After flying to North Korea and Japan, Speller held a teleconference from Tokyo, that included about 80 journalists, including one from Farmers Forum. Reporting on progress made, Speller was quick to point out that Canada, Japan and North Korea have agreed to keep talking. It was one of those press conferences, in which so little of substance was said, that if it had been in person, journalists would have been looking at one another as to ask: "Why am I here?"

On to the United States and talks with the Americans and Mexicans. The border is closed for political reasons, Speller concluded, offering no political strategy of his own. Then came the Prime Minister’s first speech in the House of Commons Feb. 2. Afterwards, Speller held another teleconference, in which he offered the platitudes that tend to allow listeners to drift and think of what needs to be picked up at the store on their way home at the end of the day. What Speller said was that the government is committed to rural Canada and there is no shortage of challenges in agriculture today and the government will ensure farmers are not left alone and the government will be sure that farmers will have access to international markets and blah, blah, blah.

This journalist was nudged awake when Speller made this revealing statement: "If you’re looking for solutions for these problems you’ll find them with farmers themselves. For my part I want to give them hope."

That translates into something like: I don’t have a plan to deal with closed borders to Canadian cattle. I don’t know what to do."