Massive Increase in CGC Fees Sought

VANCOUVER - Dec 15/10 - SNS -- With Christmas quickly approaching, Santa's little helpers in government are trundling out their little gifts for the industry.

Judging from the contents, though, it seems while American grain farmers have been nice this past year, Canadians have been naughty. No doubt, all that cursing during one of the worst growing seasons in Canadian history did not impress the Jolly One.

In the United States, subsidies to the ethanol industry have been extended another year. Failing to do so may well have knocked corn prices down a notch, making food manufacturers and cattle producers happy. Extending the subsidies has put smiles on the faces of oilseed and grain farmers who are benefitting from the competition for their land, and the ethanol industry, which is eager to preserve its Republican era subsidies as long as possible.

In Canada, the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) has invited stakeholders to meetings about the fees it charges for its services. It seems that Ottawa suddenly feels guilty about having engineered the biggest increase in deficit spending and government borrowing in Canadian history. So, it is administering hard medicine at the CGC.