Farmers Deserve Say in Wheat Board's Future
Feb 06, 2008
It appears that the federal government is prepared to introduce legislation in the next few weeks that will allow western barley producers to force the Canadian Wheat Board to open the market on prairie barley sales.
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has threatened to take this action following a private meeting hosted and paid for by the Agriculture Department. However, only anti-CWB lobbyists were invited. Ritz admitted he stacked the room with supporters and has stated that he will go ahead with the legislation with or without the Wheat Board’s approval.
However, last summer a federal court ruling stated that Ottawa could not change the Wheat Board’s mandate without a full vote of parliament. The federal government is appealing this decision, which prevented it from starting to allow barley farmers to sell their grain outside the Wheat Board’s mandate. The appeal is scheduled to be heard this month.
But it seems that the federal government is determined to impose its will on farmers regardless of this court ruling of or opposition by the majority of producers who support the Wheat Board in this matter. Fortunately, the minority government situation in Ottawa means that getting any legislation of this nature passed will require the support of the opposition, something the NDP and Liberals have stated they would not do.
Hosting a meeting that excludes farmers who support the current system only serves to highlight the government’s heavy-handed approach to the situation. As a result, angry farmers in Winnipeg rallied in support of the CWB recently. Members of the National Farmers Union, the Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board, and Save My CWB have suggested that the dismantling of the Wheat Board is merely the government’s first step in its ideologically-driven agenda to privatize public institutions.
Apparently eight out of the ten CWB Board members – who are elected by Prairie grain farmers – support maintaining the Wheat Board’s monopoly over barley sales. If that is in fact the case, then the government ought to leave the Board to conduct its business as it – and more importantly, its members – sees fit.
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