The Conservatives want to break up the monopoly the Canadian Wheat Board has when it comes to selling wheat and barley produced on the Prairies. You won't be surprised to hear, this is a controversial proposal and one forms one of the major political cleavages in rural Western Canada.
Last week, Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz (left), an MP and former farmer from Saskatchewan, issued the following press release:
OTTAWA, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – June 5, 2008) – Canadian Wheat Board Chair Larry Hill confirmed that an overwhelming majority of Western Canadian farmers are demanding barley marketing freedom during his appearance before the Senate Agriculture Committee today. David Herle, a long-time Liberal insider and Ralph Goodale advisor, conducted the poll for the CWB.
“This Government is working hard to deliver barley marketing freedom and the CWB's own polling results leave Ralph Goodale and the Liberals with no excuse but partisanship for blocking that freedom,” said the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board.
The CWB's own survey makes it clear Western Canadian farmers want change and Minster Ritz called on Ralph Goodale and the Liberals to listen to Western Canadian farmers by passing Bill C-46.
“Western Canadian farmers have been crystal clear: they want barley marketing freedom by August 1, 2008,” said Minister Ritz. “How can Ralph Goodale and the Liberal Party claim to have any respect for democracy while ignoring the clear results of their own survey?”
The numbers Mr. Herle delivered to the CWB show that nearly 70 per cent of Western Canadian farmers are demanding barley marketing freedom.
“If Ralph Goodale and his Eastern-based Liberal colleagues still refuse to listen to Western Canadian farmers, maybe they will at least consider the clear results provided by long-time Liberal insider David Herle,” said Minister Ritz. “Western Canadian farmers have made their demands for barley marketing freedom loud and clear. For 13 long years, the Liberals simply did not get it done and they must listen to farmers now. This is a time for action and Prime Minister Stephen Harper and this Government are delivering on farmers' demands for barley marketing freedom.
Ralph Goodale (left), who represents a Regina riding and is the lone Liberal MP between Winnipeg and Vancouver, says Ritz has it all wrong:
POLL SHOWS SUPPORT FOR CWB
A fresh survey among prairie farmers shows clear support for the Canadian Wheat Board.
Conservative Minister Gerry Ritz leaked just snippets of the survey last week – trying to twist the message as anti-Board. But the full results contradict his destructive interpretation.
For example, two-thirds of producers say they support the Board; they find its views quite similar to their own; and they’re confident the CWB will maximize returns to farmers.
Two-thirds of producers also believe the Board gets higher prices from the marketplace because of its single-desk system. By a similar margin, they suspect a “dual market” would disadvantage the CWB because it doesn’t own any elevators or terminals.
Close to 70 percent feel the more flexible pricing and delivery options recently initiated by the CWB provide many of the perceived benefits of dual marketing – without sacrificing the advantages of the single-desk.
This poll also highlights strong disagreement with the under-handed tactics the Harper government uses against the Wheat Board.
Specifically, 77 percent say the future of the Board should not be determined by politicians, but by producers themselves and the people they elect to be CWB Directors.
But Mr. Ritz is proposing the opposite – i.e., he has introduced a new law to eliminate all producer control and allow the Conservatives to kill single-desk marketing by issuing secret orders from the federal Cabinet.
There would be no consultation. No role for the elected Directors, or Parliament or the Courts. No vote among producers. No democracy. No transparency. Nothing!
If Mr. Ritz is so sure of his position, he should simply act under the law as it exists today.
Hold a fair and respectful producer plebiscite.
Ask a direct, honest question – “Do you want the CWB’s single-desk system or the Open Market?”
And then abide by the results.
And now that you've read that intro, here is the official release from the Wheat Board itself with the details of the survey.