...
“Looking At” Seizing Control Over Western Canada’s Natural Resources
OTTAWA, REGINA - Last week, two things happened that could have profound impacts on natural resources development in Saskatchewan. One is a hint the federal government might want to take control of natural resources away from the provinces, and the other is the...
A Toxic Nation?
A recent Sun series made the case that manmade chemicals, although helpful in many ways, shorten our lives and increase our risk of contracting cancer, and that children are particularly vulnerable. But a 50-year body of scientific research does not support such claims.
The Wheat Board: To Vote or Not to Vote
A Wheat Board plebiscite at best will accomplish nothing and at worst derail the Conservatives’ promise of marketing choice even as it alienates their Western base.
Dual Market Denial
Ending the Wheat Board’s marketing monopoly and competition would not mean its demise. To believe that is to ignore history.
Deal or No Deal? WTO Deadline Nears
Where’s Howie Mandel when we really need him? Canada should abandon its misguided position and take the WTO deal before it’s too late.
A Phony Study Deludes the Nation
The newly named Canadian Environmental Defence Fund bangs the bushes for money with another scary “study.”
Alligator Eats A Crow
Ag Policy Fellow Rolf Penners eats a Crow
Pesticides and Penises
If you want to fight dandelions in your back yard, will your genitals shrink? A goofy Florida professor says, “Yes.”
Harper Panders on Trade
In WTO negotiations, federal Conservatives are compromising the interests of the vast majority of farmers to protect a privileged few.
The Multiplier Effect
The elimination of trade barriers like subsidies and tariffs could increase the world’s wealth by as much a $2 trillion.