Not giving up

The Cons had to be hoping that their decision not to let farmers take an ownership stake in the rail cars which get their products to market would be taken lying down. But fortunately, the Farmer Rail Car Coalition isn't playing along:

A farmers' group that planned to buy 12,000 rail cars from Ottawa is calling on farmers to contact their MPs about the government's decision to cancel the deal.

Handing control of the cars back to the railways means they will be able "to hold Western farmers to ransom in the future," Sinclair Harrison, president of the Farmer Rail Car Coalition, said Tuesday...

Harrison said (the Cons' plan to reduce current maintenance fees instead is) not a good deal for farmers.

"There might be a small decrease to freight rates in the short term, but significant increases in the future," he told a news conference in Regina.

Harrison urged people to phone or write their MPs. He said it wasn't right that Ottawa made the announcement right when farmers are in the middle of seeding.

Even among those who might support the Cons' decision, it's hard not to agree with Harrison that it's problematic for the decision to have been made at the time when those most affected by it would be too busy to respond. But the Cons' strategy could easily backfire if resentment toward Harper - both among Coalition members themselves, and among Canadians who think our farmers deserve better - has time to build before the next federal election.