DECEMBER 16, 2000
LOW 'VOTER TURNOUT' THREATENS CWB
SASKATOON, Sask.--"Farmers left far too many ballots on the fridge," said NFU President Cory Ollikka. "In districts where more than 15,000 ballots were mailed out, anti-CWB candidates won with just over 3,000 votes. Two thirds of the ballots in this election were not returned. It remains clear that the vast majority of farmers support the CWB, but it also seems that those farmers misunderstood the danger of not returning their ballots and taking the future of the CWB for granted," he said.
"I won't call today's results a victory. While that vast majority of farmers who support the CWB did not lose today, those farmers did learn that the CWB is ours to lose. Low voter turnout coupled with uncontrolled, and possibly illegal, third-party spending has given anti-CWB candidates two spots on the 15-member CWB Board of Directors," said Ollikka.
NFU Vice-President Fred Tait noted that strong CWB-supporters still make up the overwhelming majority on the Board of Directors. And with key Transportation Committee members Ken Ritter and Ian McCreary re-elected, the Board can again move forward on transportation. "McCreary and Ritter led the fight against grain company and railway efforts to take over the system. Their re-election will enable the CWB to redouble its critical transportation-system work on behalf of farmers. Butch Harder is also a key member of the Board of Directors."
Tait identified the November election timeframe as a contributing factor to low voter turnout. "In November, with harvest just finished, grain needing to be moved, and preparations for winter underway, farmers have a great many demands for their time and attention. A February election period would allow farmers to give these important elections their full attention and a March vote count could allow new directors to take office when the crop-year ends at the end of July," suggested Tait.
"Two years ago, the election results were that eight of the ten elected Directors supported a strong CWB. Today, we stand with identical results. However, for those of us that support a strong, effective CWB working on behalf of family farms, today's results are not good enough. All of us who support the CWB need to promote its benefits and become more involved in future elections," concluded Ollikka.
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For More Information:
Cory Ollikka, NFU President: (780) 383-2148
Fred Tait, Vice-President: (204) 252-2773
Darrin Qualman, Exec. Sec.: (306) 652-9465