World Grain - November 2011 - 10

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Canada reorganizing wheat, barley marketing
OTTAWA, ONTARIO, CANADA — When Canadian Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz introduced The Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act on Oct. 18, he said it will give Western Canadian wheat and barley farmers the freedom to market their grain as they choose. An open grain market will attract investment, encourage innovation, create value-added jobs and build a stronger economy for all Canadians, the Canadian government’s Agriculture and AgriFood Canada (AAFC) said. The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) refuted those claims, saying the legislation will remove farmers from the equation. The CWB was created by Parliament in 1943 when Canada was committed to supplying inexpensive wheat to Britain during World War II. The legislation introduced on Oct. 18 will remove the monopoly of the CWB and give marketing choice to all farmers, returning to farmers the right to market their wheat and barley in the best interest of their individual farms and businesses, AAFC said. Farmers will have the choice of whether to sell on an open market or through a voluntary CWB. The legislation will allow an interim CWB to act as a voluntary marketing entity, supported by the federal government while it transitions to full private ownership, AAFC said. The legislation will also immediately allow farmers and companies to forward contract for the delivery of grain after Aug. 1, 2012. The government said it will provide an economic incentive of up to C$5 million per year for ﬁve years to support shipments of grain, including oilseeds, pulses and special crops, through the Port of Churchill. It will also provide support through funding of up to C$4.1 million over three years to maintain the Port of Churchill during the transition period. In addition, the port infrastructure project presently funded through an agreement with the Churchill Gateway Development Corporation will be extended to 2015. Finally, in consultation with all stakeholders, the government said it will explore options for the future of the Port of Churchill. Allen Oberg, chairman of the CWB’s govRitz erning board of directors, said the legislation removes farmers from the CWB. “The CWB will no longer be controlled by farmers or focused on farmers,” said Oberg, a farmer from Forestburg, Alberta. “This is not about giving farmers choice, it’s about ignoring the choices they’ve already made. Farmers chose the CWB single desk in our plebiscite this summer, when tens of thousands voted to keep it. Farmers choose the people who run the CWB in director elections, and they repeatedly choose farmer-directors who value the single desk. “This is not about putting farmers in the drivers’ seat — it’s about throwing us under the bus and handing the steering wheel to huge American and European multinationals that control the world’s grain trade.” If passed, the legislation will immediately remove the 10 farmerelected directors from the helm of the CWB, creating a new governing structure consisting of ﬁve government appointees. It also paves the way for an ill-deﬁned voluntary organization that is intended to be transitioned into a private, for-proﬁt corporation, Oberg said.

CWB directors launch lawsuit to ‘defend farmers’ rights’
WINNIPEG, MANITOBA, CANADA — The Canadian Wheat Board’s (CWB) farmer-controlled board of directors announced on Oct. 26 that legal action will be launched against the federal government. “The Harper government has acted illegally and unethically in its attacks on the Canadian Wheat Board, and it must be stopped,” said board chair Allen Oberg, a farmer from Forestburg, Alberta, Canada. “As it charges ahead, the government is mowing down everything in its way. The casualties will be democracy, due process, Parliamentary debate and Canada’s agricultural economy. We have no choice but to take this last stand on behalf of farmers. We will not be intimidated by bullies.” The lawsuit, being ﬁled in federal court, states the government broke the law when it introduced Bill C-18 on Oct. 18, because it did not ﬁrst conduct a plebiscite of affected producers, as required by Section 47.1 of the Canadian Wheat Board Act, which remains in force. Almost 40,000 producers participated in a CWB-run plebiscite over the summer, with 62% voting to retain the single-desk marketing system for wheat.
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“Not only is this government ignoring farmers’ wishes, it plans to ﬁre the 10 directors who are elected directly by farmers to run the CWB,” Oberg said. “If it can remove a democratically elected board — simply because we disagree with them — Canadians should ask themselves who’s next on their hit list. If they can ram this important legislation through Parliament by limiting debate, where does it end? “A majority government does not confer absolute power or create a dictatorship. Winning a majority of seats in the House of Commons does not bestow the right to sidestep rules created by previous governments in the interests of fairness, democracy and due process.” Oberg said he refuses to give up and “bow to the inevitable” as some have suggested. “We will continue to do everything in our power to ﬁght back against bullying by the federal government. This is not about saving the CWB. This is about farmers being allowed to decide for themselves whether they want this type of grain-marketing structure. All the evidence shows that they do.”
November 2011 / World Grain / www.World-Grain.com

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World Grain - November 2011

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