Ontario wheat growers who are unhappy with the marketing monopoly of the Ontario wheat board will defy the board by selling on their own this winter, says one of the leading dissidents.
“I think a number of farmers will decide to sell their wheat as they want,” said David Santo, chair of the Essex County Wheat Producers.
“I believe increasing numbers of farmers are unhappy with the board’s single desk selling monopoly.”
Terry Ross, chair of the Ontario Wheat Producers’ Marketing Board, said he thinks most Ontario wheat producers support the board.
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“I think it would carry a vote if it was a 50 percent plus one rule,” he said.
Both farmers say they would like to see the uncertainty about the future cleared away.
“There is a cloud over the board now, which is unfortunate,” said Ross.
Gather viewpoints
It was not supposed to be so.
After a resolution from delegates to the Ontario board’s annual meeting last March, it asked that a vote of producers be organized to determine farmer opinion on the monopoly.
The board of directors sent a letter to the Ontario Farm Products Marketing Commission suggesting any vote to end the monopoly should require a two-thirds majority.
The commission turned that into a requirement that retention of board powers would require two-thirds support.
Ontario farm leaders united to complain this could be a precedent for deciding the fate of other legislated marketing schemes. They demanded a simple majority threshold.
On the Prairies, the voting rules became an issue as supporters of the Canadian Wheat Board monopoly criticized the idea of each anti-board vote being worth two pro-board votes while opponents of the monopoly argued a new threshold had been set to judge the CWB.
Three weeks ago, as debate over the rules of the plebiscite overtook debate over the wheat board issue, the commission cancelled the vote.
Wrong reason
Marketing commission chair Jim Wheeler said, “There was going to be a high turnout. Our concern was that people were going to be voting for the wrong reasons, on the wrong question.”
Cancellation of the vote left both sides wishing the issue had been put to rest.
Ross said one possibility would be to “let emotions cool” until March when board delegates gather for their annual meeting. At that time, a new resolution could be debated.
Santo said board critics want a decision as soon as possible.
