OTTAWA – Federal agriculture minister Ralph Goodale launched a broadside attack against the Americans for what he sees as their “inconsistency” in views about Canadian grain trade.
He was reacting to a statement from North Dakota Farmers Union president Alan Bergman that illegal sales not approved by the Canadian Wheat Board are a potential trade irritant.
“The protesting Canadian farmers want access to grain marketing systems in both nations and that is fundamentally unfair because our farmers don’t have access to the Canadian marketing system,” Bergman said in an Oct. 31 statement issued in Jamestown, N.D.
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Goodale protested American hypocrisy, much as he had complained to the Americans in a Washington speech last summer.
“It’s demonstrating the blatant inconsistency in the U.S. position,” he said. “They harangue incessantly about the Canadian Wheat Board. There has been no more vociferous critic than Mr. Bergman. Now, he also opposes non-board sales.”
Goodale said he sees it as a “never-ending attack” on Canada’s ability to export grain into the lucrative American market.
Bergman said the issue is control of exports south. If the wheat board did not control exports, grain would “pour” into American elevators and markets.
“The bottom line is that it is absurd for two nations that are large wheat exporters to be selling into each others’ domestic market,” he said.
Goodale suggested that view is simply the opinion of a protectionist intent on keeping Canadian grain out of markets it can win through quality and price competition.
