Condi chats cows, but not with us!

Finally! The US government wants to clear up a long standing problem over the issue of cattle. Great you might say, about time that this long standing problem got sorted out, let those cows roll.

But while the wheels of progress may be slowly getting greased, its not going to bring one Canadian trade negotiator to a table, nor will it help one Canadian farmer sell his cows today.

Condolezza Rice is making a stop in Japan, where one of her main issues of the day is re-opening the Japanese market to American beef. Proclaiming "that the time has come to solve this problem" Rice is hoping to recapture what was once a lucrative marked for American beef.

Perhaps a solution to the Japan/US cattle problems will aid in the current problems of Canadian cattle crossing the border, but it may take a bit of time before those benefits should begin to show.

Though should the Japanese finally accept American beef as worthy then surely the Americans themselves could no longer hold up the Canadian cows which would be considered quite safe using current inspection parameters. As a matter of fact we could use the words of US lawmakers for our own advantage, some US legislators are calling for Economic sanctions against the Japanese if they don't open their borders, now there's an idea that could possibly be of some use by our government.

It all might be something worth talking over with Dr. Rice, should she ever manage to wander Northwards from Washington. Prior to her around the world jaunt Rice had cancelled a planned trip to Ottawa, a cancellation that many tied in with Canada's rejection of the BMD program. That trip has apparently been re-scheduled for later in the Spring, now that she's apparently fond of Cows we can expect a full and comprehensive hearing of our situation.

After all if the safety of the cattle chain is to be based on "good science", surely our system in place now and constantly being monitored will constitute the requirements of good science!


More importantly for Canadian cattle farmers the Secretary of State's work in Japan may spur on the American congressional and judicial forces to open the border to Canadian beef. After all its rather hard to ask for an open market in one place, when your presently shutting down one in another!