REGINA – A united front of prairie agriculture ministers is throwing its support behind a producer coalition’s call for a $7.2 billion buyout of the Crow Benefit.
Alberta agriculture minister Walter Paszkowski said the three provinces’ joint stand “is an overwhelming position. It’s never been there before.”
The agreement to stand together came after Alberta and Saskatchewan agreed to include the St. Lawrence Seaway transportation cost issue in negotiations with the federal government over the fate of the Crow, Manitoba agriculture minister Harry Enns said.
Previously, Saskatchewan and Alberta had insisted the seaway issue be discussed separately.
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“Strategically, it was important for Manitoba to have at least acknowledgement of Saskatchewan and Alberta that it (the seaway issue) is a serious problem for Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan, and that it should be dealt with simultaneously,” Enns said. “That was agreed here at this meeting.”
Enns said the seaway issue would never be dealt with in a way that protected Manitoba’s interests if the other two prairie provinces didn’t agree to link it to Western Grain
Transportation Act talks.
Alberta has complained that it pays an unfair share of grain shipping costs and Manitoba benefits at its expense.
Manitoba wants a greater share of the Crow Benefit if its farmers have to pay a greater share of the cost of shipping grain from Thunder Bay to Montreal. This cost is now pooled by the Canadian Wheat Board.
The dispute has kept Manitoba from joining the other prairie provinces in a common front on changes to the WGTA.
But after the meeting Paszkowski said: “Alberta certainly understands that there would be a very dramatic shift in Manitoba, one that would be very difficult to deal with in a one-shot process (if the system was suddenly changed). There is an understanding of the impact on Manitoba.”
The three agriculture ministers said they support the $7.2 billion buyout proposed by 13 agriculture groups, including prairie pools, commodity groups, farm groups and rural municipalities.
While the principle of a buyout is acceptable, they said the details of whatever the federal government offers will determine whether the offer is adequate.
The difference between what producer groups and the provinces want and what Ottawa is saying it can afford is vast. Farm groups say federal agriculture minister Ralph Goodale has suggested $2 billion as a reasonable sum.
Saskatchewan agriculture minister Darrel Cunningham said he is worried about how a buyout would be distributed.
